Prediction of the start-up characteristics of a heat pipe-cooled thermionic fuel element (TFE)
Abstract
A computer thermal model is used to predict the start-up characteristics of a heat pipe-cooled TFE. During start-up, the emitter temperature will increase, and heat will be radiated across the cesium gap to the collector/heat pipe and conducted from the top thermionic cell to the cesium-graphite reservoir through the emitter stem. A transient, finite element computer model of the top thermionic cell and the cesium-graphite reservoir was programmed to simulate the behavior of the collector heat pipe and reservoir. With the modeled cell configuration, the heat-choke coupling aids in heating the reservoir but is not extremely important. The calculation shows there is nearly enough direct heating of the collector-heat-pipe system to warm the TFE without requiring electron cooling. It is found that the thermal time constraints of the converter-reservoir system are well within 15 min and therefore will not be a limiting factor for rapid start-up of the reactor.
- Publication:
-
IECEC 1991; Proceedings of the 26th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, Volume 3
- Pub Date:
- 1991
- Bibcode:
- 1991iece....3..105L
- Keywords:
-
- Computerized Simulation;
- Cooling Systems;
- Fuel Cells;
- Heat Pipes;
- Thermionic Emitters;
- Prediction Analysis Techniques;
- Starting;
- Thermionic Power Generation;
- Energy Production and Conversion