Thermal modeling of AMTEC recirculating cell

Thermal modeling of the AMTEC energy conversion system was conducted and compared to exprimental results. The system studied was an AMTEC Recirculating Test Cell with instrumentation that measured local temperatures. The geometry was tubular and the finite difference routine was cast in cylindrical coordinates. This is the first time a finite difference model has been used to analyze the temperature field within the AMTEC cell. Internal heat generation in the β’’ alumina solid electrolyte due to ohmic heating while under load was also included. The results indicate that there was a significant contribution of the condenser film properties on the performance of the test cell. Further work is planned to expand the analysis to include the heat losses conduction along electrical current carrying leads.