KR101008057B1 - Apparatus and method for testing defects of electrolyte membrane and cell for SOFC using high voltage - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection apparatus and an inspection method for a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) capable of detecting and measuring a defect of a test object regardless of the thickness, shape, and camber of the test object. An electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection apparatus for an SOFC according to an aspect of the present invention, the upper multi-brob and the lower multi-probe contacted to the upper and lower surfaces of the test object, respectively, and applied with a high voltage; And a high voltage supply and leakage current measuring device for supplying a high voltage to the upper and lower multi probes, and detecting a leakage current generated between upper and lower multi probes contacting the test object when a high voltage is applied between the upper and lower multi probes.

Solid oxide fuel cell, electrolyte membrane, cell, defect

Description

Apparatus and method for testing defects of electrolyte membrane and cell for SOFC using high voltage}

The present invention relates to a device and an inspection method for inspecting defects of cells and electrolyte membranes used in a solid oxide fuel cell (hereinafter, referred to as SOFC), and in particular, to a test object using a multi-probe having a clearance. The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus and an inspection method capable of detecting and measuring a defect of an inspection object by applying a high voltage to the (cell or electrolyte membrane) regardless of the thickness, shape, or camber of the inspection object.

The fuel cell is an electrochemical high efficiency and pollution-free power generation device that generates electricity by using ion conduction induced in the electrolyte membrane by supplying fuel gas and air as oxidant, respectively, to the anode and the cathode, which are two electrode plates located on both sides of the dense electrolyte membrane. to be. Among various types of fuel cells, a fuel cell using a solid oxide as an electrolyte membrane material is called a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). In general, SOFCs are classified into cylindrical, flat plate, and integral type according to their shape. In particular, active research is being conducted because flat SOFCs are lower in manufacturing cost, higher in power density, and easier to fabricate and are suitable for mass production than cylindrical or integrated ones. In the case of a flat SOFC, the manufacture of a dense electrolyte membrane is important because there is a crack or a hole in the electrolyte membrane, which greatly degrades the performance and life of the stack when a crossover of fuel gas and air occurs.

For example, there are significant levels of microscopic or macroscopic defects in the thickness direction of electrolyte membranes in anode supported cells (also called ASCs) or electrolyte supported cells (also referred to as 'ESCs'). In this case, a crossover in which fuel gas and air are allowed to penetrate the cell may occur, which may make it impossible to operate the SOFC. The cathode and anode of the SOFC cell have a porous structure to allow fuel gas and air to pass through, but the electrolyte membrane should have a compact structure to prevent crossover. Therefore, it is very important to ensure the reliability of the SOFC stack by inspecting for the presence of cracks or holes penetrating the electrolyte membrane in advance.

As a defect inspection method of a ceramic sheet, such as an electrolyte membrane for SOFC, generally, air permeability inspection method using gas permeation, permeability inspection method using water absorption, bubble inspection method using alcohol solution, inspection method using light transmission, and the like are known. Although the above methods are widely used as defect inspection methods for SOFC electrolyte membranes, the qualitative level of inspection methods are still largely used, and the inspection methods are complicated and require a long time.

In addition, a method of detecting a defect of a ceramic sheet through a leakage current measurement by applying a high voltage has been proposed. In this case, the defects of the electrolyte membrane are examined by attaching the conductive polymer and the plate-shaped electrode plate over and under the planar electrolyte membrane, which is a test object. However, such a method may cause uneven contact of the electrode plate depending on the surface roughness of the object. There is a problem that an electrode plate suitable for the shape of the test object should be used. In particular, as the width of the test object becomes wider, the shape suitability of the electrode plate decreases. In addition, there is a risk that the conductive polymer layer is easily deteriorated by the application of high voltage, and only the presence or absence of a defect in the electrolyte membrane may be confirmed, and in particular, there may be a disadvantage in which the defect is present.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above, it is possible to accurately and easily inspect the defects in the thickness direction of the electrolyte membrane or cell for a solid oxide fuel cell irrespective of the thickness, shape, shape, etc. of the test object. It is possible to provide an inspection apparatus and inspection method capable of measuring the defect position effectively.

An electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection apparatus for a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) according to an aspect of the present invention, the upper multi-brob and the lower multi-probe contacted to the upper and lower surfaces of the test object, respectively, and applied with a high voltage; And a high voltage supply and leakage current measuring device for supplying a high voltage to the upper and lower multi probes, and detecting a leakage current generated between upper and lower multi probes contacting the test object when a high voltage is applied between the upper and lower multi probes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the high voltage supply and leakage current measuring device may be a Hi-Pot tester for applying a high voltage between the upper and lower multi-probes and measuring the leakage current.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the SOFC electrolyte membrane and cell inspection apparatus further comprises an upper probe support having a plurality of through holes arranged between the upper multi probe and the test object and aligned with the lower multi probe. It may include. The upper multi probe may be inserted into a through hole of the upper probe support when the high voltage is applied to contact the upper surface of the test object in a state aligned with the lower multi probe.

According to an embodiment, the upper multi probe may be a nonmagnetic probe, the upper probe support may be a permanent magnet, and the lower multi probe may be a magnetic probe. When the upper and lower multi probes contact the test object, the upper multi probe may contact the upper surface of the test object by its own weight, and the lower multi probe may be dragged into the test object by the magnetic force of the probe support. .

According to another embodiment, the lower multi probe is formed of a plurality of spring probes, each of which may have a spring member and a probe tip disposed at one end of the spring member. When the upper and lower multi-probes contact the test object, the upper multi-probe contacts the upper surface of the test object by its own weight, and the lower multi-probe contacts the probe by restoring force of the spring member by pressing the upper probe support. The tip may contact the bottom of the test object.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the high voltage supply and leakage current measuring device may adjust the voltage supply to the upper and lower multi-probes so as to apply a high voltage to only some of the upper and lower multi-probes.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the SOFC electrolyte membrane and the cell inspection apparatus may further include a switching power system for converting a method of applying a high voltage applied between the upper and lower multi-probes.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection method for an SOFC may include: applying a high voltage between the upper and lower multi-probes while contacting the upper and lower multi-probes to the upper and lower surfaces of a test object, respectively; And detecting a leakage current generated when the high voltage is applied.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the SOFC electrolyte membrane and cell inspection method, the upper probe support having a plurality of through-holes aligned in the vertical direction with the lower multi-probe between the upper multi-probe and the test object. It may further comprise the step of placing. The upper multi probe may be inserted into a through hole of the upper probe support when the high voltage is applied to contact the upper surface of the test object in a state aligned with the lower multi probe.

According to the present invention, regardless of the thickness, shape, shape, camber of the inspection object, it is possible to accurately inspect whether the inspection object is defective. In addition, the location or number of defects as well as defects of the inspection object may be accurately measured, and the entire area and a portion of the inspection object may be inspected in real time before cell fabrication or cell stack fabrication.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art.

1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of an electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection device for a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a multi-bbe in contact with the test object in the inspection device of FIG. It is a schematic diagram showing a lobe.

Referring to FIG. 1, the SOFC electrolyte membrane and the cell inspection apparatus 100 may include an upper multi probe 4 and a lower multi probe 5 disposed above and below a test object 7 such as an electrolyte membrane or a cell. Include. The upper multi probe 4 and the lower multi-brob 5 each have a plurality of probes. When testing the electrolyte membrane or the cell, which is the test object 7, the upper and lower multi probes 4 and 5 are disposed to sandwich the test object 7 between the upper and lower multi probes 4 and 5, and the upper and lower multi probes 4 and 5. The high voltage is applied between the upper and lower multi-probes 4 and 5 in the state in which) is in contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the test object 7, respectively.

In order to apply a high voltage between the upper and lower multi probes 4 and 5 and to measure the leakage current (discharge current) in the test object 7, the upper and lower multi probes 4 and 5 are provided with a high voltage supply and leakage current measuring device 1. Is connected to. The high voltage supply and leakage current measuring device 1 may include a DC high voltage power supply and a leakage current detector. As the high voltage supply and leakage current measuring device 1, a Hi-Pot tester used as a breakdown voltage tester may be used. In this embodiment, the high pot tester 1 is applied to apply a high voltage between the upper and lower multi probes 4 and 5, and the leakage current generated between the upper and lower multi probes 4 and 5 is measured.

When no holes or through defects exist in the electrolyte membrane or cell for SOFC, which is the test object 7, since the test object 7 is insulative, no current flows between the upper and lower multi-probes 4 and 5, but the test object ( If a hole or a through defect exists in 7), a discharge current (leakage current) is generated when a high voltage is applied through the defect, and the leakage current is detected by the high pot tester 1.

In addition, the upper probe support 6 may be installed between the upper multi probe 4 and the test object 7. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper probe support 6 has a plurality of through holes 6a aligned with the lower multi-probe 5. When a high voltage is applied to inspect the test object 7, the upper multi probe 4 is inserted into the through hole 6a of the upper probe support 6 to be aligned with the lower multi probe 5. ) It may be in contact with the upper surface. Through this upper probe support configuration, the position alignment can be accurately made between the upper and lower probes.

Referring to FIG. 2, the contact and position alignment of the upper and lower multi probes 4 and 5 and the test object 7 will be described as follows. In the present embodiment, in particular, the upper multi probe 4 is a nonmagnetic probe, the upper probe support 6 is made of a permanent magnet, and the lower multi probe 5 is a magnetic probe. For the examination, when the upper multi probe 4 approaches the test object 7 while being inserted into the through hole 6a of the upper probe support 6, the lower multi multi material of the magnetic body under the test object 7 is provided. The probe 5 is pulled toward the test object 7 by the magnetic force of the upper probe support 6 made of a permanent magnet, moves vertically, and comes into contact with the test object 7 naturally. In addition, the upper multi probe 4 contacts the upper surface of the test object 7 by its own weight (self-weight) while being inserted into the through hole 6a. The lower multi-probe 5 may be arranged to be vertically movable while being inserted into a through hole of a lower probe support (not shown) having a structure similar to that of the upper probe support 6.

As described above, through the magnetic force between the magnetic body (lower multi-probe) and the permanent magnet (upper probe support) and through-hole 6a configuration aligned with the lower multi-probe 5, the upper and lower multi-probes 4, 5 are precisely formed. The test object 7 can be reliably contacted in an aligned state. In particular, even when the test object is bent like a camber or there is a thickness variation of the test object, the alignment between the upper and lower multi-probes 4 and 5 and the contact with the test object 7 can be easily realized.

The inspection apparatus 100 may include a switching power system 3 for converting a method of applying a high voltage applied between the upper and lower multi probes 4 and 5. The switching power system 3 can control various high voltage application methods. In addition, it is possible to control the operation of the high pot tester 1 and the switching power system 3 through the control computer 2 to adjust the test method and the result, and to automatically operate the test apparatus 100.

In the upper multi-probe 4 or the lower multi-probe 5, the spacing and number between each probe can be added or subtracted according to the inspection accuracy. The inspection time may be adjusted using a stepping motor (see reference numeral 10 of FIG. 6) for vertical movement of the upper or lower multi probe. During the inspection, a high voltage of 0.05 to 20 kV may be applied between the upper and lower multi probes 4 and 5, and the leakage current may be measured in the range of 0.01 to 10 mA. In addition, ramp up and inspection times can be adjusted accordingly.

The application of the high voltage by the high pot tester 1 during the inspection of the test object 7 may be variously adjusted such that the high voltage is applied to all of the upper and lower multi-probes, some of the probes, or only a specific probe. Therefore, not only the inspection of the entire area of the inspection object 7 but also the inspection of the local region of the inspection object 7 can be performed, and the position and number of defects can be determined in real time, so that the inspection reliability is high. Particularly, the leakage current measurement and defect analysis can be performed at the same time as the high pot tester 1 is applied, and the monitor (not shown) connected to the high pot tester 1 allows the user to detect the presence or absence of a defect in real time. I can figure it out.

FIG. 3 is a view schematically showing the configuration of an electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection device for a solid oxide fuel cell according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a multi-brobe contacting a test object in the inspection device of FIG. 3. It is a schematic diagram.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the lower multi-probe 50 is configured as a spring probe for stable contact between the lower multi-probe 50 and the test object 7 during the test. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, each spring probe has a spring member and a probe tip formed at one end of the spring member. In this embodiment, the upper probe support 60 need not be permanent magnetic, the lower multi probe 50 need not be magnetic, and the upper multi probe 4 need not be nonmagnetic.

Like the above-described embodiment (FIG. 1), the upper multi probe 4 may contact the upper surface of the test subject 1 by its own weight while being inserted into the through hole 60a of the upper probe support 60. However, the lower multi-probe 50 may naturally contact the probe tip of the lower multi-probe with the back of the test object 7 through the restoring force of the spring member by the pressing of the upper probe support 60. The description of other components is the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the external appearance of the inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a view schematically showing the upper and lower multi-brove assemblies in the inspection apparatus of FIG. 5. The test apparatus 100 or 101 illustrated in FIG. 1 or 3 may be implemented as a Hi-Pot Test Station system of the type shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the high pot test station, the upper probe assembly 14 and the lower probe assembly 14, 15 are disposed spaced apart from each other vertically. An inspection object such as an electrolyte membrane or a cell may be disposed between the upper and lower probe assemblies 15. The upper probe assembly 14 includes the upper multi probe 4 and the upper probe support 6 or 60 described above, and the lower probe assembly 15 includes the lower multi probe 5 or 50. An upper probe PCB 13 and a lower probe PCB 16 are installed above the upper probe assembly 14 and below the lower probe assembly 15 to provide a circuit necessary for probe operation.

As shown in FIG. 6, a stepping motor 10 may be installed to vertically move the upper or lower probe assemblies 14 and 15 through the LM guide 11. For example, the lower probe assembly 15 may be in a fixed state, and the upper probe assembly 14 may be lowered by the stepping motor 10 and the LM guide 11 so that the multi probe may contact the test object. have. The inspection time may be adjusted by controlling the movement of the upper or lower probe assembly 14, 15 through the operation control of the stepping motor 10.

By using the above-described inspection apparatus (100, 101) it is possible to inspect the electrolyte membrane for SOFC or the cell of 200 ~ 1200㎛ thickness of 10 ~ 500㎛ thickness. The test object that can be inspected by the test apparatus 100 or 101 is not limited to a thickness, a shape, a camber, or the like. In particular, the inspection apparatus (100, 101) is capable of defect inspection of all parts of the ESC cell 19, the honeycomb structure (20) is formed on the surface and the thickness deviation exists as shown in FIG. . In addition, by using the above-described inspection apparatus (100, 101), it is possible to accurately inspect the defect of the ASC cell (for example, ASC cell of InDec) 21 having a flat structure as shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, a process of inspecting a defect of an electrolyte membrane or a cell using the above-described SOFC electrolyte membrane and cell inspection apparatus 100 or 101 will be described.

First, the test object 7, that is, the electrolyte membrane or the cell, is disposed on the lower multi probe 5 or 50. In this case, the probe tips of the lower multi probes 5 or 50 may be slightly spaced apart from the lower surface of the test object 7. For example, the test object 7 may be placed on the upper surface of the lower probe support while the lower multi probe 5 or 50 is supported by the lower probe support (not shown) having a structure similar to the upper probe support 6.

Thereafter, the upper probe support 6 or 60 is disposed between the upper multi probe 4 and the test object 7, and the upper multi probe 4 is placed through the hole 6a or the upper probe support 6 or 60. In the state inserted into 60a), it descends toward the lower multiprobe 5 or 50 and approaches the lower multiprobe. The through holes 6a or 60a of the upper probe support 6 or 60 are aligned vertically with the lower multi probe 5 or 50, and the lower multi probe 5 or 50 is fixed in the horizontal direction but vertical It is possible to move (see FIG. 6). The vertical movement of the upper multi probe 4 may be automatically performed through the stepping motor 10 and the LM guide 11 as shown in FIG. 6.

In this case, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower multi-probe 5 is pulled up by the magnetic force between the lower multi-probe 5, which is a magnetic probe, and the upper probe support 6, which is a permanent magnet. It makes stable contact with the lower surface of In addition, the upper multi-probe 4 comes into contact with the upper surface of the test object 7 by its own weight in the state of being inserted into the through hole 6a of the upper probe support 6. In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper multi probe 4 contacts the upper surface of the test object 7 by its own weight while being inserted into the through hole 60a of the upper probe support 60, but the lower multi probe 50, the probe tip is in contact with the lower surface of the test object 7 through the restoring force of the spring member by the pressing of the upper probe support 60 into which the upper multi probe 4 is inserted. In both embodiments, the upper and lower multi-probes are stably in contact with the test object 7 while being correctly aligned.

Thereafter, a high voltage is applied from the high pot tester 1 between the upper and lower multi probes while the upper and lower multi probes 4, 5 or 50 are in contact with the test object 7. As such, the high pot tester 1 detects a leakage current generated between the upper and lower multi-probes when the high voltage is applied. From the detection result of this leakage current, the defect zone part, the defect position, and the number of defects of the test object 7 can be measured.

Example

Defect inspection was performed on the ESC cells (eg, Nextech's ESC cells) as shown in FIG. 7 using the inspection apparatus of FIG. 1, and the results as shown in Table 1 below were confirmed.

Inspection cell High voltage application condition Leakage current reference result Nextech ESC Cell
N-174, 130 pieces 2 kV 100㎂ 12% defective

In Table 1, by performing a fluorescence test at the site where the defective location is found for the defective cells, it was possible to confirm the actual crack of the defective cells. 9 (a) and 9 (b) are cell surface photographs taken after the fluorescence test for samples determined as defective cells by Examples. As shown in FIG. 9, the actual cracking areas 17, 18 are clearly shown. In addition, by applying Pt paste on both sides of the cell determined to be defective cells according to the embodiment and confirming the energization, the reliability of the inspection method according to the embodiment could be finally confirmed. In the above test, no defects were found in the cells, even when the Pt paste was applied. Therefore, it can be seen that the present embodiment can evaluate defects with high reliability regardless of the shape of the electrolyte membrane or cell for SOFC.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and the accompanying drawings, but is intended to be limited by the appended claims, and that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention described in the claims. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of an electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection device for a solid oxide fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a multi-brobe contacting a test object in the test apparatus of FIG. 1.

3 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection device for a solid oxide fuel cell according to another embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a multi-brobe contacting a test object in the test apparatus of FIG. 3.

5 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram showing the appearance of a test apparatus (Hi-Pot Test Station) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a view schematically showing the upper and lower multi-brob assembly in the inspection device of FIG.

7 is a surface photograph of an ESC cell having a thickness variation in a honeycomb structure.

8 is a surface photograph of an ASC cell having a flat structure.

FIG. 9 is a cell surface photograph of a defective cell in which a leakage current is measured after a test according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention with a fluorescent solution.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: Hi-Pot tester 2: Control computer

3: switching power system

4: upper multi probe 5, 50: lower multi probe

6, 60: upper probe support 7: test object

9: safety cover 10: stepping motor

11: LM Guide 12: High Voltage Relay

13: upper probe PCB 14: lower probe assembly

15: Lower probe assembly 16: Lower probe PCB

17: The crack site shown in the defective cell sample 1 after the test according to the embodiment

18: Cracked site shown in the defective cell sample 2 after the test according to the embodiment

19: ESC cell 20: Honeycomb structure of ESC cell

21: ASC Cell

Claims (11)

An upper multi probe and a lower multi probe contacting the upper and lower surfaces of the test object to apply a high voltage; An upper probe supporter disposed between the upper multi probe and the test object and having a plurality of through holes aligned with the lower multi probe; And Supplying a high voltage to the upper and lower multi-probe, and includes a leakage current measuring device generated between the upper and lower multi-probe in contact with the test object when a high voltage is applied between the upper and lower multi-probe And the upper multi probe is inserted into a through hole of the upper probe support when the high voltage is applied and contacts the upper surface of the test object in a state aligned with the lower multi probe. The method of claim 1, The high voltage supply and leakage current measuring device is a high pot tester for applying a high voltage between the upper and lower multi-probe and the leakage current measuring device for the electrolyte membrane and cell inspection device for a solid oxide fuel cell. delete The method of claim 1, The upper multi probe is a nonmagnetic probe, the upper probe support is made of a permanent magnet, the lower multi probe is a magnetic probe, When the upper and lower multi probes contact the test object, the upper multi probe contacts the upper surface of the test object by its own weight, and the lower multi probe is attracted to the test object by the magnetic force of the upper probe support. An electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection device for a solid oxide fuel cell. The method of claim 1, The lower multi probe is formed of a plurality of spring probes, each of the spring probes includes a spring member and a probe tip disposed at one end of the spring member, When the upper and lower multi-probes contact the test object, the upper multi-probe contacts the upper surface of the test object by its own weight, and the lower multi-probe contacts the probe by restoring force of the spring member by pressing the upper probe support. The electrolyte membrane and cell inspection device for a solid oxide fuel cell, characterized in that the tip is in contact with the lower surface of the test object. The method of claim 1, The high voltage supply and leakage current measuring device controls the voltage supply to the upper and lower multi-probe to apply a high voltage to only some of the upper and lower multi-probe, the electrolyte membrane and cell inspection device for a solid oxide fuel cell. The method of claim 1, And a switching power system for converting a method of applying a high voltage applied between the upper and lower multi-probes. delete Disposing an upper probe support having a plurality of through holes aligned in a vertical direction with the lower multi probe between the upper multi probe and the test object; Inserting the upper multi probe into the through hole of the upper probe support to align with the lower multi probe; Applying a high voltage between the upper and lower multi-probes while the upper multi-probe and the lower multi-probe are in contact with the upper and lower surfaces of the test object, respectively; And Electrolytic membrane and cell inspection method for a solid oxide fuel cell comprising detecting a leakage current generated between the upper and lower multi-probe when the high voltage is applied 10. The method of claim 9, The upper multi probe is a nonmagnetic probe, the upper probe support is made of a permanent magnet, the lower multi probe is a magnetic probe, When the upper and lower multi probes contact the test object, the upper multi probe contacts the upper surface of the test object by its own weight, and the lower multi probe is attracted to the test object by the magnetic force of the upper probe support. An electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection method for a solid oxide fuel cell. 10. The method of claim 9, The lower multi probe is formed of a plurality of spring probes, each of the spring probes includes a spring member and a probe tip disposed at one end of the spring member, When the upper and lower multi-probe contacts the test object, the upper multi-probe contacts the test object upper surface by its own weight, and the lower multi-probe is the tip of the probe through the restoring force of the spring member by the pressing of the upper probe support. An electrolyte membrane and a cell inspection method for a solid oxide fuel cell, wherein the surface of the test object is in contact with the bottom surface of the test object.

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