Renewable Energy, Vol.23, No.3-4, 451-461, 2001
Alkali metal thermal-to-electric converter development
Initial impedance measurements of multi-BASE tube AMTEC cells have been accomplished. These measurements were based on theoretical analyses performed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. These factors are derived from a plot of the apparent charge transfer resistance, R(act), as a function of the electrical potential across the beta alumina solid electrolyte. These include the morphology factor, G, the exchange current J(0)(,)(0) and alpha, the transfer coefficient. The factor G was given a value of 50 as a result of the inability of present equipment to achieve 1.6 V across a single electrolyte element. Average values for the temperature independent charge exchange factor, B, are also reported. These results were taken from cells with as few as 3300 h to as many as 12,000 h of operation. The results show that if the value for G is somewhat close to actual values, then J(0)(0) and a are much lower than those reported in previous literature, resulting in an increase in the charge transfer resistance.