The role of electrodes in power degradation of AMTEC: analysis and simulation

During the testing of the alkali metal thermal to electric converter (AMTEC) in laboratory, maximum power output of the AMTEC was found to be decreasing from 2.48 to 1.27 W after 18,000 h of operation with the hot side temperature of 1023 K and the condenser side temperature of 600 K. Electrode is one of the components in AMTEC which has effective lifetime. In this study, the role of the electrode on the overall power degradation has been investigated and reasons of the degradation are established qualitatively and quantitatively. The electrode is found 17% on average responsible for the overall degradation of power output.