Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generator Design Methods and Performance Estimates for Space Missions
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 cel...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129630 |
| _version_ | 1826192956027043840 |
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| author | Wang, Xiawa Liang, Renrong Fisher, Peter H Chan, Walker R Xu, Jun |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Wang, Xiawa Liang, Renrong Fisher, Peter H Chan, Walker R Xu, Jun |
| author_sort | Wang, Xiawa |
| collection | MIT |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:31:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/129630 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:31:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1296302022-09-26T12:02:52Z Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generator Design Methods and Performance Estimates for Space Missions Wang, Xiawa Liang, Renrong Fisher, Peter H Chan, Walker R Xu, Jun Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies 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. Army Research Office through the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (Contracts W911NF-07-D0004, MAST 892730 and S3TEC DE-SC0001299) 2021-02-02T17:18:21Z 2021-02-02T17:18:21Z 2020-07 2021-01-27T15:16:50Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1533-3876 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129630 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 en http://dx.doi.org/10.2514/1.b37623 Journal of Propulsion and Power Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ application/pdf American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Prof. Fisher via Barbara Williams |
| spellingShingle | Wang, Xiawa Liang, Renrong Fisher, Peter H Chan, Walker R Xu, Jun Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generator Design Methods and Performance Estimates for Space Missions |
| title | Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generator Design Methods and Performance Estimates for Space Missions |
| title_full | Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generator Design Methods and Performance Estimates for Space Missions |
| title_fullStr | Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generator Design Methods and Performance Estimates for Space Missions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generator Design Methods and Performance Estimates for Space Missions |
| title_short | Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic Generator Design Methods and Performance Estimates for Space Missions |
| title_sort | radioisotope thermophotovoltaic generator design methods and performance estimates for space missions |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129630 |
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