Methods of refurbishing components of a fuel cell stack

摘要

Methods for refurbishing components, such as interconnects of a fuel cell stack, include singulating the stack and removing the electrolyte, seals and oxide layer using non-mechanical methods. The various methods of may be used either singly or in combination.

主权项

1. A method of singulating a fuel cell stack, comprising:
providing the fuel cell stack comprising a plurality of layers; and singulating the fuel cell stack using a non-mechanical method to remove at least one layer of the plurality of layers from the fuel cell stack; wherein the non-mechanical method comprises:
directing radiation energy at a portion of the fuel cell stack containing the layer to induce uneven heating in the stack; andremoving the layer from the fuel cell stack; and wherein the radiation energy is configured to non-uniformly heat the layer relative to an adjacent portion of the fuel cell stack to induce thermal shock in the layer and to crack a sealing material that adheres the layer to the stack.