Post-shutdown temperature of a buried reactor system for a lunar based power plant
Post-shutdown temperature of lithium cooled fast reactor assumed to be buried beneath lunar surface
Lustig, P. H.↗
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A 2000-Hour Durability Test of a 5-Centimeter Diameter Mercury Bombardment Ion Thruster
A 2000-hour durability test of a modified Hughes SIT-5 (Structurally Integrated Thruster, 5 cm) was conducted at the Lewis Research Center. The thruster operated with a translating screen thrust vector grid locked in position for 10 deg beam deflection. The test was essentially continuous except for seven stoppages of beam current. The neutralizer keeper voltage and thruster floating potential increased slightly with time. Performance profiles and maps of thruster characteristics were obtained at 453 and 2023 hours into the test. Overall efficiency was nearly constant at 31 - 32 percent, and operating characteristics were similar at both points in the test. A post-shutdown inspection showed negligible erosion damage to the accelerator and cathode baffle. Some erosion was found in the aperture of the neutralizer cathode.
Nakanishi, S.↗
A 9700-hour durability test of a five centimeter diameter ion thruster
A modified Hughes SIT-5 thruster was life-tested at the Lewis Research Center. The final 2700 hours of the test are described with a charted history of thruster operating parameters and off-normal events. Performance and operating characteristics were nearly constant throughout the test except for neutralizer heater power requirements and accelerator drain current. A post-shutdown inspection revealed sputter erosion of ion chamber components and component flaking of sputtered metal. Several flakes caused beamlet divergence and anomalous grid erosion, causing the test to be terminated. All sputter erosion sources were identified.
Nakanishi, S.↗
A 9700-hour durability test of a five centimeter diameter ion thruster
A modified Hughes SIT-5 thrustor has been life-tested at the Lewis Research Center. The final 2700 hours of the test are described with a charted history of thrustor operating parameters and off-normal events. Performance and operating characteristics were nearly constant throughout the test except for neutralizer heater power requirements and accelerator drain current. A post-shutdown inspection revealed sputter erosion of ion chamber components and component flaking of sputtered metal. Several flakes caused beamlet divergence and anomalous grid erosion, causing the test to be terminated. All sputter erosion sources have been identified and promising sputter resistant components are currently being evaluated.
Nakanishi, S.↗
Radiation dose estimates for typical piloted NTR lunar and Mars mission engine operations
The natural and manmade radiation environments to be encountered during lunar and Mars missions are qualitatively summarized. The computational methods available to characterize the radiation environment produced by an operating nuclear propulsion system are discussed. Mission profiles and vehicle configurations are presented for a typical all-propulsive, fully reusable lunar mission and for a typical all-propulsive Mars mission. Estimates of crew location biological doses are developed for all propulsive maneuvers. Post-shutdown dose rates near the nuclear engine are estimated at selected mission times.
Schnitzler, Bruce G.↗
Calculation of Internal Pressures in the Fuel Tube of a Nuclear Reactor
General procedures for computing internal pressures in fuel tubes of nuclear reactors are described and the effects on the pressure of varying neutron flux, fissioning material, and operating temperatures are discussed. A general proof is given that during pile operation each fission product is monotonically increasing and therefore a maximum amount of all elements is present at the time of shit down. The post-shutdown build-up of elements that are held in check during pile operation because of their inordinately high capture cross sections is calculated quantitatively. An account of chemical interactions between the many fission-product elements and the resulting effect on the total pressure completes the discussion. The general methods are illustrated by calculations applied to a system consisting of 90 percent enriched U235 in the form of UO2 packed into a hollow metal cylinder or "pin", operating at a flux of 8 x 10(exp 14) at 2000 F. Calculations of the pressure inside a pin are made with and without a sodium metal heat-transfer additive. The bulk of the pressure is shown to depend on the four elements, xenon, krypton, rubidium, and cesium; the amount of free oxygen, however, was also significant. For a shutdown time of 10(exp 6) seconds, the pressure was about 100 atmospheres.
Rosenbaum, B. M.↗