Flexible and Modular Fully Metallic Housing Concept for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

This paper presents a modular, fully metallic housing concept that enables a fast change of the cell size due to the utilization of a baseplate. Metal instead of alumina oxide is used to reduce the manufacturing costs. Two different variations are presented, one utilizing a gold seal and a second concept based on a flexible metallic frame. The latter is designed to separate the contacting pressure via a pneumatic piston from the sealing pressure applied via metallic screws. For accurate voltage measurements, sense wires are separated from the current collection and are electrically isolated from the metallic housing. Thermocouples are used to measure the temperature distribution inside the anode part of the housing, as close as possible to the cell, as well as the inlet and outlet gas temperatures. The chromium evaporation of the cathode part of the housing is reduced by a protective coating.