Model of a nuclear thermal test pipe using ATHENA

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/307935· OSTI ID:307935

Dibben, Mark J. ^[1]

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1. Air Force Inst. of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB (United States)

Nuclear thermal propulsion offers significant improvements in rocket engine specific impulse over rockets employing chemical propulsion. The computer code ATHENA (Advanced Thermal Hydraulic Energy Network Analyzer) was used in a parametric analysis of a fuelpipe. The fuelpipe is an annular particle bed fuel element of the reactor with radially inward flow of hydrogen through it. The outlet temperature of the hydrogen is parametrically related to key effects, including the effect of reactor power at two different pressure drops, the effect of the power coupling factor of the Annular Core Research Reactor, and the effect of hydrogen flow. Results show that the outlet temperature is linearly related to the reactor power and nonlinearly to the change in pressure drop. The linear relationship at higher temperatures is probably not valid due to dissociation of hydrogen. Once thermal properties of hydrogen become available, the ATHENA model for this study could easily be modified to test this conjecture.

• Research Organization: Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy
• DOE Contract Number: AI03-88SF17799
• OSTI ID: 307935
• Report Number(s): DOE/SF/17799-T2; AFIT/GNE/ENP-92M-2; ON: DE99001602; TRN: AHC29905%%112
• Resource Relation: Other Information: TH: Thesis (M.S.); PBD: Mar 1992
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
99 MATHEMATICS
COMPUTERS
INFORMATION SCIENCE
MANAGEMENT
LAW
MISCELLANEOUS
ROCKET ENGINES
SPACE PROPULSION REACTORS
A CODES
PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS
FUEL PINS
HEAT TRANSFER
HYDRAULICS
PEBBLE BED REACTORS
ANNULAR SPACE
HYDROGEN
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems