Thermionic converter
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A thermionic converter consists of a hot electrode which
Definition
From a physical electronic viewpoint, thermionic energy conversion is the direct production of
History
After the first demonstration of the practical arc-mode caesium vapor thermionic converter by V. Wilson in 1957, several applications of it were demonstrated in the following decade, including its use with
Thermionic power systems were used in combination with various
Although the priority for thermionic reactor use diminished as the US and
Description
The scientific aspects of thermionic energy conversion primarily concern the fields of
A thermionic generator is like a cyclic heat engine and its maximum efficiency is limited by Carnot's law. It is a low-Voltage high current device where current densities of 25-50 (A/squarecm) have been achieved at voltage from 1-2V. The energy of high temperature gases can be partly converted into electricity if the riser tubes of the boiler are provided cathode and anode of a thermionic generator with the interspace filled with ionized caesium vapor.
The surface property of primary interest is the
Recent work
All the applications cited above have employed technology in which the basic physical understanding and performance of the thermionic converter were essentially the same as those achieved before 1970. During the period from 1973 to 1983, however, significant research on advanced low-temperature thermionic converter technology for fossil-fueled industrial and commercial electric power production was conducted in the US, and continued until 1995 for possible
See also
- Atomic battery
- Betavoltaics
- Optoelectric nuclear battery
- Magnetohydrodynamic generator
- Radioisotope piezoelectric generator
- Radioisotope thermoelectric generator
- Thermocouple
- Thermoelectric generator
- Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction
References
- ISBN 0-471-86213-4.
- ISBN 0-262-08059-1.
- ^ Baksht, F. G.; G. A. Dyvzhev; A. M. Martsinovskiy; B. Y. Moyzhes; G. Y. Dikus; E. B. Sonin; V. G. Yuryev (1973). "Thermionic converters and low-temperature plasma (trans. from Termoemissionnye prebrazovateli i nizkotemperaturnaia plazma)": 490.
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(help) - ^
Mills, Joseph C.; Dahlberg, Richard C. (January 10, 1991). "Thermionic Systems for DOD Missions". AIP Conference Proceedings. 217 (3): 1088–92. doi:10.1063/1.40069. Archived from the originalon July 10, 2012.
- ^
Gryaznov, G. M.; E. E. Zhabotinskii; A. V. Zrodnikov; Yu. V. Nikolaev; N. N. Ponomarev-Stepnoi; V. Ya. Pupko; V. I. Serbin; V. A. Usov (June 1989). "Thermoemission reactor-converters for nuclear power units in outer space". Soviet Atomic Energy. 66 (6). Plenus Pub. Co.: 374–377. S2CID 95666931.
- ^ Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. July 1993. pp. 12–.
- ^ Proceedings of a Symposium Advanced Compact Reactor Systems: National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., November 15-17, 1982. National Academies. 1983. pp. 65–. NAP:15535.
- ^ van Kemenade, E.; Veltkamp, W. B. (August 7, 1994). "Design of a Thermionic Converter for a Domestic Heating System" (PDF). Proceedings of the 29th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference. II.
- ISSN 0021-8979.
- .
- ^ J-L. Desplat, L.K. Hansen, G.L. Hatch, J.B. McVey and N.S. Rasor, "HET IV Final Report", Volumes 1 & 2, Rasor Associates Report #NSR-71/95/0842, (Nov. 1995); performed for Westinghouse Bettis Laboratory under Contract # 73-864733; 344 pages. Also available in total as C.B. Geller, C.S. Murray, D.R. Riley, J-L. Desplat, L.K. Hansen, G.L. Hatch, J.B. McVey and N.S. Rasor, "High-Efficiency Thermionics (HET-IV) and Converter Advancement (CAP) programs. Final Reports", DOE DE96010173; 386 pages (1996).
- ^ N.S. Rasor, "The Important Effect of Electron Reflection on Thermionic Converter Performance", Proc. 33rd Intersoc. Energy Conv. Engr. Conf., Colorado Springs, CO, Aug., 1998, paper 98-211.
- ^ Yarygin, Valery I.; Viktor N. Sidelnikov; Vitaliy S. Mironov. "Energy Conversion Options For NASA's Space Nuclear Power Systems Initiative – Underestimated Capability of Thermionics". Proceedings of the 2nd International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference.
- ISSN 0039-6028.