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ISSN Online: 2377-424X

ISBN Print: 978-1-56700-474-8

ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-473-1

International Heat Transfer Conference 16
August, 10-15, 2018, Beijing, China

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A LUNAR BASED SOLAR THERMAL POWER SYSTEM WITH STATIC CONVERTERS

Get access (open in a dialog) DOI: 10.1615/IHTC16.nee.023870
pages 7682-7688

Abstract

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.