The Development of Tubular Platinum-Emitter Reactor for a Small-Scale Thermophotovoltaic Power System
Abstract
This paper centers on the development of a micro-scale combustion-driven thermophotovoltaic (TPV) power generation system. The Micro-TPV system is a direct energy conversion device. It does not have any moving parts, and it converts the thermal power to electrical power directly. In this thesis, the first task is to design a combustor as an emitter for TPV power system. The characteristics of the combustor are to use catalyst tube with specific configuration and fuel/air mixture deployments to overcome the shortcomings of combustion instability and radical termination in a small-scale confined channel. Backward-facing step and perforated platinum tube are employed in a small-scale combustor to enhance flame stabilization and extend stable flammability. The stable operating range of the proposed tubular combustor is also verified.
Keywords
Thermophotovoltaic, Platinum, Emitter, Combustion-driven.