Estimation of Dispenser Cathode Surface Temperature of a Practical Potted Heater Cathode Assembly

Abstract

The heat transfer through the porous and/or infiltrated potted heater-cathode structure is simulated by a numerical model. The model includes heat conduction through the porous potting having isometric pore shape and uniform size (310 μm in alumina potting and 20 μm in tungsten cathode pellet), imperfect interface heat transfer effect and radiative boundaries. In addition to the transient state study, a steady-state analysis using the numerical model has also been done on a commercial Spectra-Mat cathode. The predicted results have been compared with the experimental measurements and are found to be in good agreement. © 1993 IEEE