Swiss Roll Heat Exchangers/Reactors and Solid-Oxide-Fuel-Cells Power Generation

An experimental study of the performance of a Swiss roll heat ex­changer and reactor was conducted with emphasis on the extinction limits and comparison of results with and without catalyst. Experi­ments have demonstrated reducing wall thermal conductivity and thickness leads to lower heat losses and therefore increases operating temperatures and extends flammability limits. A polyimide reactor was built and survived prolonged testing at temperatures up to 500 ºC. Polymer reactors may prove more practical for microscale devices due to their lower thermal conductivity and ease of manufacturing. Since the ultimate goal of current efforts is to develop combustion driven power generation devices at MEMS like scales a thermally self-sustaining miniature power generation device was developed utilizing a single-chamber solid-oxide-fuel-cell (SOFC) placed in a Swiss roll. SOFC power densities up to 420 mW/cm^2 were observed at low Re. These results suggest that single-chamber SOFCs integrated with heat-recirculating reactors may be a viable approach for small-scale power generation devices.