Model card

DirectConvert

Model, not machine. A transparent model of how a broad charged-particle (alpha) spectrum might convert to electricity, distinguishing an ideal bound (L0) from a loss-aware ledger (L1).

Model levels

  • DC-L0 — ideal energy-bin stage assignment (upper bound)
  • DC-L1 — loss-aware seven-channel energy ledger
  • DC-L2 — electrostatic trajectories (institutional-only, gated)

Equations

  • EQ-DC-STAGE-BOUND: recovered ≤ q·V, with q·V ≤ E
  • EQ-DC-ETA: collection efficiency integral
  • EQ-DC-BALANCE: exact energy accounting

Input domain

  • Normalized alpha spectrum (MeV) with a source hash
  • Ordered stage potentials (MV), charge +2e
  • Versioned loss set with per-channel provenance

Loss channels

  • Acceptance, orbit survival, grid transparency
  • Secondary/backscatter, electronics
  • Optional thermal bottoming cycle (separate subsystem)

Numerical method & tolerances

  • Exact ledger before rounding; conservation ≤ 1e-6·source
  • DP + brute-force + differential-evolution optimizer
  • Monte-Carlo / Latin-hypercube / Morris uncertainty

Verification cases

  • DC-VAL-01…09 (see the L2 matrix for trajectories)
  • η = n/(n+1) uniform-spectrum literature check
  • Independent-codebase L0 reproduction

Unsupported physics

  • Space charge / collective effects at L0–L1
  • Any hardware fabrication or operating guidance

Status

  • External validation: Pending
  • Version: directconvert_core 0.1.0
  • Reviewer state: unreviewed

Full card in source: docs/model-cards/directconvert-l1.md.