月球基地温差电源的应用研究

Application research on thermoelectric generator for lunar bases

月球基地是未来深入开展月球探测、开发和利用月球资源的主体,常规的光伏发电系统在月夜期间无法提供电能,不能适应月球基地对能源供给的连续性要求。月面环境的特殊性导致月壤内部存在一定的温差,为温差电源的应用创造了条件。考虑热电材料的塞贝克效应及电流的珀耳帖效应,构建了平板型温差电源的热电耦合分析模型;与月壤传热方程联合求解,实现了月面温差电源工作过程的仿真。结果表明,由于温差电源的导热参数与月壤相差明显,导致电源两端无法建立起有效的温差,使其发电效率甚微。在此基础上,对月壤物性及温差电源的传热进行了尝试性改造分析,该措施能够明显提升电源的工作效率,但仍达不到具体应用的水平;对此提出了电源设计及温差材料研制的要求,旨在促进温差发电技术在后续月球探测的应用。

As principals for further lunar explorations and resource utilizations in the future, lunar bases require continuous energy supplies, for which the conventional photovoltaic power generation cannot meet the requirement in the moon night. Due to the particularity of the lunar environment, there is a certain temperature difference in the lunar soil, which creates a condition for the application of the thermoelectric generator. Considering the Seebeck effect of thermoelectric materials and the Peltier effect of electric current, a thermoelectric coupling analysis model for a flat thermoelectric generator was built. Jointly solved the heat transfer equation, the working process of the lunar thermoelectric generator was simulated. The simulation results indicate that, due to the significant difference of heat conduction coefficient between the thermoelectric generator and the lunar soil, the thermoelectric generator is very inefficient. On this basis, a reformation of the heat conduction between the thermoelectric generator and the lunar soil was made to improve the working efficiency of the thermoelectric generator. However, it was still out of the reach of feasible applications. The research proposed several requirements for the generator design and the thermoelectric material development, which intended to promote the applications of the thermoelectric generation technique in the future lunar explorations.