Simulation of the behavior of the flow of electrons between the electrodes of a thermionic converter

Abstract

Thermionic converters have been shown to be an alternative to generate electrical power from thermal energy, however, efficiency is reduced by its internal impedance. This impedance has not been possible to suppress because thermionic converters require an ionized cesium atmosphere to transport the electrons. Different authors, have proposed alternatives to reduce this impedance, however, this continues being the main limitation to improve the efficiency of thermionic converters. Recently Fitzpatrick et. al have been working with cesium diodes of near spacing which have shown the possibility of decreasing this impedance when working with thermionic converters in Knudsen mode. In this paper, a theoretical analysis of high vacuum thermionic converters based on the fundamental laws of electronic emission is presented. The most important result was the explanation of the curve I vs V of a thermionic diode from its birth to its saturation. And the development of the algorithms that allow the use of the equations that predominantly explain the emission of electrons.