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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Droplet Core Nuclear Rocket (DCNR)

The most basic design feature of the droplet core nuclear reactor is to spray liquid uranium into the core in the form of droplets on the order of five to ten microns in size, to bring the reactor to critical conditions. The liquid uranium fuel ejector is driven by hydrogen, and more hydrogen is injected from the side of the reactor to about one and a half meters from the top. High temperature hydrogen is expanded through a nozzle to produce thrust. The hydrogen pressure in the system can be somewhere between 50 and 500 atmospheres; the higher pressure is more desirable. In the lower core region, hydrogen is tangentially injected to serve two purposes: (1) to provide a swirling flow to protect the wall from impingement of hot uranium droplets: (2) to generate a vortex flow that can be used for fuel separation. The reactor is designed to maximize the energy generation in the upper region of the core. The system can result in and Isp of 2000 per second, and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.6 for the shielded reactor. The nuclear engine system can reduce the Mars mission duration to less than 200 days. It can reduce the hydrogen consumption by a factor of 2 to 3, which reduces the hydrogen load by about 130 to 150 metric tons.

Anghaie, Samim↗
NASA NTRS2017

Nuclear Rocket Ceramic Metal Fuel Fabrication Using Tungsten Powder Coating and Spark Plasma Sintering

Nuclear thermal propulsion is an enabling technology for crewed Mars missions. An investigation was conducted to evaluate spark plasma sintering (SPS) as a method to produce tungsten-depleted uranium dioxide (W-dUO2) fuel material when employing fuel particles that were tungsten powder coated. Ceramic metal fuel wafers were produced from a blend of W-60vol% dUO2 powder that was sintered via SPS. The maximum sintering temperatures were varied from 1,600 to 1,850 C while applying a 50-MPa axial load. Wafers exhibited high density (>95% of theoretical) and a uniform microstructure (fuel particles uniformly dispersed throughout tungsten matrix).

Barnes, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Review of coaxial flow gas core nuclear rocket fluid mechanics

Almost all of the fluid mechanics research associated with the coaxial flow gas core reactor ended abruptly with the interruption of NASA's space nuclear program because of policy and budgetary considerations in 1973. An overview of program accomplishments is presented through a review of the experiments conducted and the analyses performed. Areas are indicated where additional research is required for a fuller understanding of cavity flow and of the factors which influence cold and hot flow containment. A bibliography is included with graphic material.

Weinstein, H.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Investigation of gaseous nuclear rocket technology

The experimental and theoretical investigations conducted during the period from September 1969 through September 1972 are reported which were directed toward obtaining information necessary to determine the feasibility of the full-scale nuclear light bulb engine, and of small-scale nuclear tests involving fissioning uranium plasmas in a unit cell installed in a driver reactor, such as the Nuclear Furnace. Emphasis was placed on development of RF simulations of conditions expected in nuclear tests in the Nuclear Furnace. The work included investigations of the following: (1) the fluid mechanics and containment characteristics of one-component and two-component vortex flows, both unheated and RF-induction heated; (2) heating of particle-seeded streams by thermal radiation from a dc arc to simulate propellant heating; (3) condensation and separation phenomena for metal-vapor/heated-gas mixtures to provide information for conceptual designs of components of fuel exhaust and recycle systems; (4) the characteristics of the radiant energy spectrum emitted from the fuel region, with emphasis on definition of fuel and buffer-gas region seed systems to reduce the ultraviolet radiation emitted from the nuclear fuel; and (5) the effects of nuclear radiation on the optical transmission characteristics of transparent materials.

Kendall, J. S.↗