Manufacturing and microstructure of porous metal supports for a solid oxide fuel cell

Abstract

One of the major drawbacks of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is the longtime stability. In order to have mechanical stability, the cell can be supported by a so-called porous metal support. These metal supports are usually manufactured by tape casting. This work, in contrast, is focused on processing these supports by different powder metallurgical techniques such as the press-and sinter route, gravity sintering or metal injection moulding. For some samples a shrinkage of 15% could be obtained as defined by the shrinkage of the ceramic functional layers (in case of desired ''co-sintering an interval of 15-20% is preferable). The most promising manufacturing routes were found to be gravity sintering (about 50% porosity) and MIM (20-28% porosity): in both cases the pores are homogeneously distributed, and only slight agglomeration of pores can be seen.

Two Paradigms of Metal Casting Technologies

“…www.hanyang.ac.kr [1], and also in a paper sieved to a particle size fraction < 32 µm for the subsequent hydrogen reduction process in a ceramic tube furnace. Hydrogen reduction of the oxide granulate takes place in two stages; the first stage is for one hour at 500°C.…”

“…In a report published in PIM International in 2012, John Lewinski, Director of Supplier Management at Smith & Wesson, stated that, "MIM has allowed us to take cost out of the product while maintaining quality and therefore pass the savings on to the consumer" [1]. Kevin Collins, a Senior Design Engineer at Savage Arms in Westfield, MA, USA, cited MIM as "the modern replacement to investment casting, especially for small parts," adding that MIM firearm parts are dimensionally consistent, fairly inexpensive and the surface finish is smoother than machined or investment cast components [1].…”

“…Kevin Collins, a Senior Design Engineer at Savage Arms, USA, stated that, "Most MIM parts are not made from common AISI materials such as 4340 and 8620 alloy steels, and this is certainly a drawback for anyone wanting to make parts for existing military rifles such as the M14 and M16" [1].…”