Systems and methods for refurbishing fuel cell stack components
AssigneeBloom Energy Corporation
InventorsDrew Paran, Ali Delkaninia, Kendall Lui, Tulin Akin
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Abstract
A method of refurbishing a singulated fuel cell stack interconnect includes scanning a first pulsed laser beam on an air side of the interconnect to vaporize seal and corrosion barrier layer residue without vaporizing a metal oxide layer located on the air side of the interconnect below the corrosion barrier layer residue, and scanning a second pulsed laser beam which is different from the first pulsed laser beam on the exposed metal oxide layer on the air side of the interconnect to reflow the metal oxide layer without removing the metal oxide layer.
Claims19
A method of refurbishing a singulated fuel cell stack interconnect, comprising:
- scanning a first pulsed laser beam on an air side of the interconnect to vaporize seal and corrosion barrier layer residue without vaporizing a metal oxide layer located on the air side of the interconnect below the corrosion barrier layer residue;
- and
- scanning a second pulsed laser beam which is different from the first pulsed laser beam on the exposed metal oxide layer on the air side of the interconnect to reflow the metal oxide layer without removing the metal oxide layer,
- wherein the metal oxide layer comprises at least one of lanthanum strontium manganite or manganese cobalt oxide spinel.
A method of refurbishing a singulated fuel cell stack interconnect comprising fuel holes extending through the interconnect, air channels, strip seal regions disposed on opposing sides of the air channels, and ring seal regions surrounding the fuel holes located on the air side of the interconnect, the method comprising:
- scanning a first pulsed laser beam on an air side of the interconnect to vaporize seal and corrosion barrier layer residue without vaporizing a metal oxide layer located on the air side of the interconnect below the corrosion barrier layer residue;
- scanning a second pulsed laser beam which is different from the first pulsed laser beam on the exposed metal oxide layer on the air side of the interconnect to reflow the metal oxide layer without removing the metal oxide layer;
- and
- forming microcavities through the metal oxide layer in the-seal ring regions by laser drilling after the step of scanning the second pulsed laser beam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.