Measured Thermal Efficiencies of a Diode Configuration of a Thermo Electron Engine

Hatsopoulos, George; Kaye, Joseph

doi:10.1063/1.1723373

Cited by 81 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…The experimental conversion efficiencies eventually reached around 10-15 % [1,2], when the emitter electrode was heated up to 1260 o C with Cs + ions vapor to lower the work function. The space charge cloud on the emitter electrode is one major obstacle preventing the next electron emission.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thermionic energy conversion, which can directly convert heat energy into electricity, is one of the most promising technologies for waste heat recovery applications [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. It is expected reutilize unused thermal energy such as exhaust from industrial plants, automobiles, and renewable resources such as geothermal and hot spring resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heavily phosphorus-doped nano-crystalline diamond electrode for thermionic emission application

Kato

Takeuchi

Ogura

et al. 2016

Diamond and Related Materials

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Thermionic energy conversion is one of the promising technologies for transforming thermal energy into electrical energy. A stable cathode electrode with high conductivity and low work function is required to realize this application. It is already well known that hydrogen-terminated diamond exhibits negative electron affinity, which is a great advantage of an electron emission electrode. In this study, we focus on phosphorus doping, which gives n-type donors with 0.57 eV in single crystal diamond to control the conductivity of diamond, in an attempt to develop a nano-crystalline diamond (NCD) electrode for thermionic emission by heavily phosphorus doping. Phosphorus concentration and structural characterization were performed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. The thermionic emission properties were characterized in vacuum as a function of cathode temperature from 300 to 600 degrees C. The work function of heavily phosphorus doped NCD electrode was estimated based on the Richardson Dushman equation, and the effect of heavily phosphorus doping on thermionic emission was briefly discussed

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heavily phosphorus-doped nano-crystalline diamond electrode for thermionic emission application

Kato

Takeuchi

Ogura

et al. 2016

Diamond and Related Materials

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“…e = Electronic charge. :x THE use of the thermionic diode as a means of converting heat into electrical energy has already been discussed in detail (Hatsopoulos and Kaye 1958, Houston 1959} Grattidge 1960, Morgulis and Korchevori 1960. From these papers the existence of space charge would appear to be one of the major problems, but various means of overcoming this have been suggested (Grattidge 1960 has been neutralized in an unspecified manner and hence does not influence the current.…”

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confidence: 98%

A Note on the Theoretical Efficiency for Energy Transformation using Thermionic Emission†

Myatt

Sanders

1961

Journal of Electronics and Control

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“…Although there were significant advances in the design and methods for realizing TECs exhibiting efficiencies exceeding 15% (Hatsopoulos and Kaye, 1958), there were technical issues not satisfactorily resolved in the scale up, such as cathode stability, maintaining close electrode spacing, collector reflection losses, and magnetic field generation (Schock, 1960). Consequently, the continuation of TEC device development occurred only for use in space exploration where the device complexity and high unit cost could be offset by the savings in payload costs for compact kilowatt electrical power generation (Ponomarey-Stepnoi et al, 1995).…”

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confidence: 99%

Improving the Efficiency of a Thermionic Energy Converter Using Dual Electric Fields and Electron Beaming

Bickerton

Fox

2017

Front. Mech. Eng.

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Experiments have been conducted on a dual electric grid thermionic device to investigate an alternative method of space charge mitigation in a thermionic energy convertor (TEC). Two electric grids, the attractor and deflector grids, provide opposing electric fields to overcome space charge while minimizing power losses to the attractor grid. Electron beams are formed in the electrode gap providing a more efficient electron transport from hot cathode to collector. The attractor gird can be run in DC or pulse mode which usefully supports transformer coupling for the energy convertor output. This is a simple low cost inter-electrode space charge solution running at low voltage which has the potential to improve TEC efficiency, increase reliability, and reduce the cost of manufacture.

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Measured Thermal Efficiencies of a Diode Configuration of a Thermo Electron Engine

Cited by 81 publications

References 1 publication

Heavily phosphorus-doped nano-crystalline diamond electrode for thermionic emission application

Heavily phosphorus-doped nano-crystalline diamond electrode for thermionic emission application

A Note on the Theoretical Efficiency for Energy Transformation using Thermionic Emission†

Improving the Efficiency of a Thermionic Energy Converter Using Dual Electric Fields and Electron Beaming

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