Heat engine of alkali metals

Abstract

The heat engine is related to Beta-Al2O3 as solid electrolyte, and alkali metals as working medium. Film of the said solid electrolyte partitions metal closed container, which is filled by alkali metals, into two parts: pressure and temperature parts. Working medium of alkali metals is heated by heat source. Being driven by chemical potential gradient, working medium of alkali metals is ionized so as to generate potential difference. Circulation of alkali metals as working medium realizes uninterrupted thermoelectric conversion to provide stable output of electric power. The heat engine possesses features of no moving part, long service life, no noise, small pollution, and free from maintenance. Advantages are: reduced thickness caused by tabulate bipolar structure, and electrolyte prepared through thin film technique, raised energy conversion efficiency and power density, small volume and light weight.

Description

technical field [0001] An alkali metal heat engine of the present invention, particularly relates to β”-Al 2 o 3 It is an alkali metal heat engine with solid electrolyte and alkali metal as working medium. technical background [0002] Alkali metal heat engine is a kind of β”-Al 2 o 3 It is a new type of thermoelectric energy conversion device with solid electrolyte and alkali metal as the working medium. The heat source can be any heat source with a temperature in the range of 923K to 1172K. With the corresponding heat supply mode, a modular power generation device is formed to meet different capacity power loads. requirements, its energy conversion efficiency can reach 30% to 40%. Different from traditional generators based on the principle of electromagnetic induction, this energy device can directly convert heat energy into electrical energy, and has no moving parts, good reliability, no noise, and maintenance-free; Compared with thermal electronic power generation ...

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Problems solved by technology

[0024] In U.S. Patent No.5,228,922, U.S.Patent No.5,942,719 and U.S.Patent No.5,998,728, R.K.Sievers et al proposed a high-voltage alkali metal heat engine, an alkali metal heat engine insulation sealing technology and a central heat source type alkali metal heat engine technology respectively ; Hausgen Paul E proposed in U.S. Patent No. 6,433,268 the control of heat radiation in alkali metal thermoelectric conversion to improve energy conversion efficiency, referring to the β"-Al of alkali metal heat engines 2 o 3 All solid electrolytes adopt a tubular structure, and thin-film porous electrodes are prepared on the surface of the electrolyte tube. The wall thickness of the electrolyte tube is usually ≥ 0.5 mm, resulting in low ionic conductivity of the electrolyte. The structure of the multi-tube module is not compact enough, which greatly limits its use. Power Density and Energy Conversion Efficiency

[0025] It can be seen that the pipe material β”-Al 2 o 3 Although the alkali metal heat engine with solid electrolyte structure is relatively mature and has relatively stable performance, it still has a large device volume and weight, resulting in low power density and limiting the further improvement of thermoelectric conversion efficiency.

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