Enhanced bonding in fuel cells
View Patent ↗Methods, systems, and articles relating to enhanced bonding of layers in a planar fuel cell. A planar fuel cell having a composite layer is bonded to an outer layer (e.g., a fuel or fluid manifold) using intrusions that extend through an electrolyte layer and into an underlying layer (e.g., a substrate component or a current-collector component).
1. A planar fuel cell assembly comprising:
a composite layer that includes a plurality of interconnect components and a plurality of ion-conducting components;
a plurality of electrode components disposed on a first side and a second side of the composite layer, the electrode components including a plurality of anode components and a plurality of cathode components, wherein the first side is opposite the second side;
at least one intrusion formed in the first side of the composite layer, the at least one intrusion extending completely through a first electrode component and partly through the interconnect component underlying the first electrode component;
a first bonding component disposed in the at least one intrusion and contacting the first electrode component and the interconnect component underlying the first electrode component; and
a fluid manifold disposed over the at least one intrusion and bonded to the composite layer by the first bonding component.
2. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one intrusion is a channel.
3. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one intrusion is a cavity.
4. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one intrusion is formed at a right angle to the first side of the composite layer.
5. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one intrusion is formed at an angle to the first side of the composite layer that is less than 90 degrees.
6. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the composite layer includes at least two intrusions, including a first channel and a second channel, and wherein the first channel is formed at an angle to the first side of the composite layer that is less than 90 degrees and the second channel is formed at an angle to the first side of the composite layer that is greater than 90 degrees.
7. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the composite layer includes at least two intrusions, including a first channel and a second channel, and wherein the first channel and the second channel are both formed at an angle to the first side of the composite layer that is less than 90 degrees.
8. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one intrusion provides an insular gap between neighboring electrode components.
9. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the planar fuel cell assembly includes at least two channels formed in a single electrode component.
10. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the at least one feature includes a patterned anode component.
11. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , further including a second bonding component disposed over the first bonding component, wherein the second bonding component is different than the first bonding component and the second bonding component is bonded to the fluid manifold.
12. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 11 , wherein the first bonding component is less gas permeable than the second bonding component.
13. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 11 , wherein the first bonding component is more rigid than the second bonding component.
14. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 11 , wherein at least a portion of the first bonding component overlies the first side of the composite layer.
15. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the interconnect components each include at least one electron-conducting component and at least one dielectric component.
16. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 15 , wherein the intrusion extends into the dielectric component or the electron-conducting component.
17. The planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 , wherein the bonding component includes an adhesive material.
18. A method of generating power, the method comprising:
providing the planar fuel cell assembly of claim 1 ;
directing a fuel into a fluid plenum, wherein the fluid plenum is defined by the fluid manifold and the composite layer;
contacting the anode components with the fuel and the cathode components with an oxidant to generate power.