Mathematical model establishment and optimum design of a novel cesium thermionic–thermoelectric hybrid generator

Abstract

Static power sources, such as thermionic energy converters (TEC), thermoelectric generators (TEG), thermophotovoltaic converters (TPV), and alkali metal thermal to electric converters (AMTEC), have enormous potential application in aerospace, military, electronic devices, and low-grade waste heat recovery and utilization. Aiming to further improve the power output and conversion efficiency, any two of them can be cascaded according to the difference in operating temperature. In this study, a novel mathematical model of the static hybrid power generator composed of a cesium thermionic energy converter (CTEC) and a TEG was proposed. The model considered the irreversible heat loss and the additional energy barrier of the CTEC module, and the Thomson effect of the TEG module, synchronously. To obtain the temperature distribution of CTEC and TEG modules, energy balance equations were determined by nonequilibrium thermodynamic analysis. Then, the effects of the output voltage and anode work function of the CTEC, the heat source temperature, and the electric current of the TEG on the output performance were investigated systematically by means of MATLAB. The results indicate that the maximum efficiency of the hybrid generator reaches 26.82% at heat source and heat sink temperatures of 1800 K and 300 K, respectively, which is significantly higher than that of the individual CTEC module (21.28%). This reveals that the waste heat released by the CTEC is utilized effectively in the TEG module, and the increased heat source temperature will further improve the hybrid generator’s power output and efficiency. The output power and efficiency are obviously improved by reducing the anode work function. When ϕC = 1.0 eV, i = 0.005, the power reaches a maximum of 21.61 W at 0.37 V, and the efficiency reaches a maximum of 25.90% at 0.55 V. Moreover, the curve of the output power as a function of conversion efficiency could be used to determine the optimal operating region of the hybrid generator, i,e., Pη < P < Pmax, ηP < η < ηmax, thereby obtaining the thresholds of the hybrid system parameters, i.e., VP < V < Vη, T1,P < T1 < T1,η, T2,P > T2 > T2,η, T3,P > T3 > T3,η and TCs,P > TCs > TCs,η. This study provides a reference for the optimal design and application of a CTEC–TEG hybrid generator in the future.