Nomenclature The power plant of a large orbital station consists of a fast neutron nuclear reactor, built-in thermo-electric generator and a cooling system. The latter contains a main loop with liquid-metal high temperature coolant which, in turn, is cooled with help of a bundle of high temperature liquid metal heat pipes. For the initial fast preheating of the cooling system (after it has been cold) there is a special loop filled by low-melting liquid-metal coolant. This coolant (a three component eutectic of system Na-K-Cs) is a universal one and is suitable not only for nuclear reactors but also for solar power sources. Binary and ternary systems of alkali and alkali-earth metals as coolants have the advantage of pure components and the additional merits: • possibility of regulation of thermo, electro and nuclear , physical properties by varying the component fractions, • maximum wide range of working temperatures of the liquid phase being both high- temperature and low-temperature coolants simultaneously , • maximum effectiveness all over this range concerning heat exchange, heat storage, and mass characteristics. For example, by regulating the fractions (of metals), compositions corresponding to special points of phase diagrams which have extraordinarily low temperature of crystallization (T = 200 K), can be obtained This temperature is the minimum one for all the metal liquids known in the world, and the coolant remains in the liquid state at any earth temperature and for most real conditions on a large orbital station. The
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