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Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol.153, No.10, A1873-A1879, 2006
Investigation of modified Ni-Cr-Mn base alloys for SOFC interconnect applications
Two Ni-Cr-Mn base alloys based on Haynes 230 were developed and evaluated against criteria relevant to solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) interconnect applications, which included oxidation behavior under SOFC operating conditions, scale electrical conductivity, and thermal expansion. It was found that, when exposed to air at both sides, the Ni-Cr-Mn alloys formed a scale, containing M3O4 (M = Mn, Cr, Ni, etc.) spinels and Cr2O3 as well as some NiO. When exposed to air at one side and hydrogen at the other, however, the scales grown on these alloys at the air side were similar to the ferritic stainless steel Crofer22 APU, comprised of only a M3O4 (M = Mn, Cr, Ni, etc.) spinel-rich top layer and Cr2O3-rich sublayer. The modified alloys demonstrated reasonable oxidation resistance under SOFC operating conditions, though the Mn additions increased the scale growth rate and thus sacrificed to some extent the oxidation resistance of the base alloy (Haynes 230). The formation of a spinel-rich top layer improved the scale conductivity, especially during the early stages of oxidation, but the higher scale growth rate resulted in a higher rate of increase in the area-specific electrical resistance. In addition, the Ni-Cr-Mn base alloys demonstrated a coefficient of thermal expansion higher than that of anode-supported cells and ferritic stainless steel candidates. (c) 2006 The Electrochemical Society.