Design and fabrication of a thermophotovoltaic power generation unit

The Auburn University thermophotovoltaic research effort is focused on the design and fabrication of a small laboratory breadboard unit for power generation applications for the United States Army. The basic thermophotovoltaic system components include a combustion heat source, a selective emitter, and InGaAs photovoltaic cells. The research for this dissertation centers on determining the appropriate selective emitter system and matching the emitter to a corresponding photovoltaic cell. The selective emitter materials studied for this research were the rare earths in oxide form. These materials were heated to elevated temperatures to find suitable candidates for thermophotovoltaic use based upon attainable photovoltaic cells.; A combustion burner was built to heat the selectively emitting composite emitter. The system includes a diffusion type burner using propane and air which will heat a flow-through type radiant emitter. An InGaAs photovoltaic array was placed around the emitter to convert the radiant energy into electricity. The various system component efficiencies were measured as well as the total system efficiency from fuel input to electrical output. Due to the nature of the system breadboard type design, low conversion efficiencies were expected. However, insights into system improvements was gained. Based upon these improvements, predicted system performance was discussed. Due to the system character of this dissertation, it is by definition interdisciplinary involving, basic combustion and burner design principles, the physics of the radiation properties of solids, materials fabrication techniques, chemistry of the rare earths, in addition to the electrical engineering of a prototype power system. Photovoltaic cell research was performed by the NASA Lewis Research Center and the Research Triangle Institute.