Filing Information

Inventor(s)	K. Weil · John Hardy ·
Assignee(s)	Battelle Memorial Institute ·  View assignee updates
Correspondent	Douglas E. McKinley, Jr. ·
Application Number	US11112122
Filing date	04/22/2005
Publication date	10/26/2006
Predicted expiration date	04/22/2025
U.S. Classifications	403/50  ·
International Classifications	F16B710  ·
Kind Code	A1

Patent Family

Abstract

A joint for use in electrochemical devices, such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), oxygen separators, and hydrogen separators, that will maintain a hermetic seal at operating temperatures of greater than 600° C., despite repeated thermal cycling excess of 600° C. in a hostile operating environment where one side of the joint is continuously exposed to an oxidizing atmosphere and the other side is continuously exposed to a wet reducing gas. The joint is formed of a metal part, a ceramic part, and a flexible gasket. The flexible gasket is metal, but is thinner and more flexible than the metal part. As the joint is heated and cooled, the flexible gasket is configured to flex in response to changes in the relative size of the metal part and the ceramic part brought about by differences in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the metal part and the ceramic part, such that substantially all of the tension created by the differences in the expansion and contraction of the ceramic and metal parts is absorbed and dissipated by flexing the flexible gasket.

Independent Claims | See all claims (18)

1. 1. A joint comprising: a. a metal part, b. a ceramic part, c. and a flexible gasket wherein d. the flexible gasket is attached to the metal part on one side and hermetically bonded to the ceramic part on the other side and configured to flex in response to changes in the size of the metal part and the ceramic part brought about by temperature changes while maintaining a hermetic seal between said flexible gasket and both said metal part and said ceramic part.