Analysis of Raw Materials Sourcing and the Implications for the Performance of Skutterudite Couples in Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators

摘要

The NASA enhanced MMRTG (eMMRTG) project seeks to enhance the performance of the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator by exchanging the heritage thermoelectric couple materials and design with that of more efficient skutterudite (SKD)-based thermoelectric (TE) couples. Both at the Jet Propulsion Lab-where the SKD materials were developed-and at Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc.-where the technology is being matured and optimized for fabrication under the Skutterudite Technology Maturation (SKD Tech Mat) Project-many SKD material batches have been produced. A strong correlation has been observed between the TE performance of the materials and the particular lot numbers (same producer and supplier) of various raw materials used to produce the SKD materials. An analysis of the differences between lots, their effects on performance, and the current plan to mitigate the risk posed by these results is discussed.