AN ADVANCED THERMIONIC CONVERTER

EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS HAS CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED THAT THERMIONIC CONVERSION IS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED FOR APPLICATIONS WHERE THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF HEAT TO ELECTRICITY IS REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE RELIABLE LONG-TERM, MAINTENANCE-FREE OPERATION OF ELECTRICALGENERATING SYSTEMS. THE USE OF THERMIONIC TECHNOLOGY, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN LIMITED UNTIL NOW BY THE NEED FOR VERY HIGH OPERATING TEMPERATURES TO OBTAIN ACCEPTABLE POWER CONVERSION EFFICIENCIES. THIS PHASE I PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP AN ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY THERMIONIC CONVERTER THAT YIELDS MORE THAN TWICE THE EFFICIENCY OF EXISTING CONVERTERSAT SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER TEMPERATURES. THE IMPROVED PERFORMANCE OF THE ADVANCED THERMIONIC CONVERTER ELIMINATES THE HIGH TEMPERATURE CONSTRAINTS OF EXISTING THERMIONIC SYSTEMS AND RAISES THERMIONIC TECHNOLOGY TO THE LEVEL REQUIRED FOR WIDESPREAD GOVERNMENTAL AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATION.