Space Solar Power Systems of Gyroscopic and Cyclic Functioning
Material of the working body of the thermal solar energy converter for space purposes
Direct photoelectric conversion system has several advantages on deploying flexible photoconverting panels with relatively low mass parameters in space. Today it is a priority and partially started to be implemented by leading space countries. However, it is difficult to calculate the cost of producing the required amount of photoconverting material and working elements from it. There is no unambiguity in the cost of one kilowatt of electricity produced by the orbital SPS, taking into account the resource of solar cells in space. These factors, as well as the problems of the implementation of projects of thermal solar power plants, give grounds to reconsider the traditional methods of converting thermal solar energy by solar power plants.
At the present stage, the possibility of using super-strong and lightweight structural materials made of carbon-carbon composites for the manufacture of the frame and load-bearing elements of power systems for space purposes has arisen. The use of high-temperature superconductors and superconducting electric generators created on their basis can significantly reduce the weight and size parameters of the superconducting SPS of the thermal conversion system.
The result of the research is the development of a method for continuous production of useful mechanical energy using a functional energetic material, as a working fluid, in the process of heating it by solar radiation in a heat-absorbing zone and cooling in a heat-emitting zone in the optimal design temperature range. Theoretical studies have been carried out to quantify the power of a metal segment in the role of a working fluid of a heat-converting panel during the operation of a thermal solar energy converter (TSEC) for space purposes. A solution has been proposed that allows to significantly in crease the efficiency of TSEC by improving the physical and technical characteristics of the segment material. It is shown that it is promising to change by hundredths of one of a series of parameters that characterize the segment material, which makes it possible to compete with photoconverting systems in terms of efficiency, provided that several parameters are optimally combined.