Fabrication of Supports for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells by Powder Injection Molding

In this paper the processing steps for producing SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) supports by means of PIM (Powder Injection Molding) technique were investigated. Injection molding parameters in this study were divided into pressure-related (injection pressure and packing pressure), temperature-related (nozzle temperature and mold temperature), and time-related (injection rate and holding time) parameters. Keeping the other parameters (pressure-related, temperature-related and time-related parameters) constant at an optimized value, the effects of each of the molding parameters above were investigated. The results show that the short shot, warpage, weld line and void are the most common defects in molded parts. According to the results the short shot could be seen in low values of injection pressure, injection rate, nozzle and mold temperature. Also, warpage could be seen in high values of mold temperature, injection and packing pressure. Poor weld line was another defect that could be seen in low values of injection pressure, injection rate, nozzle and mold temperature. Also the void was one of the most common defects that could be seen in high values of injection rate and nozzle temperatures. Finally, using optimized molding parameters, the molded parts underwent debinding and sintering processes. Based on the results of thermal shock tests and the porosity measurements of the sintered parts, these molded parts possessed relatively desirable characteristics.