Small AMTEC systems as battery substitutes

Alkali Metal Thermal to Electric Converter (AMTEC) technology is highly scalable and converters can be designed to provide fuel based electric power at levels ranging from a few watts to several kilowatts. AMTEC is a static, modular, heat to electricity conversion technology with the potential for high efficiency and compact size using heat source temperatures readily achievable even with small combustors. AMTEC systems are currently under development for a variety of spacecraft and satellite applications related to potential NASA and Air Force missions requiring power levels in the 75 watt to multi-kilowatt power range. While AMTEC converters can operate with any heat source delivering heat at 900 K to 1200 K, the small AMTEC systems considered here, are suitable for system integration with small, combustion heat sources. In this paper we describe concept designs for small combustion fired, self-contained AMTEC systems whose size, operating duration and mass make them superior choices for applications no...