Steady-state megawatts with tenths-of-gigawatt bursts characterize space-nuclear-power requirements for critically essential future missions. These awesome numbers imply great power densities and ultrahigh operating temperatures - attainable with thermionic energy conversion (TEC). But such capabilities involve a gamut of materials ranging from high-vapor-pressure liquid metals through refractory ceramics to extremely low-vapor-pressure ultraalloys with near-maximum melting points, strenghts and stabilities. Aspects of the material spectrum related to ultrahigh-temperature TEC combine to project an important temporal perspective of the space-nuclear-power picture. Considerations of these extreme material implications comprise the background, subject and viewpoint of this presentation.
Material considerations for ultrahigh-temperature thermionic conversion in space nuclear power
Werkstoffbetrachtungen fuer Hochtemperatur-Thermionikkonverter in der Raumfahrtnukleartechnik
1986
5 Seiten, 3 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 38 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
Thermionic conversion and alloys for high-temperature nuclear space power
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