Residual stress and plastic strain analysis in the brazed joint of bonded compliant seal design in planar solid oxide fuel cell

This paper uses finite element method (FEM) to predict the residual stress and plastic strain in the brazed joint of sealing foil-to-window frame in bonded compliant seal (BCS) design in a planar solid oxide fuel cell (PSOFC). The effects of window frame material type, sealing foil thickness, filler metal thickness and window frame thickness on residual stress and plastic strain are discussed. Large residual stress is generated in the joint, and the stress and strain are concentrated around the fillet. It is proved that the BCS design can mitigate and trap some residual stress by plastic deformation within the sealing foil. The residual stress and the ability of trapping stress of sealing foil are affected by window frame material and structure thickness. Based on the comprehensive considerations of the impact of residual stress and plastic strain, Alloy 625 as a window frame material is found to be better than Haynes 214, Hastelloy X and SUS 316L. The optimum thickness of sealing foil and filler metal BNi2 are found to be 150 μm and 75 μm, respectively. The residual stress and plastic strain are increased with the increase of window frame thickness.