ISSN Online: 2377-424X
ISBN Print: 978-1-56700-474-8
ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-473-1
International Heat Transfer Conference 16
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A LUNAR BASED SOLAR THERMAL POWER SYSTEM WITH STATIC CONVERTERS
Resumo
The manned deep-space exploration is a hot topic of the current space activities. The continuous supply of thermal and electrical energy for the scientific equipment and human beings is a crucial issue for the lunar outposts. A conceptual design of static converters for electricity and co-generation heat in a lunar based solar thermal power system with regolith thermal storage is developed and analyzed in this paper. Each converter is comprised of an AMTEC (alkali metal thermal-to-electrical conversion) unit, which operates between ~900-1300 K and ~530-650 K, and is thermally coupled to a bottom cycle consisting of a multitude of TE (thermoelectric) generators. The rejected waste heat at ~350 K by the latter is removed by radiation, which could be used for space heating. The load following characteristics on the conversion efficiency and electrical power output of the AMTEC/TE converters are investigated and discussed. The analytical results show that the static converters offer an excellent option for the lunar based solar thermal power system of co-generation of heat and of electricity.