Novel, High-Temperature Power-Generation for Long Duration Hypersonic Platforms

The ability to convert extreme aerodynamic heating into electricity via thermoelectric generators presents a unique opportunity to leverage this otherwise undesirable condition. The harvested energy can be used to power the significant electrical demand of a hypersonic/long range vehicle while also aiding in managing high temperatures. To address this need for an high temperature thermoelectric generator, we will develop a novel scheme that leverages material properties and configurations to transmit selected wavelength ranges that are most efficiently converted into electricity. In this way,novel system is a very efficient heat-shield and insulator as well as a highly-efficient energy converter, thereby boosting heat to electricity conversion efficiency.