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Nuclear light bulb
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Latham, Tom |
| Copyright Year | 1991 |
| Description | The nuclear light bulb engine is a closed cycle concept. The nuclear light bulb concept provides containment by keeping the nuclear fuel fluid mechanically suspended in a cylindrical geometry. Thermal heat passes through an internally cooled, fused-silica, transparent wall and heats hydrogen propellant. The seeded hydrogen propellant absorbs radiant energy and is expanded through a nozzle. Internal moderation was used in the configuration which resulted in a reduced critical density requirement. This result was supported by criticality experiments. A reference engine was designed that had seven cells and was sized to fit in what was then predicted to be the shuttle bay mass and volume limitations. There were studies done of nozzle throat cooling schemes to remove the radiant heat. Elements of the nuclear light bulb program included closed loop critical assembly tests done at Los Alamos with UF6 confined by argon buffer gas. It was shown that the fuel region could be seeded with constituents that would block UV radiation from the uranium plasma. A combination of calculations and experiments showed that internal moderation produced a critical mass reduction. Other aspects of the research are presented. |
| File Size | 420244 |
| Page Count | 12 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19920001892 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t7xm37353 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1991-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Spacecraft Propulsion And Power Cooling Systems Closed Cycles Radiant Flux Density Engine Tests Critical Mass Nuclear Rocket Engines Silica Glass Nozzle Design Throats Nuclear Fuels Exhaust Nozzles Gaseous Fission Reactors Uranium Fluorides Uranium Plasmas Rocket Engine Design Containment Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
