Closed-Form Solution for the Effect of Fuel Decay and Thermoelectric Degradation on Output of SiGe RTGs

Presented at the 26th IECEC in Boston, MA August 4-9, 1991. The paper derives a closed-form solution for the long-term effect of fuel decay and thermoelectric degradation on the performance of Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators employing silicon-germanium converter elements. RTGs of this type were used to power the recent Galileo and Ulysses space exploration missions, and are slated for use on the upcoming CRAF and Cassini missions. The method described applies not only to uniform-temperature RTGs, but also to RTGs with significant axial and circumferential variations in the couples' cold-junction temperatures and voltages (due to unsymmetrically obstructed heat rejection paths). This is important for the mutually blocking RTGs on the CRAF and Cassini spacecraft, and even more so for the reflector-blocked Solar Probe RTGs. The method for predicting RTG degradation that is dervied in this paper is based on both analytical and experimental data. It accounts for the effect of diminishing hot-junction temperatures on thermoelectric degradation rates. The method leads to an integral equation, for which the author was able to derive a closed-form solution. The solution was successfully validated by comparison with long-term test data. It enables the RTG designer to predict the power output profile throughout the mission, to ensure that it satisfies the mission's power demand profile. There are four copies in the file