A self-healing glass seal has the potential to restore its mechanical properties upon being reheated to the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack operating temperature Such a self-healing feature is desirable for achieving high seal reliability during thermal cycling Self-healing glass is also characterized by its low mechanical stiffness and high creep rate at SOFC operating temperatures Therefore the geometric stability and structural integrity of the glass seal system are critical to its successful application in SOFCs This paper describes studies of the geometric stability and structural integrity of the self-healing glass seal system and the influence of various interfacial conditions during the operating and cooling-down processes using finite element analyses For this purpose the test cell used in the leakage tests for compliant glass seals conducted at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was taken as the initial modeling geometry The effect of the ceramic stopper on the geometric stability of the self-healing glass sealants was studied first Two interfacial conditions of the ceramic stopper and glass seals le bonded (strong) or unbonded (weak) were considered Then the influences of interfacial strengths at various interfaces e stopper/glass stopper/PEN as well as stopper/IC plate on the geometric stability and reliability of glass during the operating and cooling processes were examined (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved