Behaviour of Various Glass Seal for Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
One of the critical issues in designing a planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is the development of materials to hermetically seal the metal (430 series stainless steel) or ceramic interconnector with the ceramic electrolyte of the cell. The main objective of this sealing material is to achieve a low leak rate, long-term stability at operating temperature and chemical compatibility with other components. One of the compositions has been operated in an SOFC in excess of 30 minutes over the range of 600, 700, 800, and 900°C. The seal is a composition of polymer blend and glass of 1:3, 1:1 and 3:1 by weight. The leakage rate of each seal was measured simultaneously under the compressive force of 100 N, 2 bar Helium. The seal was characterized using a thermogravimetric analysis. The effect of glass composition on operating temperature and compressive forces on the leakage rate have been discussed and correlated.