Plasma facing components in future thermonuclear fusion devices will be subjected to intense transient thermal loads due to Edge Localized Modes (type I ELMs), plasma disruptions etc.. To exclude irreversible damage to the divertor targets, local energy deposition must remain below the damage threshold for the selected wall materials. For monolithic tungsten (pure tungsten and tungsten alloys) power densities above 0.3 GW/m² with 1 ms duration result in the formation of a dense crack network. Thin tungsten coatings for the so-called ITER-like wall in JET, which have been deposited on a 2-directional carbon-fiber composite (CFC) material, are even less resistant to thermal shock damage; here the threshold values are by a factor of 2 lower. First ELM-simulation experiments with high cycle numbers up to 10 4 cycles on actively cooled bulk tungsten targets do not reveal any cracks for absorbed power densities up to 0.2 GW/m² and ELM-durations in the submillisecond range (0.8 ms); at somewhat higher power densities (0.27 GW/m 2 , Δt = 0.5 ms) cracks have been detected for 10 6 cycles.
The persistent problems with Ni-YSZ cermet based SOFCs, with respect to redox stability and tolerance towards sulfur has stimulated the development of a full ceramic cell based on strontium titanate(ST)-based anodes and anode support materials, within the EU FCH JU project SCOTAS-SOFC. Three different compositions (La, Y and Nb substituted ST) have been developed as anode backbones for either 25 cm 2 or larger than 100 cm 2 cell areas. Cell performances, once infiltrated with suitable electro catalysts, exhibited a maximum power density of 0.5 W/cm 2 at 850 °C. While the ST based backbone remains intact and tolerant to redox cycles, cell performance degradation appears linked to the infiltrated electro catalysts. The materials have also been assessed with respect to their electrical and mechanical properties, in order to further evaluate their potential use as anode and anode support layers in SOFCs.
All ceramic anode supported half cells of technically relevant scale were fabricated in this study, using a novel strontium titanate anode material. The use of this material would be highly advantageous in solid oxide fuel cells due to its redox tolerance and resistance to coking and sulphur poisoning. Successful fabrication was possible through aqueous tape casting of both anode support and electrolyte layers and subsequent lamination. Screen printing of electrolyte layers onto green anode tapes was also attempted but resulted in cracked electrolyte layers upon firing. Microstructural, electrical and mechanical properties of anode supports and half cells will be discussed. The use of two different commercial titanate powders with nominal identical, but in reality different stoichiometries, strongly affect electrical and mechanical properties. Careful consideration of such variations between powder suppliers, and batches of the same supplier, is critical for the successful implementation of ceramic anode supported solid oxide fuel cells.
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