Thermally Simulated 32kW Direct-Drive Gas-Cooled Reactor: Design, Assembly, and Test

Godfroy, Tom; Kapernick, Richard J.; Bragg‐Sitton, Shannon

doi:10.1063/1.1649640

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…So far, thermoelectric converters 2,3 , Stirling engines 4 and turbo-Brayton Cycles 5,6 are considered and studied as a power generation system combined with advanced radioisotope power for relatively smaller missions and with NFR for larger ones. In particular, for larger missions over 1 MWe electric power, gas-cooled NFR with CCMHD system has also been considered and studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basic Studies on Closed Cycle MHD Power Generation System for Space Application

Hishikawa

2004

35th AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference

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Multi-megawatt class nuclear fission reactor powered closed cycle MHD single cycle for space applications using helium and xenon mixture as a working gas has been studied. System analysis was carried out. Total plant efficiency was expected to be 55.2 % including pre-ionization power. Effects of compressor stage number, regenerator efficiency and radiation cooler temperature on plant efficiency were studied. Specific mass of power generation plant was examined. Specific mass of 3 kg/kWe at the net electrical output power of 1 MWe and less than 2 kg/kWe for the output of larger than 3 MWe were expected. Three phases of research and development plan were proposed; Phase-I, Proof of Principle, Phase-II Demonstration of Power Generation, and Phase-III Prototypical Closed Loop Test.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basic Studies on Closed Cycle MHD Power Generation System for Space Application

Hishikawa

2004

35th AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference

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“…Electric heaters have been used for this purpose in numerous terrestrial and space reactor test and development programs (e.g., Casal, 1980;Ott and McCulloch, 2004a;Suriano, 1993;Maslo and Hyer, 1976;Balashov et al, 2002). The thermal simulators (heaters) developed at the EFF-TF have been applied in a variety of space reactor concepts for power or propulsion applications, including heat pipe, direct gas, and liquid metal cooled reactor systems (Bragg-Sitton and Forsbacka, 2004;Godfroy, Kapernick and Bragg-Sitton, 2004;. Thermal simulators previously designed and tested at the EFF-TF were constructed to meet the individual pin power levels and to roughly emulate the axial power distribution of specific reactor designs Bragg-Sitton and Dickens, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced Thermal Simulator Testing: Thermal Analysis and Test Results

Bragg-Sitton

Dickens²,

Dixon³

et al. 2008

AIP Conference Proceedings

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Abstract, Work at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center seeks to develop high fidelity, electrically heated thermal simulators that represent fuel elements in a nuclear reactor design to support non-nuclear testing applicable to the development of a space nuclear power or propulsion system. Comparison between the fuel pins and thermal simulators is made at the outer fuel clad surface, which corresponds to the outer sheath surface in the thermal simulator. The thermal simulators that are currently being tested correspond to a SNAP derivative reactor design that could be applied for Lunar surface power. These simulators are designed to meet the geometric and power requirements of a proposed surface power reactor design, accommodate testing of various axial power profiles, and incorporate imbedded instrumentation. This paper reports the results of thermal simulator analysis and testing in a bare element configuration, which does not incorporate active heat removal, and testing in a water-cooled calorimeter designed to mimic the heat removal that would be experienced in a reactor core.

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“…Designed by engineers at Sandia National Laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the DDG was previously tested to assess basic flow characteristics and system pressure drop (Godfroy, Kapernick and Bragg-Sitton, 2004). This core is currently being refurbished to incorporate additional instrumentation to measure core block temperatures and to replace the existing graphite heater elements that have undergone a significant amount of thermal cycling during previous check-out tests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Response Testing in an Electrically Heated Reactor Test Facility

Bragg-Sitton

James²

2006

AIP Conference Proceedings

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Abstract. Non-nuclear testing can be a valuable tool in development of a space nuclear power or propulsion system. In a non-nuclear test bed, electric heaters are used to simulate the heat from nuclear fuel. Standard testing allows one to fully assess thermal, heat transfer, and stress related attributes of a given system, but fails to demonstrate the dynamic response that would be present in an integrated, fueled reactor system. The integration of thermal hydraulic hardware tests with simulated neutronic response provides a bridge between electrically heated testing and full nuclear testing. By implementing a neutronic response model to simulate the dynamic response that would be expected in a fueled reactor system, one can better understand system integration issues, characterize integrated system response times and response characteristics, and assess potential design improvements at a relatively small fiscal investment.Initial system dynamic response testing was demonstrated on the integrated SAFE-100a heat pipe cooled, electrically heated reactor and heat exchanger hardware, utilizing a one-group solution to the point kinetics equations to simulate the expected neutronic response of the system (Bragg-Sitton, 2005). Reactivity feedback calculations were then based on a bulk reactivity coeficient and measured average core temperature. Similar dynamic test techniques will be applied to a direct drive gas cooled reactor system (DDG), demonstrating the applicability of the testing methodology to any reactor type and demonstrating the variation in system response characteristics in different reactor concepts. Although both system designs utilize a fast spectrum reactor, the method of cooling the reactor differs significantly, leading to a variable system response that can be demonstrated and assessed in a non-nuclear test facility. DDG testing will utilize a higher fidelity point kinetics model that incorporates the complete six delayed neutron groups to control core power transients. Additionally, reactivity feedback will be based on localized reactivity feedback coefficients and several independent temperature measurements taken within the core block. The neutron generation time and individual temperature feedback coefficients will be provided as model inputs. This paper will discuss the methodology that will be implemented in DDG testing and will assess the additional instrumentation needs to implement high fidelity dynamic testing. Dynamic testing is expected to commence early in FY06.

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Thermally Simulated 32kW Direct-Drive Gas-Cooled Reactor: Design, Assembly, and Test

Cited by 5 publications

References 2 publications

Basic Studies on Closed Cycle MHD Power Generation System for Space Application

Basic Studies on Closed Cycle MHD Power Generation System for Space Application

Advanced Thermal Simulator Testing: Thermal Analysis and Test Results

Dynamic Response Testing in an Electrically Heated Reactor Test Facility

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