An in-situ visualization of two-phase flow inside anode flow bed of a small liquid fed direct methanol fuel cells in normal and reduced gravity has been conducted in a drop tower.The anode flow bed con-sists of 11 parallel straight channels.The length,width and depth of single channel,which had rec-tangular cross section,are 48.0,2.5 and 2.0mm,respectively.The rib width was 2.0mm.The experi-mental results indicated that when the fuel cell orientation is vertical,two-phase flow pattern in anode channels can evolve from bubbly flow in normal gravity into slug flow in microgravity.The size of bub-bles in the reduced gravity is also bigger.In microgravity,the bubbles rising speed in vertical channels is obviously slower than that in normal gravity.When the fuel cell orientation is horizontal,the slug flow in the reduced gravity has almost the same characteristic with that in normal gravity.It implies that the effect of gravity on two-phase flow is small and the bubbles removal is governed by viscous drag.When the gas slugs or gas columns occupy channels,the performance of liquid fed direct methanol fuel cells is failing rapidly.It infers that in long-term microgravity,flow bed and operating condition should be optimized to avoid concentration polarization of fuel cells.
