Progress on Low-Power Turbo-Brayton Converters.

Previous work has shown that closed-loop Brayton cycle power converters are an extremely attractive option for long-duration (> 10 years) space missions. To date, this technology has been only demonstrated at power levels above 1 kWe. Creare’s progress towards the demonstration of the first-generation, low-power converter for use with radioisotope power sources is the subject of this paper. At the 100 We power level, Brayton systems should attain conversion efficiencies of 20% to 40% depending upon the operating conditions. The converter mass for a flight unit is expected to be about 3 kg. The detailed design, performance predictions, and test plans for the first-generation converter are reviewed in this paper. © 2004 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]