OXYGEN CONTROL FOR THERMIONIC CONVERTERS

THE ADDITION OF SMALL QUANTITIES OF OXYGEN INTO A THERMIONIC CONVERTERHAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A POSSIBLE MEANS OF ALLOWING A WIDER INTERELECTRODE SPACING WITHOUT PERFORMANCE PENALTY OR ALTERNATIVELY OFIMPROVING THE OUTPUT PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS RELATIVE TO A CONVERTER WITHOUT THE OXYGEN ADDITIVE. TO DATE, ONLY EMPIRICAL APPROACHES TO ACHIEVING OXYGEN ADDITION HAVE BEEN REALISED, WITH QUALITY CONTROL CRUDE AND UNREPRODUCIBLE EXCEPT WITHIN VERY BROAD LIMITS. A MEANS IS BEING EXAMINED FOR INTRODUCING, DETERMINING, AND CONTROLLING THE OXYGEN CONTENT OF A CONVERTER IN A VERY PRECISE WAY THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL. THE USE OF SUCH CELLS FOR OXYGEN TRANSFER, MEASUREMENT, AND CONTROL IS WELL UNDERSTOODAND ESTABLISHED, BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN APPLIED TO THESE PURPOSES IN THE THERMIONIC CONVERTER. A FEASIBILITY EXPERIMENT AND EVALUATION OF APPLYING THIS TECHNOLOGY IS BEING CONDUCTED, WHICH, IF SUCCESSFUL, WOULD LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED CONVERTER IN A LATER EFFORT. THE PRIMARY APPLICATION OF THE THERMIONIC CONVERSION PROCESS IS PRESENTLY IN IN-CORE THERMIONIC SPACE POWER REACTORS, ALTHOUGH A COMPARABLE PROCESS HAS RECEIVED CONSIDERATION IN THE PAST AS A TOPPINGCYCLE FOR COMMERCIAL POWER PLANTS.