Ultra-Low Mass Planar SOFC Design

This work describes Corning Incorporated's early stage efforts to develop an ultra-low mass SOFC design based on a "frit-frame." In this approach, patterned glass or glass-ceramic frit layers perform sealing, manifolding and framing functions without the aid of conventional supporting framing components. In this construction, thermal expansion matching is simplified and thermal mass mismatches are minimized. Consequently planar frit-frame structures can be thermally cycled at comparatively fast rates for SOFC. We show that 12 cm x 15 cm multi-cell packets survive multiple thermal cycles with heating to operating temperature in ten-minutes.