A detailed AMTEC Performance and Evaluation Analysis Model (APEAM) was used to evaluate the effects of various design changes on the performance of next-generation, Pluto/Express multitube cells. These changes were: using a CREARE condenser; changing the number of BASE tubes and the electrode length; using other electrode materials; using molybdenum (Mo) as the structural material on the hot side of the cell; and using reflective rhodium coatings in the low vapor pressure cavity of the cell. The present analyses utilized a PX-5A type cell, with a Mo circumferential radiation shield, and 7 BASE tubes with 29 mm-long electrodes. Analyses performed for an output load voltage of 3.5 V per cell showed that: (a) A stainless steel (SS) cell with improved electrodes (50% lower contact resistance than TiN, and an increased exchange current, ) could deliver 7.1 We with an efficiency of 19.5%; (b) When Mo was substituted for the SS on the hot side of this cell, the electrical power output increased to 8.8 We and the cell efficiency increased to 20.2%; (c) Using rhodium coatings in the Mo/SS cell increased the electrical power output to 9.7 We, and the peak efficiency by 2.3 points, to 22.5%.
Parametric analyses of vapor-anode, multitube AMTEC cells for Pluto/Express mission
Space technology and applications international forum - 1998 ; 1998 ; Albuquerque,New Mexico (USA)
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 420 , 1 ; 1461-1470
1998-01-15
10 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Parametric Analyses of Vapor-Anode, Multitube AMTEC Cells for Pluto/Express Mission
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