Simulation and analysis of time-dependent degradation behavior of AMTEC

Alkali metal thermal-to-electric converter (AMTEC) technology is ideally su ited for a wide range of applications from space, aerospace and military to domestic and other terrestrial civilian applications. In spite of its many advantages, existing AMTEC technology has some drawbac ks that prevent the realization of the full potential of the technology. Th e problem is that the cell efficiency is still below its theoretically achi evable value, and the cell has an adverse power-time characteristic. The ma ximum power output of the cell was observed to decrease from 2.54 W at the end of 172 h to 1.27 W during its 18,000 h of cell operation. This problem may preclude the use of the cell for applications that require operation of the cell for long periods of time. This paper deals with the factors responsible for this degradation and disc usses in detail the simulation model used to study and predict the performa nce of the cell as a function of time. It is shown that the p-alumina solid electrolyte is a major cause of this degradation and a model to simulate i ts performance is developed and compared with available experimental data t o establish the role of the electrolyte. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Sci ence B.V.