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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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In explosive joining technique, adapter flange from fuel channel machined to incorporate a V-notch interface. Ribbon explosive, 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) in width, drives V-notched wall of adapter into bellows assembly, producing atomic-level metallurgical bond. Ribbon charge yields joint with double parent metal strength.
Reactor shielding, safety studies, and heat pipe development work are described. Monte Carlo calculations of gamma and neutron shield configurations show that substantial weight penalties are incurred if exposure at 25 m to neutrons and gammas must be limited to 10 to the 12th power nvt and 10 to the 6th power rad, instead of the 10 to the 13th power nvt and 10 to the 7th power rad values used earlier. For a 1.6 MW sub t reactor, the required shield weight increases from 400 to 815 kg. Water immersion critically calculations were extended to study the effect of water in fuel void spaces as well as in the core heat pipes. These show that the insertion into the core of eight blades of B4C with a mass totaling 2.5 kg will guarantee subcriticality. The design, fabrication procedure, and testing of a 4m long molybdenum/lithium heat pipe are described. It appears that an excess of oxygen in the wick prevented the attainment of expected performance capability.
The SP-100 Project was established to develop and demonstrate feasibility of a space reactor power system (SRPS) at power levels of 10's of kilowatts to a megawatt. To help determine systems requirements for the SRPS, a mission and spacecraft were examined which utilize this power system for a space-based radar to observe moving objects. Aspects of the mission and spacecraft bearing on the power system were the primary objectives of this study; performance of the radar itself was not within the scope. The study was carried out by the Systems Design Audit Team of the SP-100 Project.
Multiyear civilian manned missions to explore the surface of Mars are thought by NASA to be possible early in the next century. Expeditions to Mars, as well as permanent bases, are envisioned to require enhanced piloted vehicles to conduct science and exploration activities. Piloted rovers, with 30 kWe user net power (for drilling, sampling and sample analysis, onboard computer and computer instrumentation, vehicle thermal management, and astronaut life support systems) in addition to mobility are being considered. The rover design, for this study, included a four car train type vehicle complete with a hybrid solar photovoltaic/regenerative fuel cell auxiliary power system (APS). This system was designed to power the primary control vehicle. The APS supplies life support power for four astronauts and a limited degree of mobility allowing the primary control vehicle to limp back to either a permanent base or an accent vehicle. The results showed that the APS described above, with a mass of 667 kg, was sufficient to provide live support power and a top speed of five km/h for 6 hours per day. It was also seen that the factors that had the largest effect on the APS mass were the life support power, the number of astronauts, and the PV cell efficiency. The topics covered include: (1) power system options; (2) rover layout and design; (3) parametric analysis of total mass and power requirements for a manned Mars rover; (4) radiation shield design; and (5) energy conversion systems.
This paper presents a conceptual design of a lunar in-core thermionic reactor power system. The concept consists of a thermionic reactor located in a lunar excavation with surface mounted waste heat radiators. The system was integrated with a proposed lunar base concept representative of recent NASA Space Exploration Initiative studies. The reference mission is a permanently-inhabited lunar base requiring a 550 kWe, 7 year life central power station. Performance parameters and assumptions were based on the Thermionic Fuel Element (TFE) Verification Program. Five design cases were analyzed ranging from conservative to advanced. The cases were selected to provide sensitivity effects on the achievement of TFE program goals.
CAC is analytical prediction program to study heat-transfer and fluid-flow characteristics of circular coolant passage. Predicts, as function of time, axial and radial fluid conditions, temperatures of passage walls, rates of flow in each coolant passage, and approximate maximum material temperatures. Written in ANSI standard FORTRAN 77.
The present paper describes author's work in the field of teleoperated equipment for inspection and maintenance of the RBML technological channels and graphite laying, emergency operations. New technological and design solutions of teleoperated robotic systems developed for Leningradsky Power Plant are discussed.
Some CFF-Xe (Chemically Fractionated Fission Xenon), whose isotopic composition is established by simultaneous decay and migration of radioactive fission products, is probably present in the Earth's lithosphere, a conclusion based on available Xe data from various crustal and mantle rocks . Our recent isotopic analysis of Xe in alumophosphate from zone 13 of Okelobondo (southern extension of Oklo), along with the independent estimation of the isotopic composition of atmospheric fission Xe , supports the hypothesis that CFF-Xe was produced on a planetary scale. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
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NASA aims to deploy a fission reactor on the lunar surface by 2030 to generate 100 kWe of power for at least 10 years without maintenance or refueling. To assess system and subsystem survivability according to those requirements, a model of the reactor pallet was created in the radiation transport code MCNP to determine the neutron fluences and gamma doses that the materials and systems would be exposed to. The model was based on the 2025 government design. The model indicated that the control drum motors, Brayton cycle engines, and pipes and valves would be exposed to neutron fluences of 1×10 15 – 1×10 16 n/cm 2 per year and gamma doses ranging from 10 to 500 Mrad per year. The electronics box housing the instrumentation and control elements is expected to receive 1×10 14 – 1×10 15 n/cm 2 per year and gamma doses in the range of 1–5 Mrad per year. These doses necessitate that the control drum motors, Brayton cycle engines, valve components, control electronics, and other components be radiation-hardened (>10 16 n/cm 2 and >10 Mrad gamma dose) or additionally shielded to survive the 10-year lunar mission.
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