Study on micro combustor for micro thermophotovoltaic system

Abstract

A novel power MEMS device, micro thermophotovoltaic (micro-TPV) system was introduced in this work. It can replace traditional batteries as the power source of all kinds of micro devices for civilian and military application. As one of the most important components of micro-TPV system, micro combustor should be able to produce a high and uniform temperature distribution along the outer surface to ensure a high radiation power density. To testify the feasibility of micro combustion, a lot of 3-D numerical simulation and experimental tests were carried out. The results indicate a micro flame tube combustor with a backward facing step is one of the most effective combustors for micro-TPV application.