• DocumentCode
    1229824
  • Title

    Preliminary Design for a 360 Watt Radioisotope Thermionic Generator

  • Author

    Dutram, Leonard L. ; Williams, Ernest W.

  • Author_Institution
    Missile and Space Division General Electric Company
  • Volume
    2
  • Issue
    2
  • fYear
    1964
  • fDate
    4/1/1964 12:00:00 AM
  • Firstpage
    661
  • Lastpage
    668
  • Abstract
    A preliminary design for a 360 watt radioisotope thermionic generator is presented. Curium 244 is used as the energy source; and the generator design concept allows for containment of the radioisotope under all possible conditions involving the earth. Provision is made for helium gas generated in the decay of Curium 244 (alpha emitter). For these conditions the proposed design has a maximum specific weight of 254 lb./KW. The results of this study indicate that radioisotope thermionics offers promise of a versatile, compact, light weight and reliable means of supplying electrical power in space.
  • Keywords
    Aerospace materials; Anodes; Cathodes; Earth; Helium; Power generation; Power supplies; Radioactive materials; Temperature; Voltage;
  • fLanguage
    English
  • Journal_Title
    Aerospace, IEEE Transactions on
  • Publisher
    ieee
  • ISSN
    0536-1516
  • Type

    jour

  • DOI
    10.1109/TA.1964.4319651
  • Filename
    4319651
    • Link To Document
    https://search.isc.ac/dl/search/defaultta.aspx?DTC=49&DC=1229824