Mathematical Model of a Thermionic Converter in a Nuclear Reactor

• Published in: Physics of atomic nuclei Vol. 84; no. 8; pp. 1522 - 1526
• Main Authors: Belkin, A. V., Schukin, N. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.12.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Charged particles; Current voltage characteristics; Electric current converters; Empirical analysis; Force and energy; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Nuclear energy; Nuclear facilities; Nuclear reactors; Particle and Nuclear Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Thermionic converters; electrogenerating element; thermionic converter; current-voltage characteristic; interelectrode gap; low-temperature plasma; charged particle transport equations; electrode work surface function; electron cooling; thermionic reactor-converter
• ISSN: 1063-7788; 1562-692X
• DOI: 10.1134/S1063778821080020

Currently, work is under way to create new thermionic reactor-converters. However, when designing an electrogenerating channel, difficulties arise in the complex description of the physical processes occurring in it. Moreover, empirical models of current–voltage characteristics do not always agree with the obtained results in the analysis of reactor experiments of electrogenerating channels. This is due to the fact that the empirical current–voltage characteristics are based on the experimental results of a specific electrode pair in a given mode of operation of a thermionic converter. In this work, we propose a complex mathematical model of a thermionic converter in a nuclear reactor. The mathematical model is based on solving the equations of charged particle transfer, which take into account the features of all operating modes of thermionic converter.