Flexitallic Investments Incorporated

Flexitallic Limited

John Robert Hoyes

Stephen Peter Bond

Alan William Atkinson

Stephen Woolfenden

Liam C Thorpe

Stephen P Bond

Adam M West

Gary Briggs

Olli Himanen

David Anthony Thomas

Julia Rosalind Mary Hood

George Deluca

Peter George Mowvley

Stephen Alexander Schultze

Jari Kiviaho

Kevin Richard Holmes

Brian Hasha

Anthony Russel Currie

Michael Bulmer

Jamal Jamlyaria

Henry Vincent Dunn

Markus Rautanen

Adam Martin West

Stephan Peter Bond

A gasket sealing material for a fuel cell comprising: at least 25% dry w/w chemically exfoliated vermiculite; and at least 15% dry w/w plate-like filler; wherein the plate-like filler has an average particle size of less than or equal to 10 &#x3bc;m. Gaskets, fuel cells, uses of the gasket and sealing material are also defined.

Gasket sealing material for fuel cells

A gasket material comprising a fibre component, a rubber component and a further resilient material is described. The further resilient material comprises chemically exfoliated vermiculite (CEV). A novel process of production is also described. The product has high stress retention and excellent sealing performance at high temperatures. Preferably, the gas permeability of the gasket material is less than 1.0 ml/min and the hot creep of the gasket material is less than 15%.

Gasket material and its process of production

A gasket for sealing two mating surfaces of a fuel cell is described. The gasket has a core layer comprising exfoliated vermiculite. The core layer is interposed between a first and second coating layer, the said coating layers each comprising glass, glass-ceramic and/or ceramic material. Methods for producing gaskets according to the invention are also described. A solid oxide cell or a solid oxide cell component comprising one or more of the gaskets; use of the gasket to improve sealing properties in a solid oxide cell; and a method of producing a solid oxide cell or of sealing a solid oxide cell comprising incorporating at least one of the gaskets into the solid oxide cell are also defined.

Gasket for fuel cells

A spirally wound strip () is thicker in the middle and is curved on both sides. Short flats () are formed at each side by surfaces that converge towards each other. Soft sealant material () extends over the flats ().

Sealing arrangements

The gasket includes a sealing strip comprising a resilient material, the resilient material comprising a chemically exfoliated vermiculite (CEV) component in a proportion of at least 25% w/w of the sealing strip, the said CEV component being at least partially derived from dry CEV, wherein the sealing strip does not include a carrier strip, made by the process of the application of a wet sealing strip material to a forming sheet to form a layer; partially drying the wet sealing strip layer on the forming sheet; removing the layer from the forming sheet; and (d) cutting the layer into strips suitable for use in the formation of a spirally wound gasket.

Gaskets

The invention is concerned with gasket sealing foils having a sealing layer with enhanced properties which is based upon chemically exfoliated vermiculite. The method of producing a sealing foil for gaskets is described. The method comprises the steps of: (a) the application of a wet sealing foil material to a forming sheet to form a layer, (b) partially drying the said wet sealing foil layer on the forming sheet; (c) removing the said layer from the forming sheet to form a core free gasket sealing foil; and (d) forming, preferably cutting, the layer into at least one suitable shape for use in the formation of a gasket The sealing foil comprises a resilient material, which comprises a CEV component in a proportion of at least 25% w/w of the sealing foil, the CEV component being at least partially derived from dry CEV. The sealing foil layer may be combined with a gasket support layer prior to or after the cutting step.

Process for the production of vermiculite foil

A spirally wound gasket is described. The gasket includes a sealing strip () wound into a spiral and a support strip () wound into a spiral in such a manner that the spiral of the sealing strip is formed interposed between the coils of the supporting strip. The sealing strip comprises a resilient material, the resilient material comprising a CEV component in a proportion of at least 25% w/w of the sealing strip. The CEV component is at least partially derived from dry CEV, and the sealing strip does not include a carrier strip in one aspect. In another aspect, the CEV component is at least partially derived from dry CEV, and the sealing strip has a moisture level of between 3&#x2013;20% w/w of the sealing strip resilient material during winding into the said gasket. A method of producing a sealing strip is also described.

A gasket is described. The gasket comprises a sealing layer and a support layer. The sealing layer is formed from a resilient material which comprises a CEV component in a proportion of at least 25% w/w of the sealing layer. The CEV component is at least partially derived from dry CEV. A hydrolysis resistant polymer to improve the water resistance of the sealing layer is also provided in the proportion of less than 20% w/w of the sealing layer. Generally, the level of CEV falls within the range 25-80% w/w of the sealing layer. A method of producing a gasket is also described. The method involves applying a wet sealing layer dough to a support material, and drying the wet sealing layer dough on the support material. The solids content of the wet sealing layer dough prior to the drying step is in the range 30-80% w/w of the dough material.

A gasket ( ) comprises a sealing member which forms a closed loop extending around a hole. The sealing member is formed from resilient metal and has a transverse cross section which is generally X-shaped and comprises two arms ( ) which project inwardly of the hole, and two arms ( ) which project outwardly of the hole. The inwardly projecting arms form a first seal around said hole, and the outwardly projecting arms form a second seal around said hole. Each arm extends from a junction ( ) with the remainder of the gasket to a tip ( ) of the arm which engages one of the bodies. Each arm has its greatest thickness at said junction ( ) and its smallest thickness at a point adjacent to or at said tip ( ), the arm continuously reducing in thickness between said junction and said point. The gasket can yield from the tips of the arms inwardly as the pressure on the gasket increases.

A gasket (,) comprises a first sealing member (,) and a second sealing member (,) both made of springy metal, and a clamping member (,) which holds the first and the second sealing members in an overlying relationship. The first sealing member (,) has an arm portion (,) projecting from the clamping member (,), the arm portion being adapted to resiliently form a seal with a first body. The second sealing member (,) has an arm portion projecting from the clamping member (,), the arm portion being adapted to resiliently form a seal with a second body. A compression limiting stop (,) is provided.

Gasket

Sealing system

A material stock from which seals and packings may be formed is described; the material stock being relatively soft and compressible and cross section having a construction comprising a plurality of interlaced, as hereinbefore defined, flat section tapes having associated therewith a reinforcement. The tapes may include exfoliated graphite, paper, PTFE, mica, vermiculite as appropriate. The seal stock may have any desired cross sectional shape.

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Todmorden, United Kingdom

John Robert Hoyes