JPH01151164A - Solid electrolyte fuel cell and its assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the cell area and voltage as compared with conventional ones by bending one of a flat air electrode and a fuel electrode of adjacent cells, connecting them, and sandwiching them with solid electrolytes of the adjacent cells. CONSTITUTION:A fuel cell panel 21 is constituted by connecting band-shaped cells 22-22c in series. The cell 22a is constituted by laminating a fuel electrode 24a, a solid electrolyte 25a and an air electrode 26a on a substrate 23. The bent air electrode 26a of the cell 22a is connected to the fuel electrode 24b of the adjacent cell 22b. They are then sandwiched from both sides by the dense solid electrolytes 25a and 25b of the adjacent cells 22a and 22b, thus the cells 22a-22c are electrically connected respectively. The cell area in the same space is thereby increased as compared with conventional ones, and the high voltage can be easily obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a solid electrolyte fuel cell and an assembly thereof.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as a solid electrolyte fuel cell, for example, a cylindrical columnar type shown in FIG. 7 (Conventional Example I), or a solid electrolyte fuel cell shown in FIG. 8(A)
The cylindrical ring shape shown in ~(C) (conventional example ■) is known.

(1) Cylindrical battery The number 1 in the diagram is a base tube. The base tube 1 is made of a porous tube made of alumina or C3Z (calcia stabilized zirconia), for example, with an outer diameter of 21 mm and a length of 700 mm.
A battery is constructed on this surface. An air electrode 2 is laminated on the base tube 1, and a solid electrolyte 3 is laminated thereon, excluding interelectrode connecting elements described later. Here, the air electrode 2 is L
It is made of aCoO3 or the like and has a thickness of 150 to 300p.

Further, the solid electrolyte 3 is made of a densely sprayed film of YSZ (Ittria stabilized zirconia), and its thickness is 150~
It is 200M. A fuel electrode 4 is disposed on the solid electrolyte 3.
are laminated so as not to contact the inter-electrode connecting element described later.

Here, the fuel electrode 4 is formed of a porous sprayed NiO film, and has a thickness of several lO to 100p. Further, the columnar battery cells are connected in series to adjacent cells via inter-electrode connecting elements (ink connectors) 5. A battery module is constructed by arranging batteries connected in series in this way in parallel.

Here, the interconnector 5 is made of a dense sprayed film of NiA1 alloy. Note that 6 in the figure is an air flow path, and the outside of the fuel electrode 4 is a fuel flow path.

However, in a solid electrolyte fuel cell having such a structure, since the voltage per single cell is low, a plurality of battery cells are connected in series to increase the voltage and extract current. For this reason, the above-mentioned in-3 connector 5 is used to connect between the electrodes, but it is required to have high conductivity and high forging strength so that gas or air does not pass therethrough.

(n) Cylindrical fuel cell FIG. 8(A) is a perspective view of this cylindrical fuel cell, FIG. 8(B) is a sectional view taken along line X-X in FIG.
) is a sectional view taken along the YY line in FIG. however,
The cylindrical ring-shaped fuel cell shown in FIG. 8 is constructed in a ring shape on a base tube 1, and has a structure in which the fuel electrode 4 and the air electrode 2 of adjacent cells are connected via an interelectrode connecting element 5. There is.

Note that 7 in the figure is a fuel flow path.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the conventional solid electrolyte fuel cell has the following problems.

■Due to manufacturing, the diameter must be above a certain level, and the cylinder must be placed with the required space. Therefore, the area of the power generation section per fixed volume is small and the output is small.

■The structure is complex and manufacturing costs are high.

■Battery voltage is relatively low. That is, in the case of Conventional Example I, it is difficult to obtain a high battery voltage due to the number of cylindrical cells connected in series, and in the case of Conventional Example I, it is difficult to obtain a high voltage due to the number of cells formed on the cylinder.

■The cylindrical shape requires an inter-electrode connecting element, which not only requires high airtightness and conductivity, and the same expansion coefficient as other component materials, but is also complicated and expensive to manufacture. This is a contributing factor to the increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a solid electrolyte that can increase the battery area in the same space compared to conventional ones and easily obtain a high voltage, and also has a simple structure and can be manufactured easily, reducing manufacturing costs. The purpose is to provide fuel cells and their assemblies.

[Means and Effects for Solving the Invention] The first invention of the present application includes a plurality of laminates each formed by laminating at least three layers each consisting of a flat air electrode, a solid electrolyte, and a fuel electrode in a row in the horizontal direction. consisting of fuel cells arranged in a fuel cell, one of the air electrodes or fuel electrodes of adjacent cells is bent to connect the air electrodes and the fuel electrodes,
The solid electrolyte fuel cell is characterized in that the air electrode and the fuel electrode are sandwiched between the solid electrolytes of the adjacent cells from both sides.

According to the first invention of the present application, an output several times that of a conventional cylindrical shape can be obtained. In addition, high voltage can be easily obtained by connecting strip-shaped battery cells in series and connecting adjacent battery cells at their ends.

Furthermore, the number of battery components can be reduced by eliminating the need for conventional inter-electrode connecting elements. Therefore, manufacturing becomes easy and manufacturing costs can be reduced. Furthermore,
Reliability is improved by reducing the number of dissimilar parts.

The second invention of the present application consists of a fuel cell in which a plurality of stacked bodies each consisting of at least three layers each consisting of a flat air electrode, a solid electrolyte, and a fuel electrode are arranged in rows in the horizontal direction, and adjacent Bending either the air electrode or the fuel electrode of the cells to connect the air electrode and the fuel electrode,
The solid electrolyte fuel cells in which these air electrodes and fuel electrodes are sandwiched between the solid electrolytes of the cells adjacent to each other from both sides are stacked at appropriate intervals in the height direction, so that the fuel electrode of the upper fuel cell and the lower fuel cell The air electrode of the fuel cell, or the air electrode of the upper fuel cell and the fuel electrode of the lower fuel cell, are
This is an assembly of solid electrolyte fuel cells that is characterized by being connected by a letter-shaped conductor.

According to the present invention in Box 2, a plurality of fuel cell panels are stacked one on top of the other at appropriate intervals in the height direction, and the ends of these panels are connected using a U-shaped conductor. Therefore, the battery area in the same space increases by more than ten times compared to an aggregate of cylindrical batteries, and a high voltage can be obtained. Moreover, the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Example 1 Refer to FIGS. 1A to 1C. Here, the same figure (A)
is a perspective view of a solid electrolyte fuel cell, and (B) is a perspective view of a solid electrolyte fuel cell.
) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG.

21 in the figure is a fuel cell panel, which is constructed by electrically connecting a plurality of band-shaped battery cells 22a, 22b, 22c, . . . in series. Each of the battery cells, for example, the battery cell 22a, has a fuel electrode 24a on a substrate 23, a solid electrolyte 25a bent at two places, and an air electrode 2 bent at one place.
6a are stacked, so that fuel flows to the substrate 23 side and air flows to the opposite side. Here, the substrate 23 is made of alumina or C8Z (calcia stabilized zirconia). The fuel electrode 24a is formed of a porous sprayed film of NiO, and its thickness is about tens to hundreds. The solid electrolyte layer 25a is made of a dense sprayed film of YSz (yttoria stabilized zirconia) and has a thickness of 50 mm.
It is about ~too4. The air electrode 26a is LaCoO3
and L a M n O3, and the thickness is 50 to 100
It is about 0p. In addition, when air flows to the substrate 23 side, the substrate 23a and the air electrode 26a.

The solid electrolyte layer 25a and the fuel electrode 24a are stacked in this order. The battery cells 22a, 22b, 22c, . . . are connected without using interconnectors as in the conventional case. For example, if we take the example of the connection between the battery cells 22a and 22b, the right end of the air electrode 26a of the battery cell 22a and the adjacent battery cell 22a
The left end of the fuel electrode 24b of b is connected. The air electrode 26a and fuel electrode 24b connected to each other are connected to the battery cell 22.
It is sandwiched from both sides by the solid electrolyte layer 25a of a and the solid electrolyte layer 25b of the battery cell 22b. In addition, 26b in the figure is the air electrode of the battery cell 22b, and the fuel electrode 24a of the battery cell 22a and the air electrode 26c of the battery cell 22c.
They are also connected in the same way.

According to the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to the above embodiment, the bent air electrode 26a of the battery cell 22a and the fuel electrode 24b of the adjacent battery cell 22b are connected, and the air electrode 26a and the fuel electrode connected to each other are connected to each other. 24b to the adjacent battery cell 22
A structure in which the dense solid electrolyte layer 25a of a and the dense solid electrolyte layer 25b of the battery cell 22b are sandwiched from both sides, and the battery cells 22a, 22b, 22c, etc. are electrically connected in this way, respectively. It becomes. Therefore, it has the effects listed below.

(2) By closely arranging the fuel cell panels 21 with minimum spacing, an output several times that of a conventional cylindrical panel can be obtained.

(2) A high voltage can be easily obtained by connecting the strip-shaped battery cells 22a, 22b, and 22c in series and connecting adjacent battery cells at the ends.

(2) The number of battery components can be reduced by eliminating the need for conventional ink connectors. Therefore, manufacturing becomes easy and manufacturing costs can be reduced. In addition, reliability is improved by reducing the number of different copies.

Note that in the first embodiment, the substrate may be omitted and the structure shown in FIG. 3 may be adopted.

Example 2 Please refer to FIG. In the figure, the air electrode 26a of the battery cell 22a is bent downward at a right angle at the tip (right side). Further, the solid electrolyte layer 25a is bent at right angles at two places at the tip (right side) and extends to the lower end surface of the air electrode 26a. Therefore, unit cells 22a connected to each other
The air electrode 26a and the fuel electrode 24b of the unit cell 22b are partially sandwiched on both sides by the solid electrolyte layer 25a of the unit cell 22a and the solid electrolyte layer 25b of the unit cell 22b.

In addition, although the substrate was provided in the second embodiment, the substrate may be omitted as in the first embodiment.

Example 3 This will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

FIG. 4 shows, for example, three fuel cell panels 21a.

An assembly (module) of solid electrolyte fuel cells in which 22b and 21c are connected is shown. Here, each fuel cell panel 2
1a to 2c, a fuel electrode 24 and a solid electrolyte 2 are provided on a substrate 23.
5 and an air electrode 26 are stacked. In the figure, the air electrode 26 at the bottom layer of the panel 21a and the fuel electrode 24 of the panel 21b are connected to an airtight U-shaped conductor 31.
connected to the air electrode 2 on the top layer of the panel 21b.
6 and the fuel electrode 24 of the panel 21c are connected by an airtight U-shaped conductor 32. By connecting in this way, an air flow path 33 and a fuel gas flow path 34 are configured alternately. A non-conductive air inlet dispersion plate 35 and an air outlet dispersion plate 36 are provided at the inlet and outlet portions of the air flow path 33, respectively, so that the air is distributed evenly. A non-conductive fuel gas inlet distribution plate 3 is installed at the inlet and outlet of the air flow path 34 so that the fuel gas is distributed evenly.
7. A fuel gas outlet distribution plate 38 is provided.

FIG. 5 shows an assembly of solid electrolyte fuel cells constructed based on the connection state described above, and FIG.
A cross-sectional view along the X-ray is shown. In this assembly 39, air enters an inlet air chamber 41 from an inlet air manifold 40 disposed at two corners of the assembly 39, from which air is supplied to an air passage 33 between each fuel cell panel 21, and the exhaust air is flows from side to side at the ends of the U-shaped conductor and reaches the exhaust air manifold 42. From this, it is discharged out of the system, and from this it is exhausted outside the system. On the other hand, the fuel gas flows in the opposite direction to the air. That is, the inlet gas manifold 43 and the inlet fuel gas chamber 4
4, the exhaust gas is supplied to the fuel gas flow path 34 between each fuel cell panel 21, and the exhaust gas flows left and right through the ends of the conductor to reach the exhaust gas manifold 44, from which it is discharged to the outside. Note that the battery panel 2 sandwiching the air flow path condenser 3
According to the third embodiment, the fuel cell panels 21 are arranged in pairs so that the air electrodes face each other, and two battery panels 21 sandwiching the fuel gas flow path 34 are arranged opposite each other so that the fuel electrodes face each other. Since the structure is such that multiple panels 21 are stacked at appropriate intervals in the height direction and the ends of these panels 21 are connected using U-shaped conductors 31 and 32, the battery area in the same space is reduced. Compared to an assembly of cylindrical batteries, the voltage is increased by more than 10 times, and a high voltage can be obtained. Moreover, the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, the battery area in the same space is increased compared to the conventional battery, a high voltage can be easily obtained, and the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, so manufacturing costs can be reduced. A solid electrolyte fuel cell and an assembly thereof can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a solid oxide fuel cell according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of a solid oxide fuel cell according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. A cross-sectional view of the main parts of a solid electrolyte fuel cell according to another embodiment, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a connection state of a fuel cell panel according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. An explanatory diagram of such an assembly of solid oxide fuel cells, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line X-X in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional cylindrical columnar solid oxide fuel cell, and FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional cylindrical solid electrolyte fuel cell. 21.21a to 21c...fuel cell panel, 22a,
22b, 22cm...Fuel cell, 23-...Substrate,
24.24a, 24b--Fuel electrode, 25° 25a, 2
5b-Solid electrolyte, 26,26a. 26b, 26c...Air electrode, 31.32...Conductor, 33...Air flow path, 34...Fuel gas flow path, 35
...Air inlet distribution plate, 36...Air outlet distribution plate, 3
7... Fuel gas inlet distribution plate, 38... Fuel gas outlet distribution plate, 39... Assembly, 40... Inlet air manifold, 41... Inlet air chamber, 42... Exhaust air manifold , 43...Inlet gas manifold. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue (B) (C) Figure 8

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Consisting of a fuel cell in which a plurality of stacked bodies each consisting of at least three layers each consisting of a flat air electrode, a solid electrolyte, and a fuel electrode are arranged in rows in the horizontal direction, and adjacent cells are A solid body characterized in that either the air electrode or the fuel electrode is bent to connect the air electrode and the fuel electrode, and the air electrode and the fuel electrode are sandwiched from both sides by the solid electrolyte of the adjacent cell. Electrolyte fuel cell. (2) Consisting of a fuel cell in which a plurality of stacked bodies each consisting of at least three layers each consisting of a flat air electrode, a solid electrolyte, and a fuel electrode are arranged in a row in the horizontal direction; A solid electrolyte fuel cell is provided in which either the air electrode or the fuel electrode is bent to connect the air electrode and the fuel electrode, and the air electrode and the fuel electrode are sandwiched between the solid electrolytes of the adjacent cells from both sides. The fuel electrode of the upper fuel cell and the air electrode of the lower fuel cell, or the air electrode of the upper fuel cell and the fuel electrode of the lower fuel cell, are stacked one on top of the other with appropriate intervals in the height direction. An assembly of solid electrolyte fuel cells characterized by being connected by a type of conductor.