Light weight radioisotope heater unit (LWRHU): a technical description of the reference design

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1982

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5253319· OSTI ID:5253319

Tate, R E

The Light Weight Radioisotope Heater Unit (LWRHU), a new radioisotope heater unit for use in space missions, is a /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/-fueled unit designed to provide a thermal watt in dispersed locations on a spacecraft. The LWRHU is required to maintain the temperature of a component at a level where the component will function reliably in space. Two major constraints are placed on the unit's design; it must be as light as possible and must provide enough protection to immobilize the plutonium fuel to the maximum extent in all phases of the unit's lifetime. The four components are pelletized fuel, platinum-alloy encapsulation, pyrolytic graphite thermal insulation, and high-technology graphite ablation shell. The LWRHU is a cylinder 32 mm (1.26 in.) high and 26 mm (1.02 in.) in diameter. It weighs slightly less than 40 g(.09 lb).

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5253319
• Report Number(s): LA-9078-MS; ON: DE82014121; TRN: 82-013178
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Portions of document are illegible
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

07 ISOTOPES AND RADIATION SOURCES
HEATERS
DESIGN
RADIOISOTOPE HEAT SOURCES
PLUTONIUM 238
SPACE VEHICLES
CAPSULES
GRAPHITE
MATERIALS TESTING
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MECHANICAL TESTS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLATINUM ALLOYS
RHODIUM ALLOYS
THERMAL INSULATION
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALLOYS
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CARBON
CONTAINERS
ELEMENTAL MINERALS
ELEMENTS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HEAT SOURCES
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MINERALS
NONMETALS
NUCLEI
PLATINUM METAL ALLOYS
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
TESTING
VEHICLES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
070301* - Isotopic Power Supplies- Design & Fabrication- (-1987)