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Technical Paper

AMTEC Cell Optimization for Advanced Radioisotope Power System (ARPS) Design

1999-08-02
1999-01-2655
An AMTEC cell optimization study investigated various cell design performance tradeoffs for an AMTEC cell operating in a 4-GPHS (General Purpose Heat Source) ARPS using 16 AMTEC cells per system. The design objective was to generate 141 watts at beginning-of-mission (BOM), 112 watts at 6-year end-of-mission (EOM), and 99 watts at 14-year EOM from the 4-GPHS/16-cell system at a system voltage of 28 volts (cell voltage 3.5 volts). Cell performance predictions on a system-level compared the effect of BASE tube number, BASE tube sizing, electrode performance parameters, thermal shield design, and condenser emissivity on cell-level and system- level performance. The selected reference cell design is 2 inches diameter, 4 inches length using electrodes characterized by a B=120 A-K1/2/m2-Pa and G=10, one cylindrical and 21 conical thermal radiation shields, and eight BASE tubes having a 0.40 inch diameter and 1.0 inch active length.
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