Thermionic Conversion of Heat to Electricity

THERMIONIC CONVERSION OF HEAT TO ELECTRICITY ^Volume II

Heat to electricity thermoacoustic-magnetohydrodynamic conversion

In this work, a new concept for the conversion of heat into electricity is presented. The conversion is based on the combined effects of a thermoacoustic prime mover coupled with a magnetohydrodynamic generator, using different working fluids in each process. The results of preliminary experiments are also presented.

Solid-State and Vacuum Thermionic Energy Conversion

A brief overview of the research activities at the Thermionic Energy Conversion (TEC) Center is given. The goal is to achieve direct thermal to electric energy conversion with >20% efficiency and >1W/cm power density at a hot side temperature of 300-650C. Thermionic emission in both vacuum and solid-state devices is investigated. In the case of solid-state devices, hot electron filtering using ...

Pulsed Thermionic Power Conversion with Positive Work Function Difference

Experimental studies were conducted into the use of nanosecond scale voltage pulses in an inert gas for thermionic power conversion. These studies show that practical materials for the electrodes can provide a positive work function difference when operating in an inert gas environment. Using these materials it has been shown that significant power densities can be achieved. This method of ther...

Thermionic energy conversion plasmas - Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

AbstructThe history, application options, and ideal basic performance of the thermionic energy converter are outlined. The basic plasma types associated with various modes of converter operation are described, with emphasis on identification and semi-quantitative characterization of the dominant physical processes and utility of each plasma type. The frontier plasma science issues in thermionic...