Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generator Design Methods and Performance Estimates for Space Missions
Name
Journal of Propulsion and Power.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
1.7 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
214775be0168a171fc9e2480d8666321
Author(s)
Wang, Xiawa
Liang, Renrong
Fisher, Peter H
Chan, Walker R
Xu, Jun
Date Issued
July 2020
Journal
Journal of Propulsion and Power
Publisher
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
Citation
Wang, Xiawa et al. "Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generator Design Methods and Performance Estimates for Space Missions." Journal of Propulsion and Power 36, 4 (July 2020): dx.doi.org/10.2514/1.b37623 © 2020 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
This work provides the design methodology of a radioisotope thermophotovoltaic system (RTPV) using spectral control for space missions. The focus is on the feasibility of a practical system by using two-dimensional micropatterned photonic crystal emitters, selecting the proper thermophotovoltaic cell and insulation material to exclude material incompatibilities, to optimize the system efficiency by impedance matching and to design a radiator with minimum mass. In the last section, a design example is presented based on the tested indium gallium arsenide antimonide (InGaAsSb) cells. It is shown computationally that, in using the experimentally tested InGaAsSb cells, the RTPV generator is expected to reach an efficiency of 8.6% and a specific power of 10.1 W∕kg with advanced radiators. Using the more efficient InGaAs cells, the system can expect to triple the figure of merits of the radioisotope thermoelectric generator, promising to reach ∼18% and 21 W∕kg, respectively. With a high performance device, the results of this work can lead to a functional prototype for further research focusing on manufacturability and reliability.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.2514/1.b37623
