Design and performance of a prototype thermophotovoltaic system

A prototype thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system, utilizing a cylindrical radiant burner and GaSb cells, was assembled and tested. A unique combination of nine-layer dielectric and quartz-214 optical filtering components was utilized to minimize circuit heating, and increase emitter temperature. An evaluation of the performance of each of the spectral filtering components, and a mapping of energy losses throughout the system are provided for burner firing rates ranging from 6 kW to 9 kW. Fuel to electric conversion efficiency for this prototype TPV system was found to increase linearly from 1.2% at 6 kW to 1.5% at 9 kW. This corresponded to power densities ranging from 0.07 W/cm(2) at 6 kW to 0.13 W/cm(2) at 9 kW Areas that require additional improvement in order to increase system efficiency are addressed.