Computer modeling of single-cell and multicell thermionic fuel elements
- Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering
Modeling efforts are undertaken to perform coupled thermal-hydraulic and thermionic analysis for both single-cell and multicell thermionic fuel elements (TFE). The analysis--and the resulting MCTFE computer code (multicell thermionic fuel element)--is a steady-state finite volume model specifically designed to analyze cylindrical TFEs. It employs an interactive successive overrelaxation solution technique to solve for the temperatures throughout the TFE and a coupled thermionic routine to determine the total TFE performance. The calculated results include temperature distributions in all regions of the TFE, axial interelectrode voltages and current densities, and total TFE electrical output parameters including power, current, and voltage. MCTFE-generated results compare experimental data from the single-cell Topaz-II-type TFE and multicell data from the General Atomics 3H5 TFE to benchmark the accuracy of the code methods.
- OSTI ID:
- 248112
- Journal Information:
- Nuclear Technology, Journal Name: Nuclear Technology Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 114; ISSN 0029-5450; ISSN NUTYBB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Output power characteristics and performance of TOPAZ II Thermionic Fuel Element No. 24
Analysis of Topaz-II thermionic fuel element performance using TFEHX