Abstract
Solid oxide fuel cell are being widely considered as the promising answer to the fossil energy decrease. To achieve high efficiency and longevity for SOFC stack it is essential to maintain stable hermetic sealing. In order to obtain an efficient airtightness between two SOFC layers, the authors had developed a solid seal composed with a ceramic matrix charged with glass particles. The seal is plasma-sprayed using low-cost manufacturing methods such as atmospheric plasma spraying. This technical deposit can be plasma-sprayed on a wide range of substrates: whatever its nature and shape. It is solid, distortable and adhesive to its support at ambient temperature. The sealing properties are acquired when the SOFC is put into service: the glassy phase migrates into the peculiar plasma-sprayed microstructure of the ceramic matrix towards the interface involving the airtightness. The performance of this seal are pretty good: the leak rate observed at 70 mbar is 0.0042 mbar.l/s whereas the preconisation of the US Department of Energy is 0.005 mbar.l/s.
