Non Nuclear NTR Environmental Simulator

Computer Science – Performance

Scientific paper

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Propulsion Reactors, Fuel Elements, Preparation, Reloading, And Reprocessing, Spaceborne And Space Research Instruments, Apparatus, And Components

Scientific paper

Nuclear Thermal Rockets or NTR's have been suggested as a propulsion system option for vehicles traveling to the moon or Mars. These engines are capable of providing high thrust at specific impulses at least twice that of today's best chemical engines. The performance constraints on these engines are mainly the result of temperature limitations on the fuel coupled with a limited ability to withstand chemical attack by the hot hydrogen propellant. To operate at maximum efficiency, fuel forms are desired which can withstand the extremely hot, hostile environment characteristic of NTR operation for at least several hours. The simulation of such an environment would require an experimental device which could simultaneously approximate the power, flow, and temperature conditions which a nuclear fuel element (or partial element) would encounter during NTR operation. Such a simulation would allow detailed studies of the fuel behavior and hydrogen flow characteristics under reactor like conditions to be performed. The goal of these simulations would be directed toward expanding the performance envelope of NTR engines over that which was demonstrated during the Rover and NERVA nuclear rocket programs of the 1970's. Current planning calls for such a simulator to be constructed at the Marshall Space Flight Center over the coming year, and it is anticipated that it will be used in the future to evaluate a wide variety of fuel element designs and the materials of which they are constructed. This present work addresses the initial experimental objectives of the NTR simulator with regard to reproducing the fuel degradation patterns previously observed during the NERVA testing.

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