NUCLEAR SPACE VEHICLES USING PEBBLE BED REACTORS
Nuclear space vehicles launched from an eanth orbit have little or no atmospheric contamination and in general have several advantages over nuclear rockets launched from ground. The reactor system that appears best for such vehicles is made up of a uranium-bearing graphite core with hydrogen coolant- propellant, which can furnish a specific impulse of 850 sec. This impulse requires a flow of 10 to 20 lb/sec. which means that a pebble bed reactor can be used. The design for such a reactor utilizing uranium-loaded graphite pellets is given together with the effects of its variables. e.g., variation of thickness of the BeO reflector. void fraction. and pellet thickness. Propellant pressure drops across the core are shown to be larger than for parallel plates or rods. (D.L.C.)
- Research Organization:
- Thiokol Chemical Corp. Reaction Motors Div., Denville, N.J.
- NSA Number:
- NSA-14-015460
- OSTI ID:
- 4156620
- Report Number(s):
- NP-8586
- Country of Publication:
- Country unknown/Code not available
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
CONFERENCE
COOLANTS
DISPERSIONS
FLUID FLOW
GRAPHITE
HYDROGEN
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
NEW YORK
PEBBLE BED
PELLETS
PLANNING
PLATES
PRESSURE
PROPULSION
REACTOR CORE
REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
REACTORS
REFLECTORS
ROCKETS
RODS
SPACE VEHICLES
THICKNESS
URANIUM
VARIATIONS
ZONES