Numerical study on the architecture design of a combined cooling and power system based on microfluidic fuel cells

Microfluidic fuel cell (MFC) has the potential for combined cooling and power (CCP) applications in various microelectronic devices by using the electrolyte as both reactant carrier and coolant. In this work, a non-isothermal multi-physics field-coupled model is developed to quantify the coupled electrochemical and thermal behaviors of MFC-based CCP systems. Four architectures are compared, including assembled and monolithic designs with different electrolyte–chip distances. In addition, three channel layouts are evaluated for the monolithic CCP to assess the role of flow configuration on power output and chip temperature distribution. Results show that the monolithic CCP with MFC embedded in the chip demonstrates the highest peak power density at all flow rates, and the chip cooling effect is also much stronger at higher flow rates, but the chip temperature uniformity is poorer than the assembled CCP. To solve this issue, a double-channel configuration with opposite flow direction is found to be optimal, which can improve the chip temperature uniformity of monolithic CCP while providing doubled power output at the same time. In general, this wok provides a valuable insight into the architecture design of future MFC-based CCP systems, especially for highly exothermic microelectronics. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd.