Cell units for solid oxide fuel cells and power generators using such cell units
AssigneeNGK Insulators, Ltd.
InventorsTakao Soma, Shinji Kawasaki, Katsuki Yoshioka
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Abstract
A cell unit for use in a solid oxide fuel cell has a laminate structure including a cell element and a separator. The cell element includes a dense and planar solid electrolyte having a rectangular plane shape, and an air electrode film and a fuel electrode film provided on opposite surfaces of the flat solid electrolyte, respectively. The separator is made of a dense electron conductor. A plurality of oxidizing gas flow paths are defined between the separator and the air electrode, and the cell element has a rectangular planar shape and a ratio of a short side to a long side of the rectangular planar shape is not less than 2.
Claims24
A cell unit for use in a solid oxide fuel cell, said cell unit having a laminate structure comprising:
- a cell element comprising a dense and planar solid electrolyte and an air electrode film and a fuel electrode film provided on opposite surfaces of said solid electrolyte, respectively, said cell element having a rectangular planar shape and a ratio of a short side to a long side of said rectangular planar shape being not less than 2;
- a separator comprising a dense electron conductor;
- and
- a plurality of oxidizing gas flow paths defined between said separator and said air electrode of said cell element.
A power generator comprising a plurality of cell units assembled together, said cell units each having an oxidizing gas flow path formed therein and open at opposite ends in a longitudinal direction of the cell unit, at least a fuel electrode film being formed on a surface of each of said cell units, wherein at least a fuel gas chamber, an oxidizing gas chamber, a power generating chamber and a combustion chamber are provided in a power generator body, said power generating chamber is divided into a power-generating area and a preheating area, a plurality of said cell units are arranged in said power-generating chamber at a given interval while fuel electrode films and openings of a plurality of said cell units are arranged in substantially the same directions, respectively, the adjacent cell units are connected to one another in series and in parallel by heat-resistive conductors each having a structure not interrupting flowing of a gas, said oxidizing gas chamber is separated from said preheating area by a gas-tight partition wall, sealing is gas-tightly effected between said gas-tight partition wall and each of the cell units, a fuel gas inside said fuel gas chamber is made to enter said combustion chamber through said preheating area and said power-generating area, and an oxidizing gas inside the oxidizing chamber is made to enter said combustion chamber through said oxidizing gas flow paths.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.