Thermal analysis and structural optimization of electron gun for traveling wave tube

Steady-state and transient thermal analysis of electron gun for a Ka-band traveling wave tube are theoretically performed with a newly-developed 2 mm cathode model by ANSYS software. The heat flux vector chart and temperature distribution chart as well as warm-up time are also derived. The discrepancy of 2% between simulation results and test results, proves that the finite element method is feasible. The ultimate temperature reached by cathode, at given heater power, remarkably depends on the thermal conduction mechanism through cathode module. Based on the heat flux vector chart, the structure of cathode support sleeve with the highest heat flux is optimized. After optimization, the temperature of cathode increases 28 ℃, the highest temperature of electron gun increases 27 ℃