Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited

Fusayuki Nanjo

Tokuki Satake

Kiyoshi Watanabe

Hitoshi Miyamoto

Koichi Takenobu

Shigeaki Yamamuro

An improved structure of a solid oxide electrolyte fuel cell (SOFC) is disclosed. A generating layer in the SOFC consists of three layers of a fuel electrode, an oxide layer and an oxygen electrode, and is shaped into a dimpled structure having recessed portions on its both surfaces. Protruded portions on the side of the fuel electrode are electrically bonded with an interconnector layer via a first conductive adhesive, while protruded portions on the side of the oxygen electrode of another generating layer are electrically bonded with the same interconnector layer via a second conductive adhesive. A plurality of generating layers and a plurality of interconnector layers are alternately stacked and they are electrically bonded in the above-described manner. Preferably the first conductive adhesive is made of material common to the fuel electrode and the second conductive adhesive is made of material common to the oxygen electrode. Owing to the improved structure, occurrence of lateral flows of electrons in the interconnector layers having a large resistance can be suppressed, hence an electrical resistance can be reduced, and also amounts of materials of the oxygen electrode and the fuel electrode can be made small.

Solid oxide electrolyte fuel cell

A planar type solid oxide electrolyte fuel cell which is composed of power generation films in which an oxygen electrode is constituted on one side of each solid electrolyte having dimples almost all over its surface and a fuel electrode on the other side thereof, interconnectors sandwiched between the said power generation films, and seal materials which surround the four sides of the said power generation films, wherein oxidant gases and fuel gases react electrochemically via the said power generation films in order to obtain electric energy, wherein on the fuel electrode side of one the four sides of the cell a fuel inlet aperture is provided over nearly the entire length thereof, and a fuel outlet aperture is provided on the side facing the said one side over nearly the entire length thereof, and an air inlet aperture is provided on the oxygen electrode side of one of the remaining two sides, the said air inlet aperture being located in that half of the said side which is closer to the fuel gas inlet aperture, and an air outlet aperture is provided on the side facing the said air inlet aperture, the said air outlet aperture being located in about that half the said side which is closer to the fuel outlet aperture.

A solid oxide electrolyte fuel cell comprises a power generation film consisting of a solid oxide electrolyte film dimpled over substantially the whole area on both sides thereof, an oxygen electrode formed on one side thereof, and a fuel electrode formed on the other side of thereof, and comprises a pair of interconnectors located on both sides of the power generation film. Furthermore, this invention adopts a seal structure for sealing each side of the power generation film to each of the corresponding interconnectors. The peripheral area of the power generation film is provided with a seal face with the interconnector and is formed to lie in essentially the same plane as the apices of the dimpled pattern formed on the power generation film, and the provided seal section has approximately the same thermal expansion coefficient as the solid oxide electrolyte film which forms the power generation film.

A power generation layer includes three layers of a fuel electrode, a solid oxide electrolyte and an oxygen electrode. Both faces of the power generation layer are formed with a number of dimples that are shaped and arranged so as to satisfy (half dimple height)=3.2.times.(dimple diameter)-(half dimple pitch).+-.(dimple diameter).

Growing community of inventors

Kobe, Japan

Fusayuki Nanjo