Performance and potential capabilities of thermionic conversion devices

The present capabilities of thermionic converters are described, and their potential is evaluated in terms of the performance improvement based on the present understanding of the process. A discussion is included of several techniques expected to improve the power output and the efficiency of converters in the near future. A variable-parameter research converter is described. Typical types of data obtained from such a device are examined to evaluate its performance. The dependence of the volt-ampere characteristics on various converted parameters is analyzed. The discussion includes the maxima and minima that appear in the output charactecistics because of the interdependencies of converted parameters.