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Design Considerations for the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES)Nuclear Thermal Rockets or NTR's have been suggested as a propulsion system option for vehicles traveling to the moon or Mars. These engines are capable of providing high thrust at specific impulses at least twice that of today s best chemical engines. The performance constraints on these engines are mainly the result of temperature limitations on the fuel coupled with a limited ability to withstand chemical attack by the hot hydrogen propellant. To operate at maximum efficiency, fuel forms are desired which can withstand the extremely hot, hostile environment characteristic of NTR operation for at least several hours. The simulation of such an environment would require an experimental device which could simultaneously approximate the power, flow, and temperature conditions which a nuclear fuel element (or partial element) would encounter during NTR operation. Such a simulation would allow detailed studies of the fuel behavior and hydrogen flow characteristics under reactor like conditions to be performed. The goal of these simulations would be directed toward expanding the performance envelope of NTR engines over that which was demonstrated during the Rover and NERVA nuclear rocket programs of the 1970's. Currently, such a simulator is nearing completion at the Marshall Space Flight Center, and will shortly be used in the future to evaluate a wide variety of he1 element designs and the materials of which they are constructed. This present work addresses the initial experimental objectives of the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator or NTREES and some of the design considerations which were considered prior to and during its construction.
Document ID
20060047458
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Emrich, Bill
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Kirk, Daniel
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2006
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Meeting Information
Meeting: 42nd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit
Location: Sacramento, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: July 10, 2006
End Date: July 13, 2006
Sponsors: American Society for Electrical Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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