Design and analysis of radioisotope power system based on revised multitube AMTEC cell design

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1997 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.51956· OSTI ID:627657

Schock, A; Noravian, H; Or, C; Kumar, V ^[1]

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1. Orbital Sciences Corporation 20301 Century Blvd. Germantown, Maryland20874 (United States)

A paper presented earlier in these proceedings described a novel OSC methodology for the coupled thermal, fluid flow, and electrical analysis of multitube AMTEC (Alkali-Metal Thermal-to-Electrical Converter) cells, and illustrated its use by applying it to the baseline multitube cell under development by AMPS, Inc. for JPL and AFPL. A subsequent OSC paper, also in these proceedings, described parametric analyses of various cell modifications, culminating in the design and analysis of an OSC-recommended revised cell configuration. The present paper describes a number of OSC designs for a Radioisotope Power System (RPS) consisting of the revised AMTEC cells integrated with General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) modules. It then extends OSC{close_quote}s previously described analytical methodology to predict the performance of various RPS designs to select the most effective thermal insulation scheme, and to determine the effect of thermal input, voltage output, and heat rejection temperature on the performance of the selected design to assess its suitability for missions to the outer planets (such as Europa, Pluto) and beyond, which are under study by JPL for NASA. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 627657
• Report Number(s): CONF-970115--
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 387; ISSN APCPCS; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
42 ENGINEERING
DESIGN
EFFICIENCY
FLUID FLOW
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
POWER RANGE 10-100 W
POWER SYSTEMS
RADIOISOTOPE HEAT SOURCES
SPACE VEHICLES
THERMAL ANALYSIS
THERMOELECTRIC GENERATORS