Thermal analysis of a transmission line for Traveling Wave Tube TWT

Abstract

A new analytical method has been developed to study the delay line of Traveling Waves Tubes (TWT). Our study is focused on the analysis of the hot lines shrinking phenomenon. In the studied case, unlike brazed configuration, the contact areas are not perfect, resulting in a diminution of the heat transfer process. In this work, we highlight the influence of the macro-constriction on the heat transfer rate in the various parts of a TWT the geometry of which is also relatively complex. We propose in this work an analytical study of the thermal behavior of a transmission line in established regime. First, we determine the individual thermal resistance of each component. Secondly, we estimate the global resistance of the device according to the geometrical parameters and the respective conductivities of the various elements of this line. In this analytical model, we proceed to parametric studies in order to determine the geometrical configurations that will provide the lowest global thermal resistance. We will emphasize the potential gain according to the used materials and the increase of contact areas. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.