Highly Textured Composite Seals for SOFC Applications

70580 A major obstacle to the commercialization of planar solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is the lack of sealing materials that are chemically and mechanically robust. Seals must withstand both the oxidizing and reducing atmospheres and the thermal cycling that accompany SOFC operation, while remaining both compliant enough to bond well at interfaces and rigid enough to resist creep during use. This project will develop a family of low-cost, composite, compliant seal materials with specially controlled microstructures that can be tailored to the requirements of different SOFC stack designs. Phase I synthesized a number of different composite materials, fabricated seal gaskets of these materials by tape casting methods, and tested the seal performance of these gaskets at elevated temperatures and under thermal cycling conditions. Performance improvements compared to the state-of-the-art were demonstrated. Phase II will explore a number of strategies to further improve seal performance, and reduce the cost and utility of these seal materials. The seal materials will be tested under application-specific conditions, including larger cell areas and longer-term test durations. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee: Commercial applications include residential power and heat, remote power generators, military power supplies, auxiliary power units for transportation, and stationary power generation systems.