Thermal Battery Systems Comprising Emitter Units Equipped with Vapor Barriers

Abstract

Described herein are thermal battery systems comprising emitter units equipped with vapor barriers. A vapor barrier prevents vapors (e.g., released by the emitter base during its heating) from reaching a TPV receiver when the TPV receiver is inserted inside the emitter unit. For example, the emitter base may comprise graphite, while the vapor barrier may comprise tungsten (at least on the TPV-facing surface). At the emitter unit's operating temperature of about 2000° C., the vapor pressure of tungsten is about 10,000 times lower than that of graphite (e.g., 10−7 Pa vs. 10−3 Pa). As such, the graphite emitter base may release appreciable amounts of vapors, which (if not blocked) can deposit on the TPV receiver (operating at less than 100° C. even when inside the emitter unit cavity). The vapor barrier blocks this vapor from reaching the cavity, while the emitter base provides mechanical support to the vapor barrier.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.