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Brayton Power Conversion System Study to Advance Technology Readiness for Nuclear Electric PropulsionRecently, there has been significant interest within the aerospace community to develop space based nuclear power conversion technologies especially for exploring the outer planets of our solar system where the solar energy density is very low. To investigate these technologies NASA awarded several contracts under Project Prometheus, the Nuclear Systems Program. The studies described in this paper were performed under one of those contracts, which was to investigate the use of a nuclear power conversion system based on the closed Brayton cycle (CBC).The investigation performed included BPCS (Brayton Power Conversion System) trade studies to minimize system weight and radiator area and advance the state of the art of BPCS technology. The primary requirements for studies were a power level of 100 kWe (to the PPU), a low overall power system mass and a lifetime of 15 years (10 years full power). For the radiation environment, the system was to be capable of operation in the generic space environment and withstand the extreme environments surrounding Jupiter. The studies defined a BPCS design traceable to NEP (Nuclear Electric Propulsion) requirements and suitable for future missions with a sound technology plan for technology readiness level (TRL) advancement identified. The studies assumed a turbine inlet temperature approx. 100 C above the current the state of the art capabilities with materials issues and related development tasks identified. Analyses and evaluations of six different HRS (heat rejection system) designs and three primary power management and distribution (PMAD) configurations will be discussed in the paper.
Document ID
20050203854
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Patrick E. Frye
(Boeing (United States) Chicago, United States)
Robert Allen
(Boeing (United States) Chicago, United States)
Rex Delventhal
(Glenn Research Center Cleveland, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: AIP Conference Proceedings
Publisher: American Institute of Physics
Volume: 746
Issue: 1
Issue Publication Date: February 6, 2005
ISSN: 0094-243X
e-ISSN: 1551-7616
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Meeting Information
Meeting: Space 2004 Conference
Location: Providence, RI
Country: US
Start Date: September 1, 2004
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS3-02204
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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