Thermionic Reactor Design Studies
Paper presented at the 29th IECEC in Monterey, CA in August 1994. The present paper describes some of the author's conceptual designs and their rationale, and the special analytical techniques developed to analyze their (thermionic reactor) performance. The basic designs, first published in 1963, are based on single-cell converters, either double-ended diodes extending over the full height of the reactor core or single-ended diodes extending over half the core height. In that respect they are similar to the thermionic fuel elements employed in the Topaz-2 reactor subsequently developed in the Soviet Union, copies of which were recently imported by the U.S. As in the Topaz-2 case, electrically heated steady-state performance tests of the converters are possible before fueling.
- Research Organization:
- Fairchild Space and Defense Corporation
- Sponsoring Organization:
- NE Office of Space and Defense Power Systems
- OSTI ID:
- 1033362
- Report Number(s):
- AIAA-94-3885-CP; FSC-ESD-217-94-528; Orbital ID: 8573; Call Number: ESD files
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Fabrication and Testing of Full-Length Single-Cell Externally Fueled Converters for Thermionic Reactors
Effect of Fuel and Design Options on RTG Performance versus PFF Power Demand