Preliminary Design Study of a 1 MWe Space Nuclear Power Plant M. MISAWA & S. KONDO Summary This paper describes the results of a preliminary design study performed on a 1 MWe heat pipe based space nuclear power system capable of being launched in the Space Shuttle. Two basic power conversion technologies were considered - thermionic conversion and the Rankine cycle with potassium working fluid. Design variables were optimized to minimize systems mass under given thermal and dimensional constraints. Turbine inlet temperature was the most important constraint for the Rankine cycle based system, while maximum allowable fuel temperature was the most significant constraint for thermionic conversion. The specific masses for the Rankine and thermionic systems were 9.7 and 5.6 kg/kW, respectively. This preliminary study indicates the feasibility of a 1 MWe nuclear power system for shuttle launch and suggests that thermionic conversion is preferable to the Rankine cycle. Introduction Electrical power demands for various space facilities will increase as they become more advanced [1-3]. For power generation in excess of 100 kWe, nuclear systems are believed to be more economical than solar power systems [16]. Furthermore, nuclear energy is the only realistic power source for deep space missions. Space nuclear power programs are presently underway in the United States, [4-7, 16], The United States is pursuing the SP-100 program as well as others in order to develop, demonstrate and make available space reactor systems capable of providing up to a megawatt of electrical power. Thermoelectric conversion powered by a lithium cooled, uranium nitride fuelled fast reactor was selected in August 1985 for the SP-100. The program is currently in an engineering development phase involving ground testing in a simulated space environment. There are no Japanese plans to develop space nuclear power due to the lower power demands in the current Japanese space program. If Japanese space development involving international cooperation proceeds, there will be a need for high power technologies in the late 1990s and beyond. Thus it is not too early for Japan to investigate the feasibility of megawatt scale space nuclear power sources for future missions. M. Misawa, Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan; and S. Kondo, Nuclear Engineering Research Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo, 2-22 Shirane Sirakata, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken 319-11, Japan. Note: This article was rewritten for style by the Editor of Space Power (Andrew Cutler). Any defects of style, as well as any errors or mis-statements which have crept into this detailed and insightful paper are the fault of the Editor.
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