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Permeability and Microstructure of Suspension Plasma-Sprayed YSZ Electrolytes for SOFCs on Various Substrates

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Abstract

Yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolyte coatings for solid oxide fuel cells were deposited by suspension plasma spraying using a range of spray conditions and a variety of substrates, including finely structured porous stainless steel disks and cathode layers on stainless steel supports. Electrolyte permeability values and trends were found to be highly dependent on which substrate was used. The most gas-tight electrolyte coatings were those deposited directly on the porous metal disks. With this substrate, permeability was reduced by increasing the torch power and reducing the stand-off distance to produce dense coating microstructures. On the substrates with cathodes, electrolyte permeability was reduced by increasing the stand-off distance, which reduced the formation of segmentation cracks and regions of aligned and concentrated porosity. The formation mechanisms of the various permeability-related coating features are discussed and strategies for reducing permeability are presented. The dependences of electrolyte deposition efficiency and surface roughness on process conditions and substrate properties are also presented.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Centre for Advanced Coating Technologies (CACT) for allowing us to use their facilities at the University of Toronto, and would like to thank Tiegang Li for his assistance with plasma spraying, and Jeff Harris for his help in preparing the cathodes. Research and salary funding were provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the International Thermal Spray Association (ITSA) graduate scholarship. Equipment funding was provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Ontario Ministry for Research and Innovation.

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  1. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Michael Marr & Olivera Kesler

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  1. Michael Marr
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Correspondence to Olivera Kesler.

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Marr, M., Kesler, O. Permeability and Microstructure of Suspension Plasma-Sprayed YSZ Electrolytes for SOFCs on Various Substrates. J Therm Spray Tech 21, 1334–1346 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-012-9829-z

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