Electrical insulator assembly with oxygen permeation barrier
- Lansdale, PA
- Exton, PA
A high-voltage electrical insulator (21) for electrically insulating a thermoelectric module (17) in a spacecraft from a niobium-1% zirconium alloy wall (11) of a heat exchanger (13) filled with liquid lithium (16) while providing good thermal conductivity between the heat exchanger and the thermoelectric module. The insulator (21) has a single crystal alumina layer (SxAl.sub.2 O.sub.3, sapphire) with a niobium foil layer (32) bonded thereto on the surface of the alumina crystal (26) facing the heat exchanger wall (11), and a molybdenum layer (31) bonded to the niobium layer (32) to act as an oxygen permeation barrier to preclude the oxygen depleting effects of the lithium from causing undesirable niobium-aluminum intermetallic layers near the alumina-niobium interface.
- Research Organization:
- Martin Marietta Corp
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-86SF16006
- Assignee:
- United States of America as represented by United States (Washington, DC)
- Patent Number(s):
- US 5298084
- OSTI ID:
- 869208
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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insulator
assembly
oxygen
permeation
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high-voltage
21
electrically
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thermoelectric
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17
spacecraft
niobium-1
zirconium
alloy
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heat
exchanger
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filled
liquid
lithium
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providing
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single
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alumina
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sxal
sapphire
niobium
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facing
molybdenum
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preclude
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intermetallic
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alumina-niobium
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thermoelectric module
electrical insulator
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liquid lithium
zirconium alloy
electrically insulating
thermal conductivity
heat exchange
heat exchanger
single crystal
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alumina layer
metallic layers
permeation barrier
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high-voltage electrical
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