THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSULATED THERMIONIC CONVERTER-HEAT PIPE ASSEMBLY.
Abstract
As a result of the testing and analyses of ceramic-to-metal seals, the use of pure sapphire as an insulating body was found to form a superior seal. The main advantage of this proved to be the excellence of its bonding between the metallizing layer and sapphire body. Converter-Heat Pipe Combination, Serial No. 7-12 accumulated almost 900 hours of life test; metallurgical examination and spectrographic analysis were performed which indicated contamination from stainless steel tooling as a probable cause of test termination. Converter-Heat Pipe Combination Serial No. 8-13 has been fabricated and currently is undergoing exhaust processing prior to life test. In the area of electrode improvement, cuprous oxide was evaluated as an oxygen source. Since this compound was found to be completely reduced by alkali vapor at 400 Centigrade, it was proven to be an unsatisfactory oxygen source. A life test station was fabricated for multiple testing of insulated emitter samples using a common heat pipe source. Advanced assembly techniques developed for integrating the three-converter module with the heat pipe were successfully demonstrated. Module-Heat Pipe Serial No. M3-3 was successfully brazed, exhaust processed, and set up for preliminary testing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0800993
Entities
People
- W. E. Harbaugh