SEERC FUNDED PROJECTS:
Energy Conversion and Storage
Participants
Faculty: Stephen J. Paddison (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Lead), Brian J. Edwards (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
Graduate Student: Milan Kumar (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
Description
Fuel cell technology presents significant economical and environmental potential for the next generation of power systems because it offers advantages over conventional power-generating systems in terms of both energy efficiency and emission reduction. Although fuel cells have been tested in many applications including portable, vehicular, and stationary, there exists a number of technical barriers that prevent the technology from becoming commercially competitive. Real-life tests of fuel cells are expensive, time consuming, and constrained by the availability of adequate measurement techniques. Hence, there is a need to develop a comprehensive and well-validated mathematical model and simulation module of the fuel cell that integrates properties of the materials derived from first principles based simulations and computations. This project aims to provide detailed information on fluid flows, heat transfer, transport of ionic species, and chemical reactions within an operating fuel cell, which will prove to be of paramount importance in achieving improved fuel cell design and eventual implementation into mass markets.
