PbTe/TAGS RTG Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) mission

Conference · Sun Jan 10 00:00:00 EST 1993 · AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.43220· OSTI ID:6547412

Schock, A ^[1]

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1. Fairchild Space and Defense Company, 20301 Century Blvd., Germantown, Maryland 20874 (United States)

The paper describes the results of studies on an RTG option for powering the global network of unmanned landers for NASA's Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) mission. RTGs are essentially unaffected by diurnal and seasonal variations, Martian sandstorms, and landing site latitudes, and their waste heat can stabilize the temperatures of the landers and their payload. The RTG designs described in this paper are based on PbTe/TAGS thermoelectric elements, in contast to the SiGe-based RTGs the author described in previous publications. The presently described RTGs differ not only in the choice of thermoelectric materials but also in the use of much lower operating temperatures, conductive rather than radiative heat transfer, an inert cover gas instead of vacuum in the RTG's converter, and fibrous instead of multifoil thermal insulation. As in a previous Teledyne design, the Fairchild designs described in this paper employ flight-proven General Purpose Source modules and Close-Pack Arrays of thermoelectric converter modules. Illustrative point designs of RTGs producing 41 and 51 watts(e) at 28 volts are presented. The presented performance parameters were derived by detailed thermal, thermoelectric, and electrical analyses (including radiator geometry optimization) described in the paper. The Fairchild study showed that, with appropriate modifications, the Teledyne design can be scaled up to higher power levels, and it identified solutions to ensure adequate fuel clad ductility at launch temperatures and adequate thermal conductance from the thermoelectric cold ends to the RTG housing.

• OSTI ID: 6547412
• Report Number(s): CONF-930103-; CODEN: APCPCS
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States), Vol. 271:1; Conference: 10. symposium on space nuclear power and propulsion, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 10-14 Jan 1993; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

07 ISOTOPES AND RADIATION SOURCES
30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
THERMOELECTRIC GENERATORS
DESIGN
RADIOISOTOPE HEAT SOURCES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
LEAD TELLURIDES
MARS SPACE PROBES
POWER RANGE 10-100 W
RADIATORS
THERMAL ANALYSIS
THERMAL CONDUCTION
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
CHALCOGENIDES
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ENERGY TRANSFER
EVALUATION
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT SOURCES
HEAT TRANSFER
LEAD COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POWER RANGE
SPACE VEHICLES
TELLURIDES
TELLURIUM COMPOUNDS
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
VEHICLES
WATT POWER RANGE
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
070300* - Isotopic Power Supplies
300301 - Thermoelectric Generators- Design & Development