Document Details

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Reactor thrust during boost in a high altitude trajectory

REPORT

1962 Nov 12

9 p.

UCRL-ID-125505

Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

1997 Mar 28

2009 Nov 09

Reactor startup of a submarine based missile must be accomplished during boost., so that at burnout the reactor maximum wall temperature is at or near the design value. Because cooling air must be supplied during this period, there exists the possibility of obtaining some thrust to augment the booster. To find how much reactor thrust might be available, a representative high altitude boost trajectory was selected. This is shown together with an estimated pressure recovery curve for the inlet. It has been assumed that by some appropriate means the flow rate passed by the inlet exactly matches that demanded by the reactor and nozzle. Hot day conditions are assumed. The missile power plant was the Tory II-C reactor with its design point-optimized nozzle throat area of 750 square inches. Nozzle expansion is complete. The reactor maximum wall temperature was assumed to be constant at design (2500 degrees F) from time zero. Thus the thrust computed at any time is the maximum possible within the reactor design temperature limitation, and provides a guide to a desirable startup time. Available thrust and reactor exit conditions were obtained with the digital codes Dash N and Nomac.