The increasing need for higher electrical power levels for military and scientific space purposes has spurred development of energy conversion systems with higher efficiencies, than the traditional solar array. Nuclear options eliminate the need for large deployable solar arrays or concentrators, allow unrestricted pointing and maneuvering, and are inherently less susceptible to natural and threat environments. For over 15 years, NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE) have been developing dynamic conversion cycles for a radioisotope fueled system in the 1 to 10 KW range. Ground demonstration units of the two competing dynamic cycles, the Closed Brayton Cycle (CBC) and Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), have been built and tested, but neither has ever been flown in space. Long-life requirements as well as the zero-g environment of space present particular problems for each cycle, which must be demonstrated successfully through ground demonstrations in order to verify critical component operation.
Dynamic isotope power system component demonstrations
Komponentendemonstration fuer ein dynamisches Isotopenantriebssystem
IECEC, 23rd Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conf., ASME ; 3 , Aug ; 137-143
1988
7 Seiten, 8 Bilder, 4 Tabellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
Dynamic Power Conversion Cycle Component Demonstrations
SAE Technical Papers | 1988
|British Library Conference Proceedings | 2008
|AeroMACS system characterization and demonstrations
IEEE | 2013
|The Hunter UAV System Payload Demonstrations
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1998
|