Power Generation Capabilities of Tie Tube Assemblies

Gunn, S. V.; Hedstrom, J.C.; Hundal, Rolv

doi:10.1063/1.2950251

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In 1994, Gunn, Hedstrom, and Hundal presented an analysis of the tie tube elements in a BNTR system based on the SNRE, as described above. They determined that the ZrC insulation sleeves in the SNRE design prohibit effective heat transfer to the tie tube coolant, and that modifications of the material and geometry of the tie tubes could enable a 245-570% increase in the thermal performance of the elements [20]. Figure 2.7 illustrates how the ZrC insulator layer of a NERVA tie tube allows very little heat to reach the coolant channels.…”

Section: Post-sei Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Propulsion and Power Modeling for Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rockets

Clough¹,

Starkey²,

Lewis³

et al. 2007

43rd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference &Amp;amp; Exhibit

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Design point results show that a 316 MWt reactor produces a thrust and specific impulse of 66.6 kN and 917 s, respectively. The same reactor can be run at 73.8 kWt to produce the necessary 16.7 kW electric power with a Brayton cycle generator. This demonstrates the feasibility of BNTR operation with a NERVAderived reactor but also indicates that the reactor control system must be able to operate with precision across a wide power range, and that the transient analysis of reactor decay heat merits future investigation.Results also identify a significant reactor pressure-drop limitation during propulsion and power-generation operation that is caused by poor tie tube thermal conductivity. This leads to the conclusion that, while BNTR operation is possible with a NERVA-derived reactor, doing so requires careful consideration of the Brayton cycle design point and fuel element survivability.

show abstract

Section: Post-sei Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%