Via filled interconnect for solid oxide fuel cells
AssigneeSofco
InventorsJoseph Jay Hartvigsen, Ashok Chandrashckhar Khandkar, Singaravelu Elangovan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An interconnect for a solid oxide fuel cell comprises a gas separator plate and at least one fill material. The gas separator plate includes at least one via extending therethrough. The at least one fill material is positioned within the at least one via, and operatively associated with at least one of a cathode or anode. The invention likewise includes a method for manufacturing the interconnect for a solid oxide fuel cell.
Claims14
An interconnect for a solid oxide fuel cell comprising:
- a gas separator plate having at least one via extending therethrough;
- and
- at least one fill material positioned within the at least one via, and being operatively associated with at least one of a cathode or anode, wherein the at least one fill material comprises two fill materials, an anode fill material associated with the anode and a cathode fill material associated with the cathode.
An interconnect for a solid oxide fuel cell comprising:
- a gas separator plate;
- at least one anode contact positioned on one side of the gas separator plate, the at least one anode contact having a coefficient of thermal expansion;
- at least one cathode contact correspondingly positioned on the other side of the gas separator plate, the at least one cathode having a coefficient of thermal expansion;
- at least one via extending through the gas separator plate between each of the corresponding anode/cathode contact pairs;
- an anode fill material positioned within the at least one via and adjacent the at least one anode contact, the anode fill material having a coefficient of thermal expansion;
- a cathode fill material positioned within the at least one via and adjacent the at least one cathode contact, the cathode fill material having a coefficient of thermal expansion;
- wherein the coefficients of thermal expansion of at least one of the anode contact and the anode fill material, and, the cathode contact and the cathode fill material substantially correspond to each other.
A method for manufacturing an interconnect for a solid oxide fuel cell comprising the steps of:
- providing a gas separator plate;
- forming at least one via through the gas separator plate;
- introducing a cathode fill material into the at least one via proximate the cathode contact, the cathode fill material having a coefficient of thermal expansion;
- and
- introducing an anode fill material into the at least one via proximate the anode contact, the anode fill material having a coefficient of thermal expansion;
- and
- associating at least one anode contact having a coefficient of thermal expansion to one end of the at least one via, and
- associating at least one cathode contact having a coefficient of thermal expansion to the other end of the at least one vial wherein the coefficient of thermal expansion of the anode fill material substantially corresponding to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the at least one anode contact and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the cathode fill material substantially corresponding to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the at least one cathode contact.
A method for manufacturing an interconnect for a solid oxide fuel cell comprising the steps of:
- providing a gas separator plate;
- forming at least one via through the gas separator plate;
- introducing at least one fill material into the at least one via comprising the steps of:
- placing at least one of a metal ink and a ceramic ink into the at least one via;
- and
- sintering the at least one metal or ceramic ink;
- and
- operatively associating at least one of a cathode or anode with the at least one fill material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.