Optimal design of a micro-tubular fuel cell

Abstract: We discuss the problem of the optimal design of a micro-tubular fuel cell applying an inverse homogenization technique. Fuel cells are extremely clean and efficient electrochemical power generation devices, made up of a cathode/electrolyte/anode structure, whose energetic potential has not being fully exploited in propulsion systems in aeronautics due to their low power densities. Nevertheless, thanks to the recent development of additive layer manufacturing techniques (3D printing), complex structures usually impossible to design with conventional manufacturing techniques can be constructed with a low cost, allowing notably to build porous or foam-type structures for fuel cells. We seek thus to come up with the micro-structure of an arrangement of micro-tubular cathodes which maximizes the contact surface subject to a pressure drop and a permeability constraint. The optimal periodic design (fluid/solid) emerges from the application of a shape gradient algorithm coupled to a level-set method for the geometrical description of the corresponding cell problem.