Development of High-Temperature Heater for Thermophotovoltaic Energy Conversion System

Thermophotovoltaic energy conversion is seen as a viable option for efficiently converting heat to electricity. There are three key components to a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system: a heat source, a heat emitter and a photovoltaic (PV) cell. A heat source heats up the emitter which causes the emitter to release thermal radiation. The photons are absorbed by a PV cell when they are acting above the bandgap energy. The PV cell then generates electricity from this thermal radiation. In theory, efficiency of a TPV system can be well above 50%. In order for TPV to reach large-scale adaptation, an efficiency at or above 20% is needed. In this project, a high-temperature heater capable of reaching 1000K was developed. The heater involved a copper block machined to hold two cartridge heaters, as well as two thermocouples. It has an accompanying copper lid that can be screwed tight to the main block, with an emitter in between. There is an aperture to allow radiation through the casing towards the PV cell. Preliminary thermal analysis showed that the heater provides uniform temperature distribution across the emitter, which is necessary for proper radiation. A mounting system was also designed to implement the heater into the overall TPV system. Current work is being done to lower the radiation loss from the heater and mounting system, as well as implementation of all auxiliary components to begin testing. The maximum temperature of the heater, radiation heat flux received by the cell, and overall power output and efficiency of the system will be tested.