Design study of a coal-fired thermionic (THX) topped power plant. Volume IV. Thermionic heat exchanger design and costing

Technical Report · Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 1980

OSTI ID:5777458

Dick, R S; Britt, E J

This volume deals with the details of how thermionic conversion works, and how it is used in a coal-fired furnace to achieve power plant efficiencies of 45%, and overall costs of 36.3 mills/kWh. A review of the fundamental technical aspects of thermionic conversion is given. The overall Thermionic Heat Exchanger (THX) design, the heat pipe design, and the interaction of the heat pipes with the furnace are presented. Also, the operational characteristics of thermionic converters are described. Details on the computer program used to perform the parametric study are given. The overall program flow is reviewed along with the specifics of how the THX subroutine designed the converter to match the conditions imposed. Also, input costs and variables effecting the THX's performance are detailed. The efficiencies of the various power plants studied are given as a function of the air preheat temperature, size of the power plant, and thermionic level of performance.

• Research Organization: Rasor Associates, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76ET11293
• OSTI ID: 5777458
• Report Number(s): DOE/ET/11293-T5-Vol.4; NSR-2-19-Vol.4; COO-2263-19-Vol.4; ON: DE82000735
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
COMBINED-CYCLE POWER PLANTS
PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS
THERMIONIC CONVERTERS
HEAT EXCHANGERS
DESIGN
AIR HEATERS
COAL
COST
EFFICIENCY
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
HEAT PIPES
OPERATION
TOPPING CYCLES
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HEATERS
MATERIALS
POWER PLANTS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
200102* - Fossil-Fueled Power Plants- Power Cycles
300401 - Thermionic Converters- Design & Development
300403 - Thermionic Converters- Materials
Components
& Auxiliaries