Simulation and analysis of time-dependent degradation behavior of AMTEC

Direct energy conversion of heat to electricity using AMTEC

“…One of the conclusions obtained by the authors was the existence of a critical current density threshold, at which internal failure of the electrolyte could be expected. In 2000 Lodhi et al [17] simulated the degradation behavior of AMTEC focusing on the BASE. The authors compared the results with empirical data and found that during the first 7000 h of operation almost the entire power loss was attributable to the ionic resistance of the BASE.…”

A review on advances in alkali metal thermal to electric converters (AMTECs)

“…Lodhi et al [69,75,78,79] did a lot of simulations to find the effect of electrodes' grain growth on power degradation of PX-3A cells. In the most recent, Lodhi and Briggs [80] [81], as shown in Table III.…”

“…However, studies show that BASE and electrodes are two of the most power degrading components in AMTECs. The BASE is the main cause of power degradation, and it alone may contribute to the degradation as much as 50-60% [69]. The power degradation due to electrode is estimated as 15-19% [52].…”

“…Besides the qualitative analysis of the BASE degradation mechanism, some researchers performed quantitative investigations in recent years. Lodhi et al [69,75] adopted a regression analysis method [76] to investigate the effect of BASE on the power degradation in PX-3A cell. The results showed that the BASE was responsible for most of the power degradation in the first 7000 h of operation under the assumption that no changes occur in the properties of other components.…”

“…Based on the electrode grain growth model by Ryan et al [77], the role of electrode on the overall power degradation was quantitatively investigated and reasons of the degradation were interpreted. Lodhi et al [69,75,78,79] did a lot of simulations to find the effect of electrodes' grain growth on power degradation of PX-3A cells. In the most recent, Lodhi and Briggs [80] studied electrode performance by looking into the parametric changes of the material properties inherent to it with respect to time.…”