Cell stack evaluation device and cell stack evaluation method

Abstract

The aim is to provide a cell stack evaluation device that can monitor the temperature distribution of the cell stack inside a furnace in detail and over a wide area while preventing uneven temperature distribution during performance evaluation. [Solution] The system comprises a heating furnace 2 for heating the cell stack CS to be evaluated, and a temperature measuring unit 4 for measuring the temperature of the cell stack CS. The heating furnace 2 is provided with a window 3, and the temperature measuring unit 4 measures the temperature of the cell stack CS inside the heating furnace 2 from outside the furnace through the window 3. The window 3 is an airtight window that transmits infrared rays, and the temperature measuring unit 4 is a radiation thermometer that measures the temperature by capturing infrared rays emitted from the surface of the cell stack outside the window 3.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an evaluation device for a cell stack and an evaluation method thereof.

Background Art

[0002] The performance of a cell stack such as a solid oxide fuel cell stack or a solid oxide electrolysis cell stack (SOFC / SOEC) is greatly influenced by the degree of non-uniformity of the temperature distribution. Therefore, even in the scenario of evaluating the performance of a cell stack, monitoring the temperature distribution of the operating cell stack is very important for accurately quantitatively evaluating the original performance of the cell stack. As a general approach, the temperature distribution is simply monitored by dotting temperature sensors such as thermocouples and thermistors on the surface of the operating cell stack (see, for example, Patent Document 1, etc.).

[0003] However, since temperature sensors such as thermocouples and thermistors can only measure the representative temperature of a small area around the installation point, they are insufficient for monitoring a more detailed and extensive temperature distribution. Although it is theoretically possible to obtain the temperature distribution by arranging a large number of such temperature sensors comprehensively, it takes a long time for the installation work, is very messy, costly, and not practical.

[0004] In addition, when a large number of temperature sensors such as thermocouples and thermistors are provided on the surface of the cell stack, the lead wires of these temperature sensors meet inside and outside the furnace, so the lead wires and the holes for the meeting become heat dissipation paths, taking away the heat of the cell stack and causing non-uniformity of the temperature distribution.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a cell stack evaluation device that can monitor the temperature distribution of the cell stack inside the furnace in detail and over a wide area while preventing the occurrence of unevenness in the temperature distribution during performance evaluation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] This invention encompasses the following inventions. (1) A cell stack evaluation apparatus comprising a heating furnace for heating a cell stack to be evaluated, and a temperature measuring unit for measuring the temperature of the cell stack, wherein the heating furnace is provided with a window, and the temperature measuring unit measures the temperature of the cell stack inside the heating furnace from outside the furnace through the window.

[0008] (2) The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to (1), wherein the cell stack is a solid oxide fuel cell stack or a solid oxide electrolytic cell stack.

[0009] (3) The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the window is an airtight window that transmits infrared rays, and the temperature measuring unit consists of a radiation thermometer that measures the temperature by capturing infrared rays emitted from the surface of the cell stack outside the window.

[0010] (4) The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the furnace body portion of the heating furnace provided with the window is configured to be rotatable around the cell stack installed inside the cell stack with respect to the position of the cell stack.

[0011] (5) The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the temperature measuring unit comprises a thermometer capable of detecting the temperature distribution of the cell stack surface to be measured.

[0012] (6) The window faces at least the top surface and two sides of the cell stack, (1) Cell stack evaluation apparatus as described above.

[0013] (7) The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to (6), wherein the heating furnace is substantially rectangular in shape, having a notch formed by cutting off at least one vertex angle of a rectangular parallelepiped, and the window is provided in the notch.

[0014] (8) The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to (7), wherein the notch having the window is provided at at least one of the four vertex angles on the upper surface side of the heating furnace.

[0015] (9) The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to (7) or (8), wherein the window is triangular in shape corresponding to the shape of the notch.

[0016] (10) The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to (7), wherein the notch having the window is provided at two or more of the four vertex angles on the upper surface side of the heating furnace.

[0017] (11) The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to (3), wherein the temperature measuring unit has a correction unit that corrects for the influence of infrared radiation emitted from inside the furnace other than the cell stack surface on the temperature measurement.

[0018] (12) The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to (3), comprising an infrared heater, a directional reflector that directs the infrared rays emitted from the infrared heater, and a drive mechanism that changes the position or orientation of the directional reflector, and having a local heating unit that locally heats the cell stack inside the furnace from outside the window, and having a control unit that controls the operation of the drive mechanism by the local heating unit so that the surface temperature of the cell stack becomes uniform according to the temperature distribution of the cell stack surface measured by the temperature measuring unit.

[0019] (13) A cell stack evaluation method, comprising a heating furnace for heating a cell stack to be evaluated, a window provided in the heating furnace, a temperature measurement unit for measuring the temperature of the cell stack provided outside the heating furnace, and the temperature of the cell stack in the heating furnace being measured from outside the furnace through the window by the temperature measurement unit.

Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the cell stack evaluation apparatus and the cell stack evaluation method according to the present invention as described above, since the temperature of the cell stack in the heating furnace can be measured through the window by the temperature measurement unit, there is no need to attach the lead wire of the temperature sensor inside the furnace, and it is possible to prevent the temperature inside the furnace from dropping and causing unevenness in the temperature distribution of the cell stack, and it is possible to monitor the temperature distribution in detail and over a wide range. Further, for example, by simply moving the temperature measurement unit, the range in which the temperature can be measured through the window is further expanded, and temperature measurement over a wider range becomes possible.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021] [Figure 1] Schematic diagram showing a cell stack evaluation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Explanatory diagram showing a window portion. [Figure 3] (a) is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 1, and (b) is a cross-sectional view. [[ID=​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ [Figure 10] An explanatory diagram showing heating of the cell stack surface by a localized heating element. [Figure 11] Cross-sectional view in Figure 9. [Figure 12] An explanatory diagram showing how a localized heating element irradiates infrared rays. [Figure 13] An explanatory diagram showing a modified example in which a lens portion is provided in the localized heating section. [Figure 14] A block diagram showing a cell stack evaluation device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0022] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] As shown in Figure 1, the cell stack evaluation apparatus 1 according to the present invention comprises a heating furnace 2 for heating the cell stack CS to be evaluated, and a temperature measuring unit 4 for measuring the temperature of the cell stack CS. The heating furnace 2 is provided with a window 3, and the temperature measuring unit 4 measures the temperature of the cell stack CS inside the heating furnace 2 from outside the furnace through the window 3.

[0024] With the cell stack evaluation apparatus 1 configured in this way, the temperature measurement unit 4 measures the temperature of the cell stack CS to be evaluated through a window 3 provided in the heating furnace 2, allowing for wide-area monitoring of the temperature distribution of the cell stack CS. Furthermore, since the temperature measurement unit 4 is not located on the surface of the cell stack CS, heat dissipation through lead wires and connection holes is avoided, reducing unevenness in the temperature distribution.

[0025] The cell stack CS to be evaluated in the present invention is preferably a hydrogen-related cell stack, for example, a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) or a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC).

[0026] As shown in Figure 1, the shape of the heating furnace 2 is a roughly rectangular box shape corresponding to the cell stack CS, but other shapes are also possible, such as cylindrical, dome-shaped, conical, pyramidal, frustoconical, tunnel-shaped, and arch-shaped. The shape of the heating furnace 2 can be selected appropriately depending on the form and quantity of the cell stack CS, and the required heating temperature and pressure conditions. In this example, the heating furnace 2 is a roughly rectangular box shape consisting of a top wall and four side walls, and is a lift-up type in which a hood-shaped furnace body 20 with an open bottom moves up and down, allowing the cell stack CS to be removed from the gap at the bottom.

[0027] A base plate 21 is provided at the center of the bottom of the heating furnace 2 to hold the cell stack CS inside the heating furnace 2. The base plate 21 is, for example, a flat-plate type manifold. The material is preferably one that has heat resistance, high thermal conductivity, and electrical insulation properties, such as ceramics such as aluminum oxide and silicon carbide. The material may also be a metal such as molybdenum or tungsten, as long as electrical insulation can be ensured. In this example, the cell stack CS is substantially rectangular in shape and is positioned on the base plate 21 so that one side of the cell stack CS faces one side of the inner surface of the furnace body 20 parallel to the furnace inside the heating furnace 2. The ridge of the cell stack CS where the two sides are joined may also be positioned on the base plate 21 so that it faces one side of the inner surface of the furnace body 20. The orientation of the cell stack CS inside the heating furnace 2 can be adjusted according to its shape, quantity, and required heating temperature and pressure conditions.

[0028] The furnace heater 22, which heats the atmosphere inside the heating furnace 2, is installed on the inner surface of the furnace body 20 and raises the temperature of the cell stack CS held on the base plate 21. As the furnace heater 22, carbon heaters such as ceramic heaters mainly made of silicon carbide (SiC) or molybdenum disilide (MoSi2), resistance wire heaters using ferritic iron-chromium-aluminum alloy (FeCrAl alloy), and graphite heaters are used.

[0029] The furnace heaters 22 are provided at multiple locations on the inner surface of the furnace body 20. In this example, as shown in Figure 1, they are provided on two of the four inner surfaces of the side walls that face each other via the cell stack CS. They may also be provided on each of the four side walls, or each furnace body 20 may be divided into multiple zones in the vertical direction, such as upper, middle, and lower, and the heaters may be provided at each of these zones. There are no limitations on how the multiple zones are divided, and they can be set appropriately according to the size of the cell stack CS, etc.

[0030] The internal heater 22 may be a built-in heater (not shown), such as a cartridge heater built into the base plate 21 at the bottom, in addition to the heater provided in the furnace body 20. This built-in heater heats the cell stack CS via the base plate 21.

[0031] As shown in Figure 2, the window section 3 is an airtight window composed of a window material 30 and a notch 31 formed in the furnace body section 20. The window material 30 is a flat plate with flat surfaces on both sides, and its material is not particularly limited as long as it has heat resistance, but barium fluoride glass that can transmit visible light is preferred for scanning the temperature measurement section 4 and the local heating section 5 described later, and it may also be quartz glass, sapphire glass, or calcium fluoride glass.

[0032] The notch 31 is preferably formed by cutting out at least one vertex angle on the upper side of the furnace body 20, as shown in Figure 2. By providing the window 3 at the vertex angle on the upper side of the furnace body 20 in this way, the temperature can be efficiently measured over a wide area on three surfaces: the upper surface and two side surfaces that face (form) the vertex V corresponding to the cell stack CS inside the furnace.

[0033] The window portion 3 may be provided on each surface of the furnace body 20, as shown in Figure 8, as long as the temperature measuring unit 4 can measure at least one surface of the cell stack CS. Although not shown, the window portion 3 may be located on a specific surface of the furnace body 20 or on a ridge formed by two adjacent surfaces. The window material 30 is also not limited to a flat plate shape. For example, in the case of a dome shape, it may be fitted into one surface or ridge of the furnace body 20 so as to protrude in a dome shape toward the inside of the furnace body 20. In this case, the temperature measuring unit 4, which will be described later, is located outside the furnace 2, but extends into the interior of the furnace 2, resulting in a wider measurable range. The window portion 3 can be appropriately changed depending on the shape of the cell stack CS and the shape of the furnace 2.

[0034] As shown in Figure 3, the temperature measuring unit 4 is located outside the heating furnace 2. The temperature measuring unit 4 measures the surface temperature of the cell stack CS through the window 3. In this example, the temperature measuring unit 4 includes a measuring instrument 40, which is a radiation thermometer that measures temperature by capturing infrared radiation emitted from the surface of the cell stack CS, along with a measuring instrument drive unit 41 and a measuring instrument control unit 42. The measuring instrument 40 can be any radiation thermometer that can measure the surface of the cell stack CS over a wide area without contact, and a thermographic camera that can detect the temperature distribution on the surface of the cell stack CS is preferred.

[0035] The measuring instrument drive unit 41 rotates the measuring instrument 40 up and down (tilt) around a horizontal pivot point P1 as shown in Figure 4, or rotates the measuring instrument 40 left and right (pan) around a pivot point P2 that is perpendicular to the measurement direction of the measuring instrument 40 and perpendicular to the pivot point P1, as shown in Figure 5. By rotating the measuring instrument 40 up and down and left and right, the measurement range of the measuring instrument 40 is expanded, and the surface of the cell stack CS arranged in the furnace of the heating furnace 2 can be measured over a wider area. The measuring instrument control unit 42 consists of an information processing device such as a CPU, and preferably controls the up and down and left and right rotations of the measuring instrument 40 via the measuring instrument drive unit 41. The measuring instrument control unit 42 may control only one of the rotations, up and down or left and right, as long as it can scan the surface of the cell stack CS over a wide area to measure the temperature. Alternatively, the measuring instrument control unit 42 may control the up and down rotations and left and right rotations of the measuring instrument 40 to occur at regular intervals. The measuring instrument control unit 42 receives input from the operator of the heating furnace 2 regarding the up, down, left, and right rotation directions and their rotation angles of the measuring instrument 40, and controls the up, down, left, and right rotation of the measuring instrument 40 by the measuring instrument drive unit 41 based on this input. The measuring instrument control unit 42 may also identify, for example, the silhouette shape of the cell stack CS or the configuration arrangement inside the furnace from the infrared rays captured by the measuring instrument 40, and control the up, down, left, and right rotation of the measuring instrument 40 by the measuring instrument drive unit 41.

[0036] Furthermore, the measuring instrument control unit 42 includes a correction processing unit 43 that compensates for the influence of infrared radiation emitted from sources other than the surface of the cell stack CS on temperature measurement. When the heating furnace 2 heats the cell stack CS, the furnace body 20 and base plate 21, which are not the target of evaluation, are also heated. Therefore, if the measuring instrument 40 is a thermographic camera, when the measuring instrument 40 measures the cell stack CS heated in the heating furnace 2 through the window 3, it will capture infrared radiation emitted from the cell stack CS and its surroundings. The correction processing unit 43 determines whether the infrared radiation captured by the measuring instrument 40 is from the cell stack CS or from other sources, based on criteria such as emissivity, silhouette shape, and the arrangement of components in the furnace, and performs a correction so that only the surface temperature of the cell stack CS is measured. With this correction processing unit 43, the influence of infrared radiation from sources other than the target of measurement in the furnace is minimized, enabling accurate temperature measurement of the target of evaluation.

[0037] In this example, the window portion 3 is provided in one location on the furnace body portion 20, and the temperature measuring portion 4 is provided in one location corresponding to the window portion 3. As it is, the opposite side of the cell stack CS that does not correspond to the window portion 3 cannot be measured. However, by rotating the hood-shaped furnace body portion 20 180 degrees together with the temperature measuring portion 4, or by rotating the cell stack CS and the base plate 21 180 degrees, while keeping the base plate 21 that holds the cell stack CS fixed, the opposite side can also be measured.

[0038] Specifically, the window portion 3 and temperature measuring unit 4, which are provided at one of the four vertices on the upper surface of the furnace body portion 20 as shown in Figure 6(a), are configured to rotate around the cell stack CS installed inside the furnace, by first raising them, etc., as shown in Figure 6(b). Note that the installation locations of the window portion 3 and temperature measuring unit 4 in the cell stack evaluation device 1 described above are not limited to the four vertices on the upper surface, but are any installation locations where the temperature measuring unit 4 can measure the temperature around the entire circumference of the cell stack CS via the window portion 3 when the furnace body portion 20 and temperature measuring unit 4 rotate around the cell stack CS.

[0039] Here, instead of rotating the temperature measuring unit 4 together with the furnace body 20, for example, the temperature measuring unit 4 may be fixed in two positions corresponding to the window portion 3 before and after the rotation of the furnace body 20, so that only the furnace body 20 rotates.

[0040] As shown in Figure 7, the window section 3 can also be provided at two or more of the four vertex angles on the upper side of the furnace body 20A of the heating furnace 2A. The cell stack evaluation device 1A has the window section 3A provided at two diagonally opposite vertex angles on the upper side of the four vertex angles on the upper side of the furnace body 20A. Each window section 3A is provided with a temperature measuring section 4A. This allows the cell stack evaluation device 1A to measure the surface of the cell stack CS over a wide area without rotating the furnace body 20A or the base plate 21, etc.

[0041] As a modified example, the cell stack evaluation device 1B may be configured such that, as shown in Figure 8, windows 3B are provided on each of the four side walls of the furnace body 20B of the heating furnace 2B. Here, by providing a focusing lens, such as a meniscus lens with a roughly crescent-shaped cross-section, as the window material 30 for the infrared radiation emitted from the cell stack CS toward the window 3B, an infrared radiation thermometer that measures at a single point or in a narrow area can be used as the measuring instrument 40B.

[0042] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 9, it is preferable to further include a local heating unit 5 that locally heats the cell stack CS installed inside the heating furnace 2 from outside the furnace 2. As shown in Figure 10, the local heating unit 5 targets and heats areas with low temperatures. In Figure 10, the band-shaped bars with varying shades of color indicate the surface temperature of the cell stack CS shown in Figure 10, with darker colors representing higher temperatures and lighter colors representing lower temperatures. By reducing unevenness in the temperature distribution on the surface of the cell stack CS and achieving uniform temperature distribution with such a local heating unit 5, the cell stack evaluation device 1 can perform quantitative performance evaluation.

[0043] The local heating section 5 is composed of, for example, an infrared heater 51, a directional reflector 52 that gives directionality to the infrared rays generated from the infrared heater 51, and a drive mechanism 53 that changes the position or orientation of the directional reflector 52, as shown in Figure 11. The infrared heater 51 is preferably a halogen lamp, and the directional reflector 52 is preferably a parabolic shape with aluminum, which has high reflectivity, as the reflective material. When the infrared rays IR emitted by the infrared heater 51 are isotropic, the directional reflector 52 makes the infrared rays IR quasi-directional and irradiates the cell stack CS through the window section 3. The infrared heater 51 only needs to be able to heat a localized surface of the cell stack CS installed in the furnace, and the infrared heater 51 may be a quartz tube heater.

[0044] The directional reflector 52 only needs to be able to direct the infrared IR emitted by the infrared heater 51 in a specified direction, and the material of the directional reflector 52 may be silver or the like, which has high reflectivity. Also, if the infrared IR emitted by the infrared heater 51, such as a near-infrared laser, is directional, the local heating unit 5 does not need to be equipped with a directional reflector 52.

[0045] The drive mechanism 53, controlled by the temperature control unit 61 of the heater control unit 6, irradiates the surface of the specified cell stack CS with infrared IR from the directional reflector 52, as shown in Figure 12. At the same time, the drive mechanism 53, like the measuring instrument 40, rotates the infrared heater 51 up and down (tilt) and left and right (pan) around the pivot points P1 and P2 to change the position or irradiation direction of the directional reflector 52. In the cell stack evaluation device 1, the operation of the drive mechanism 53 is controlled by the heater control unit 6, so that the temperature measuring unit 4 scans the surface of the cell stack CS to measure the temperature distribution, and the local heating unit 5 heats the surface of the cell stack CS to a uniform temperature.

[0046] As a variation, the window portion 3 can also be provided with a directional lens such as a meniscus lens with a roughly crescent-shaped cross-section as the window material 30, as shown in Figures 11 and 12. As a result, the local heating portion 5 can concentrate the infrared radiation IR, which is semi-directional due to the directional reflector 52, on a localized area of ​​the cell stack CS, and heat it with high precision, as the directional properties are further enhanced by the window material 30.

[0047] In addition, separate from the window section 3, the local heating section 5 may further include a lens section 54, such as a convex lens as shown in Figure 13. This allows the infrared IR, which has been given directionality by the directional reflector 52, to be refracted through the lens section 54 and focused at a predetermined point. As a result, the local heating section 5 can heat the surface of the cell stack CS with greater precision.

[0048] As shown in Figure 11, the heater control unit 6 includes a temperature information acquisition unit 60 that acquires temperature information output from a temperature measurement unit 4 that measures the surface temperature of the cell stack CS, and a temperature control unit 61 that controls the heating and cooling of the surface temperature of the cell stack CS. The temperature control unit 61 consists of an information processing device such as a CPU, and controls the output of the infrared heater 51 in the local heating unit 5, the driving mechanism 53, and the irradiation of infrared rays IR by the directional reflector 52 based on the temperature information acquired via the temperature information acquisition unit 60. This controls the local heating unit 5 so that the surface temperature of the cell stack CS becomes uniform. In addition, the temperature control unit 61 may control not only the local heating unit 5, but also the furnace heater 22 and the built-in heater built into the base plate 21. In this case, the temperature control unit 61 controls the output of the local heating unit 5, the furnace heater 22, and the built-in heater according to the temperature distribution of the surface temperature of the cell stack CS so that the surface temperature becomes uniform. For example, if the surface temperature of the cell stack CS is lower on the surface in contact with the base plate 21 than on the other surfaces, the temperature control unit 61 controls the output of the furnace heater 22 and the built-in heater to equalize the surface temperature of the cell stack CS. At this time, if the temperature control unit 61 determines from the temperature information acquired by the temperature information acquisition unit 60 that there are areas with uneven temperatures, as shown in the temperature distribution in Figure 10, the temperature control unit 61 controls the local heating unit 5 so that infrared IR is irradiated to the areas with uneven temperatures.

[0049] As shown in Figure 14, the cell stack evaluation apparatus 1 according to the present invention further comprises a fluid supply source 101, a fluid flow path 102, a fluid control mechanism 103, a power supply device 104, a fluid processing mechanism 105, and a control device 106. The fluid supply source 101 supplies fluids such as an inert gas like nitrogen gas, a gas like air and water vapor, a liquid like water, and a gas-liquid mixture obtained by mixing these, to adjust the temperature of the cell stock CS heated in the heating furnace 2. The fluid flow path 102 guides the fluid supplied from the fluid supply source 101 to each mechanism. The fluid control mechanism 103 includes, for example, a mass flow controller and a flow control valve, and adjusts the fluid flowing to the heating furnace 2 via the fluid flow path 102 to a predetermined flow rate. The power supply device 104 supplies at least enough power for the heating furnace 2 to function. The fluid processing mechanism 105 performs fluid processing on the fluid used in the heating furnace 2, either processing it to a reusable degree and circulating it back into the heating furnace 2, or processing it so that it does not affect the environment and is safely discharged and discharged outside the furnace. The control device 106 is an information processing device comprising a storage unit such as RAM or ROM, an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU, and a display unit such as a monitor screen. The storage unit stores programs for executing various information processing in the cell stack evaluation device 1 and data information acquired from each component of the cell stack evaluation device 1. The arithmetic processing unit executes various information processing in the cell stack evaluation device 1. The display unit displays the status of the devices and mechanisms constituting the cell stack evaluation device 1, such as the temperature distribution on the surface of the cell stack CS detected by the temperature measurement unit 4 as shown in Figure 10, and the temperature and flow rate of the fluid measured by the fluid control mechanism 103.

[0050] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited in any way to these embodiments, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the arrangement positions of each component in the drawings used in the above description are merely shown to facilitate explanation of the embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these arrangement positions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1,1A,1B Cell Stack Evaluation Device 2,2A heating furnace 3,3A,3B Window section 4,4A,4B Temperature measurement part 5 Local heating area 6. Heater Control Unit 20,20A,20B Furnace body part 21 Base Plate 22 Furnace heater 30 Window materials 31 Notch 40,40B Measuring instrument 41 Measuring instrument drive unit 42 Measuring Instrument Control Unit 43 Correction Processing Unit 51 Infrared Heater 52 Directional Reflector 53 Drive mechanism 54 Lens section 60 Temperature information acquisition section 61 Temperature Control Unit 101 Fluid supply source 102 Fluid flow path 103 Fluid control mechanism 104 Power supply 105 Fluid Processing Mechanism 106 Control device CS Cell Stack IR infrared P1 pivot point P2 axis fulcrum T-Aiming V vertex

Claims

1. A cell stack evaluation device, A heating furnace for heating the cell stack to be evaluated, The cell stack includes a temperature measuring unit for measuring the temperature of the cell stack, The aforementioned heating furnace is provided with a window, A cell stack evaluation device in which the temperature measuring unit measures the temperature of the cell stack inside the heating furnace from outside the furnace through the window.

2. The cell stack is a solid oxide fuel cell stack or a solid oxide electrolytic cell stack. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned window is an airtight window that transmits infrared rays, The temperature measuring unit consists of a radiation thermometer that measures temperature by capturing infrared radiation emitted from the surface of the cell stack outside the window. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 1.

4. The furnace body portion of the heating furnace, which is provided with the window, is configured to be rotatable around the cell stack installed inside, with respect to the position of the cell stack. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 1.

5. The temperature measuring unit consists of a thermometer capable of detecting the temperature distribution on the surface of the cell stack to be measured. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 1.

6. The window faces at least the top surface and two sides of the cell stack. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 1.

7. The heating furnace has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, with a notch formed by cutting off at least one vertex corner of the rectangular parallelepiped shape. The aforementioned window is provided in the notched portion. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 6.

8. The notch having the window is provided at at least one of the four vertex angles on the upper surface of the heating furnace. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 7.

9. The window is triangular in shape, corresponding to the shape of the notch. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 7 or 8.

10. The notch having the window is provided at two or more of the four vertex angles on the upper surface of the heating furnace. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 7.

11. The temperature measuring unit includes a correction unit that corrects for the influence of infrared radiation emitted from inside the furnace other than the cell stack surface on the temperature measurement. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 3.

12. It comprises an infrared heater, a directional reflector that directs the infrared rays emitted from the infrared heater, and a drive mechanism that changes the position or orientation of the directional reflector, and includes a local heating section that locally heats the cell stack inside the furnace from outside the window. The control unit controls the operation of the drive mechanism so that the cell stack surface temperature becomes uniform, according to the temperature distribution of the cell stack surface measured by the temperature measuring unit, using the local heating unit. The cell stack evaluation apparatus according to claim 3.

13. A cell stack evaluation method, A heating furnace is provided to heat the cell stack to be evaluated. A window is provided in the aforementioned heating furnace. A temperature measuring unit for measuring the temperature of the cell stack is provided outside the heating furnace. A cell stack evaluation method that measures the temperature of the cell stack inside the heating furnace from outside the furnace through the window using the temperature measuring unit.

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