A heat pipe nuclear reactor design concept is being investigated for space power applications. The reactor can be coupled to a variety of high-temperature (1200-1700 K) electrical conversion systems such as thermoelectric, thermionic, and Brayton cycle converters. It is designed to operate in the power range 0.1-3 MW for lifetimes of about 10 years. The reactor is a fast spectrum, compact assembly of hexagonal fuel elements, each cooled by an axial molybdenum heat pipe and loaded with fully enriched UC-ZrC or Mo-UO2 Reactor control ist provided in the radial reflector. A comparison of several power plants employing the heat pipe reactor concept is presented for an output power level of 50 kW. (Se)
Heat pipe nuclear reactors for space applications
Waermeleitrohr-Kernreaktor fuer Raumfahrt-Anwendungen
3RD INTERNAT. HEAT PIPE CONF., AIAA ; 391-397
1978
7 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 3 Tabellen, 18 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
Heat pipe nuclear reactors for space applications
AIAA | 1978
|Heat pipe reactors for space power applications
AIAA | 1977
|Heat-Pipe Reactors for Space Power Applications
AIAA | 1977
|