Refractory All-Ceramic Thermal Emitter for High-Temperature Near-Field Thermophotovoltaics

Fangqi Chen, Xiaojie Liu, Yanpei Tian, Jon Goldsby and Yi Zheng
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Fangqi Chen: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Xiaojie Liu: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Yanpei Tian: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Jon Goldsby: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH 44135, USA
Yi Zheng: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-9

Abstract: Thermophotovoltaics is a promising technology for heat recovery and has garnered tremendous attention in the last decades. This work theoretically evaluates the performance of a thermophotovoltaic system equipped with refractory all-ceramic selective thermal emitters made of boron carbide, silicon carbide and beryllium oxide for a high working temperature of 2000 ∘ C, which corresponds to the external quantum efficiency of a SiC/Si tandem cell. The influence of thickness and filling ratio on the emissivity of thermal emitters over the wavelength ranging from 0.2 μ m to 2.5 μ m is studied. The corresponding spectral heat flux and output power are analyzed as well. For a specific configuration, the parameters for the thermophotovoltaic system are obtained, including short circuit current, open circuit voltage, fill factor, total heat flux, output power and conversion efficiency. The proposed all-ceramic thermal emitter ensures the robustness in the high-temperature working condition due to its thermal stability. The tuning of emissivity is achieved and analyzed based on distinct emitter nanostructures, and the further influence on the thermophotovoltaic system performance is deeply explored. This work sheds light on research of high-temperature thermal management and power generation.

Keywords: thermophotovoltaics; near-field; thermal emitter; refractory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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