The Thickness Measurement of Electrolyte Cast on Mylar Film.
EMSL Project ID
20495
Abstract
The Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a device converting chemical fuels directly into electrical power. In recent years, considerable advances have been made regarding SOFC technologies. However, more investigations and improvements are still required for SOFC to replace the conventional power generation devices, for example, internal combustion engines. The Energy Materials department at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is investigating the performance of SOFC with a major automotive supplier. As a part of the investigation, SOFCs are made in PNNL for the experiments according to the industrial standard. However, the quality, especially the thickness variation, of the electrolyte cast on Mylar film, which allows faster production of the electrolyte than the glass plate is not yet satisfactory. During last six months, the Mylar casting system has been modified and improved to yield a better quality of casting of electrolyte. For a better evaluation of the improvement, the thickness variation of the electrolyte cast by the new Mylar casting system needs to be quantified. In this project, the thickness variation of the electrolyte film cast by the new Mylar casting system will be optically measured. As a comparison, the thickness variation of the electrolyte film cast by the old Mylar casting system will also be optically measured. Finally, the thickness variation of the Mylar used for the casting of electrolyte will be measured. The results of this project will be beneficial to achieve a better quality of electrolyte, which eventually contribute to the better performance of SOFC.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2006-07-28
End Date
2007-02-12
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members