ADVANCED CERAMIC FIBERS FOR A CARBONATE FUEL CELL MATRIX

THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF CARBONATE FUEL CELL POWER PLANTS CAN BE SIGNIFICANTLY ENCHANCED BY EXTENDING THE LIFE OF THE FUEL CELL STACK BEYOND THE PRESENT DESIGN LIFE OF 40,000 HOURS. LOSSOF SEALING EFFICIENCY OF THE MATRIX DURING THERMAL CYCLING APPEARS TO IMPACT THE USEFUL LIFE OFTHE CARBONATE FUEL CELL. THE CARBONATE FUEL CELL LIFE CAN BE EXTENDED BY IMPROVING THE STRENGTH AND THERMAL CYCLEABILITY OF THE MATRIX. THE GOAL OF THE PLANNED RESEARCH IS TO IMPROVE THE STRENGTH AND THERMAL CYCLEABILITY OF THE ELECTROLYTE MATRIX BY REINFORCING IT WITH STRONG CERAMIC FIBERS. A NOVEL FIBER MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY ABLE TO PROVIDE STRONG ROBUST FIBERS FOR REINFORCING COMPOSITE MATERIALS WILL BE USED TO PRODUCE STRONG CERAMIC FIBERS STABLEIN THE CARBONATE ELECTROLYTE. IN THIS PHASE I PROGRAM, THE MATRIX FABRICATION PROCESS WILL BE IMPROVED TO DISPERSE THE FIBER UNIFORMLY. THE UNIQUE FIBER PRODUCED WILL BE EVALUATED FOR ITS STABILITY IN MOLTEN CARBONATE. THE FIBER-REINFORCED MATRIX WILL BE EVALUATED IN OUT-OF-CELL THERMAL CYCLING TESTING. THE FIBERS AND MATRIX WILL BE FURTHER OPTIMIZED IN PHASE II IN OUT-OF-CELL, SINGLE-CELL, AND SUB-SCALE STACK TESTING.