START-3 [electronic resource] : Operational Evaluations of the ISUS Engine Ground Demonstration Thermionic Power System
Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 1998. Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
START-3 was a test program conducted in order to demonstrate and characterize the operational performance of the prototype Integrated Solar Upper Stage (ISUS) thermionic power system. The test device consisted of a graphite thermal storage uni~ multilayer foil insulation, and sixteen thermionic converters electrically connected in a series array. Several thermal input conditions were achieved during the test, which resulted in measuring converter performance at average converter hot shoe temperatures in the range of 1600 K to 2000 K. Results indicate that the ;hermionic converter; did not perform as weil as expected in the array individual sixteen converters is currently being performed.