OverviewofUSNC-TechLEUFissionPowerSystemsforSpaceApplications
PaoloVenneri,PhD– [email protected]/Director,USNC-Tech
©USNC-Tech2019- Proprietary&Confidential
USNC-Tech
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• FirsttodemonstratetheapplicabilityofLow-EnrichedUranium(LEU)fuelfornuclearthermalpropulsion
• ReactordesignteamresponsibleforthemajorityofLEU-NTPconceptdesignsproducedfortheNASALEU-NTPprogram• CenterforSpaceNuclearResearch– ResearchFellows• AerojetRocketdyne– ContractedDesignTeam• BWXT– PreviouslyContractedDesignTeam
• Conductedcriticalityexperimentsandhothydrogentests,purchasedLEU,andcurrentlyproducingsurrogatefuelsamples
• Morethan60spacenuclearpublications• Largeresearchcollaboratornetworktoaddressanynuclear
developmentneedincludingfuel,material,hothydrogentesting,nucleartesting,flowtests,fluid-hydraulicsCFDandexperiments,andmissionanalysis
PremierCommercialSpaceNuclearDesignandAnalysisGroupintheUSA
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KeyTechnology/CompetitiveAdvantage– FCM™NuclearFuelNuclearFuelisFoundationofTheNuclearSystem
ReactorCore EngineeredMacroScaleFCM™FuelLab
SamplesSiC/TRISO
ParticleMatrixEngineeredMicro
ScaleTRISO
Fully-encapsulated Ceramic Matrix (FCMTM) fuel has over 30 million dollars in R&D from the DoE Accident TolerantFuels Program. It is radiation resistant, chemically non-reactive, fully encapsulates fission products, and capableof extremely high temperatures. FCMTM is a highly engineered fuel built to ensure no release of radioactivematerial even under accident scenarios. Current SiC FCMTM is capable of operation at temperatures above 1600 K.
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©USNC-Tech2019- Proprietary&Confidential
NASALunarPolarResourceProspector[1KP]
NASANTPGroundDemonstration[1NTP]
Comm.LunarIceISRU[1MP]
NEPTug#1[1HP]
MarsProp.Plant[1HP]
NASANTPIn-SpaceDemonstration[1NTP]
NASALunarBaseCamp[2KP]
Comm.LunarBase[2MP]
ESALunarVillage[2MP]
Comm.LunarFoodPilotPlant[1HP]
NEPTug#2[1HP]
Comm.MarsSettlement[2HP]
NASA/LockheedMarsBaseCamp[2MP]
NEPTug#3and#4[2HP]
Self-SustainingComm.LunarSettlement[2HP]
ESALunarVillageExpansion[2HP]
NASAMarsSampleReturn[3NTP]
2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033
MissionsNeedNuclearPowerandPropulsionToday
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1Basedonopenliteratureandpublicannouncements
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USNC-TechDesigns,Develops,andPlanstoBuildNuclearReactorsforCommercialMarketsandGovernmentCustomers
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SurfacefissionpowerreactorforEarth
SurfacefissionpowerreactorforSpace
NuclearThermalPropulsion(NTP)reactor
NuclearElectricPropulsion(NEP)reactor
Capableofspecificimpulse(Isp)of750swithgrowthpathto>900s
Capableofpowerdensity(a)<20kg/kWwithgrowthpathto<10kg/kW
Permanentpower,mobilepower,andindustrialheatMMR™teamiscurrentlylicensingfirst-of-a-kindinCanada
PowerforISRU,life-support,mining,reprocessingofmaterials
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LEUFuelinSpaceNuclearFissionPowerSystems
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• IncreaseUraniumUtilizationo ModeratedSpectrums- compensatefor
lowerfissilecontent,typicallyrelyonhigh-performanceneutronmoderatorstoincreasethefissioncross-section
• ReduceParasiticAbsorptiono Usein-corematerialsthathaverelatively
lowneutronabsorptioncross-sectionstopreventneutronabsorptioninnon-fuelmaterials
• ReduceNeutronLeakageo Combinationoflargercoreswithlower
volumetosurfacearearatiosandthickerneutronreflectorstopreventneutronsfromleavingthesystem
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ThePylon:SurfaceFissionPowerbyandforCommercialSpace
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Near-TermDeployment DesignedforNear-TermSpaceMarketsandApplications• LEUfuelenablescommercialproduct• Operatesatconservativeoperating
temperatures• Usesexistingandwell-knownmaterials• Maximizesabilitytouseoff-the-shelf-
components
• ScalabledesignfromkWe toMWe• Reactorandsystemmassviablefornear-
termlunarlanderso 150kWe – 4.5tonswith30%
margin• Applicableto:
o ISRUo Electricalpowero Industrialprocesses
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©USNC-Tech2019- Proprietary&Confidential
USNC-TechPylonReactorConceptualreactorsdesignedwithconservativeperformanceandscalabletomultiplepowerlevels
Parameter Value
TurbineInlet 1,150K(875°C)
Life-time 10years
UraniumEnrichment 19.75%(LEU)
FuelType FCM™(coatedparticlefuelinSiCcompact)
Delivery CLPSClassLander(Sub-MW)
ReactorReactor
Mass(CBE)(kg)
Powerlevel(kWe)
PowerperReactorMass
(We/kg)
PYLON-10 950 10 10
PYLON-150 1,500 150 100
PYLON-1000 3,000 1,000 333
Conceptualdesignofa150kWe PylonReactor.
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0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
10kWeStirling 150kWeBrayton
5tonLunarLanderPackage(30%Margin)
MarginPMADRecouperatorPowerConversionReactorandShieldRadiator
2,940kgremaining
470kgremaining
High-performancesystemwithrealisticparametersLunarPylonSystemMassBreakdown
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
20000
1MWeBrayton
1MWe System(30%Margin)
Mass
[kg]
17,950kgtotal
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Mass[kg]
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USNC-TechLEU-FCM™FissionPowerSystemsareCompetitive
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ReactorReactorMass(CBE)(kg)
Powerlevel(kWe)
PowerperReactorMass(We/kg)
OutletTemp.(K) U-235Enrichment
PYLON-10 950 10 10 1,150 LEU
USN
CPYLON-150 1,500 150 100 1,150 LEUPYLON-1000 3,000 1,000 333 1,150 LEU
10kWeKiloPowerHEU 235 10 33 ~1,000 HEU
DOEandN
ASA
10kWeKiloPower LEU(U7Mo) 900 10 11 ~1000 LEU
NASAFissionSurfaceSystem 439 40 16 850 HEUJIMOReactor 1,060 200 125 1,150 HEU
KiloPowerDerivedsystem 3,000 200 67 ~1,000 LEUMegapower 22,000 2,000 91 ~1,000 LEU
1. David I. Poston, “Reference Reactor Module Design for NASA's Lunar Fission Surface Power System”, Proceedings of Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space 2009, Atlanta, GA. June 2009 2. National Aeronautics and Space Administration “Prometheus Project final report” 982-R1204613. Patrick McClure, David Poston “Design and Testing of Small Nuclear Reactors for Defense and Space Applications “Invited Talk to ANS Trinity Section”
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HEUandLEUKilopower ReactorCoreandReflectorGeometry
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ModeratedLEUDesign
HEUKilopower Designo Allmetalcoreo Smallcore,largereflectoro Reliesupon>90percentenriched
HEUforcompactdesign
LEUKilopower Designo ThinPlatesofFuelseparatedbylarge
platesofmetalhydrideso Largecore,smallerreflectoro Reliesuponhydridesforcompactsize
U8MoSolidMetalCore
StartUpRodBeO Reflector StartupRodU8MoThinMetalPlates
BeO Reflector ThickHydridePlates
MetalHEUDesign
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MetalHEU ModeratedLEU MetalLEUU8MoFuel 35 30 350BeOReflector 74 74 360Components 25 35 70Shielding 185 200 230PowerConversion 90 90 90Reflector 35 44 35Moderator 0 79 0
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200445kg 550kg 1135kg
LunarConfigurationMassComparison
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D.Poston,“Kilopower ReactorsforPotentialSpaceApplications,"NETS2019,http://anstd.ans.org/NETS-2019-Papers/Track-4--Space-Reactors/abstract-96-0.pdfM.Gibson,“DevelopmentofNASA'sSmallFissionPowerSystemforScienceandHumanExploration,"Tech.Rep. GRC-E-DAA-TN16225,https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20140017750M.Herring,“ SmallModularFissionReactorsforSpaceApplications,” NETS2019,http://anstd.ans.org/NETS-2019-Papers/Track-4--Space-Reactors/abstract-119-0.pdfD.Poston,P.McClure,“UseofLEUforaSpaceReactor”,LosAlamosNationalLaboratoryLA-UR-17-27226(2017)
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ConsiderationsforDesigningSpaceFissionPowerSystems
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- Reliablyprovidepowerfordesiredtimeperiod
- Meetmassandvolumerequirements
- Canbemadeatneededscaleandquantities
- Reliablesupplychain
- Needstobeaffordableintermsofmoneyaswellastimetoimplementation
- Privatecompaniesneedtobeabletomakeabusinesscase
Performance Manufacturability Affordability Commercialization
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FinalTechnicalThoughtsforDiscussion
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• Above~100kWe,HEUandLEUfissionpowersystemshavesimilarperformancescharacteristics.o Withsomefurtherwork,webelievethatmoderatedLEUKilopower systemscanbe
comparabletoHEUKilopower atlowerpowerlevelsaswell.
• HEUfuelenablesfastspectrumsystemsatlowerpowerlevels• Commercialsystemsneedtobecommerciallyviableandbeabletoclosethe
businesscasefortheirdevelopment.• Thereliabilityofthefuelsupplyisakeyconcernforscalablepowersystems.• Manufacturabilityofhigh-performancemoderators(ZrH,Becompounds)areakey
developmentgoaltoenableLEUsystems.
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