A cyclic analysis of the gabor-type auxiliary discharge thermionic converter

A cyclic analysis of a Gabor-type auxiliary discharge thermionic energy converter is presented. An overall charge balance for the system is believed to be the key in understanding the behavior of the ions and hence the converter performance. The analysis takes into account the phenomenon discovered by Gabor of the reflection of slow ions at the electrodes. A so-called critical equaion is developed and discussed. The parameters in this equation can be determined from few measurements and data available in the literature. A sample calculation is presented to give an order of magnitude of the parameters involved and their relative importance.