US Government as Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Jay R Maddux

Patrick J Taylor

Adam A Wilson

Sina Simingalam

Kimberly A Olver

Protective coating to prevent sublimation are disclosed. More particularly, the protective coatings comprise one or more alkaline earth halide materials, or mixtures thereof, to prevent sublimation. The alkaline earth halide material of the coating can be judiciously selected to match the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the material of the external surface of the underlying substrate coated. The protective coatings may be advantageous for protecting external surfaces of thermoelectric materials, parts and devices at high temperature to prevent sublimation and material loss.

Sublimation protection coating for thermoelectric materials and devices

A passive thermal oscillator combines a thermoelectric device and a passive analog electrical circuit to produce a time-oscillating temperature difference. The oscillator makes use of a temperature difference imposed across a thermoelectric device to produce a Seebeck voltage to periodically trigger electrical current to pass through a switch. The periodic electrical current causes periodic Peltier cooling producing a time-oscillating temperature difference across the thermoelectric device. There is no requirement for additional external energy input because the thermal energy generates a voltage that is used as the driving force. The operation is purely passive. So long as there is a temperature difference across the thermoelectric device, then the passive thermal oscillator oscillates. The passive thermal oscillator can integrate multiple energy conversion device technologies to operate cooperatively. The cooperation of multiple energy conversion technologies yields a much higher overall system efficiency than just the conversion of thermal energy into electrical energy.

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Greenbelt, MD, United States of America

Jay R Maddux