Investigation of In Situ Thermal Behavior of a Passive Direct Methanol Fuel cell Using Infra-Red Thermography

In a passive direct methanol fuel cell, the cell temperature is linked to the heat generated during operation. It is important to study about cell temperature to understand cell performance, and dynamic behavior. In the present study, experiments on passive and air breathing direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) of a 25 cm2 effective cell area are conducted using printed circuit board (PCB) to investigate the surface temperature distribution. A non-intrusive infra-red thermography is used to record in situ surface temperature and it is observed that the maximum temperature recorded for a passive DMFC (PDMFC) is 42 °C compared to 34 °C for air breathing direct methanol fuel cell (ABDMFC) at steady state condition. Temperature distribution reveals that maximum temperature near the top middle portion of the PCB. Subsequently, PDMFC recorded maximum power density of 3.9 mW cm−2 compared to 2.8mW cm−2 for ABDMFC. Based on the PCB rib orientation for 5M feed concentration, vertical rib recorded 46 °C whereas 44 °C for horizontal rib. For ABDMFC, the response to load change is 22 s due to CO2 removal when compared to 4–5 min for PDMFC. It is concluded that the methanol concentration governs the heat generated in a PDMFC and lead to cell temperature distribution, depending on the cell fixture design under average ambient condition of 30 °C and 50% relative humidity.