Educational Fuel Cells for Mechanical Engineering Students

Abstract

We produced two fuel cells as educational materials for mechanical engineering students: (1) a transparent direct methanol fuel cell, to demonstrate the reactive products on both anode and cathode channels, and (2) a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, with magnetic sensors to demonstrate the magnitude and direction of current around the electrode planes on both anode and cathode sides. We then demonstrated these fuel cells, showing our mechanical engineering students their structure and power generation function, as part of our education cultivating future mechanical engineers capable of designing fuel cells.