Design and Analysis of a 250 MW Plate-Fuel Reactor for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion [electronic resource]

• Ngôn ngữ: eng
• Ký hiệu phân loại: 621.48 Nuclear engineering
• Thông tin xuất bản: Idaho Falls, Idaho : Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Idaho National Laboratory ; Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy, 2020
• Mô tả vật lý: Medium: ED : , digital, PDF file.
• Bộ sưu tập: Metadata
• ID: 266203
• Chủ đề: 1. 22 - general studies of nuclear reactors; 2. 33 - advanced propulsion systems; 3. Nuclear reactor core design; 4. Nuclear thermal propulsion

Tóm tắt

Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) is a viable option for deep space missions due to its high thrust and lightweight system. Promising fuel options considered for the high operating temperature of NTP include graphite composite fuel and tungsten cermet fuel. As there remain uncertainties in the fabrication and performance of these two fuel elements, alternative designs using fuel plates and more typical fuels based on proven nuclear technologies are also being considered. This paper provides a summary of thermal hydraulic and neutronic analyses of the straight-plate fuel assembly design used for a 250 MW NTP core. The summary of technical findings from a series of scoping studies might be useful for future NTP engine designs.