Nuclear Space Power and Propulsion Systems


Book Description

Nuclear propulsion : an introduction / Claudio Bruno -- Nuclear-thermal-rocket propulsion systems / Timothy J. Lawrence -- Application of ion thrusters to high-thrust, high-specific-impulse nuclear electric missions / D.G. Fearn -- High-power and high-thrust-density electric propulsion for in-space transportation / Monika Auweter-Kurtz and Helmut Kurtz -- Review of reactor configurations for space nuclear electric propulsion and surface power considerations / Roger X. Lenard -- Nuclear safety : legal aspects and policy recommendations / Roger X. Lenard -- Radioactivity, doses, and risks in nuclear propulsion / Alessio Del Rossi and Claudio Bruno -- The Chernobyl accident : a detailed account / Alessio del Rossi and Claudio Bruno.




Radioisotope Power Systems


Book Description

Spacecraft require electrical energy. This energy must be available in the outer reaches of the solar system where sunlight is very faint. It must be available through lunar nights that last for 14 days, through long periods of dark and cold at the higher latitudes on Mars, and in high-radiation fields such as those around Jupiter. Radioisotope power systems (RPSs) are the only available power source that can operate unconstrained in these environments for the long periods of time needed to accomplish many missions, and plutonium-238 (238Pu) is the only practical isotope for fueling them. Plutonium-238 does not occur in nature. The committee does not believe that there is any additional 238Pu (or any operational 238Pu production facilities) available anywhere in the world.The total amount of 238Pu available for NASA is fixed, and essentially all of it is already dedicated to support several pending missions-the Mars Science Laboratory, Discovery 12, the Outer Planets Flagship 1 (OPF 1), and (perhaps) a small number of additional missions with a very small demand for 238Pu. If the status quo persists, the United States will not be able to provide RPSs for any subsequent missions.




Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration


Book Description

Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration identifies primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. This report presents key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for performance nuclear thermal propulsion and nuclear electric propulsion systems and identifies missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.




Space Nuclear Power Generators


Book Description

Considers Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power program and plans for utilization of isotopic, reactor, or solar powered space electric power systems. Includes "Preliminary SNAPSHOT-1 Performance Summary," AEC report, p. 135-230.







Thermodynamics In Nuclear Power Plant Systems


Book Description

This book covers the fundamentals of thermodynamics required to understand electrical power generation systems, honing in on the application of these principles to nuclear reactor power systems. It includes all the necessary information regarding the fundamental laws to gain a complete understanding and apply them specifically to the challenges of operating nuclear plants. Beginning with definitions of thermodynamic variables such as temperature, pressure and specific volume, the book then explains the laws in detail, focusing on pivotal concepts such as enthalpy and entropy, irreversibility, availability, and Maxwell relations. Specific applications of the fundamentals to Brayton and Rankine cycles for power generation are considered in-depth, in support of the book’s core goal- providing an examination of how the thermodynamic principles are applied to the design, operation and safety analysis of current and projected reactor systems. Detailed appendices cover metric and English system units and conversions, detailed steam and gas tables, heat transfer properties, and nuclear reactor system descriptions.




Priorities in Space Science Enabled by Nuclear Power and Propulsion


Book Description

In 2003, NASA began an R&D effort to develop nuclear power and propulsion systems for solar system exploration. This activity, renamed Project Prometheus in 2004, was initiated because of the inherent limitations in photovoltaic and chemical propulsion systems in reaching many solar system objectives. To help determine appropriate missions for a nuclear power and propulsion capability, NASA asked the NRC for an independent assessment of potentially highly meritorious missions that may be enabled if space nuclear systems became operational. This report provides a series of space science objectives and missions that could be so enabled in the period beyond 2015 in the areas of astronomy and astrophysics, solar system exploration, and solar and space physics. It is based on but does not reprioritize the findings of previous NRC decadal surveys in those three areas.




Advanced Smaller Modular Reactors


Book Description

This book discusses advanced Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as a way to provide safe, clean, and affordable nuclear power options. The advanced SMRs currently under development in the U.S. represent a variety of sizes, technology options and deployment scenarios. These advanced reactors, envisioned to vary in size from a couple megawatts up to hundreds of megawatts can be used for power generation, process heat, desalination, or other industrial uses. In-depth chapters describe how advanced SMRs offer multiple advantages, such as relatively small size, reduced capital investment, location flexibility, and provisions for incremental power additions. SMRs also offer distinct safeguards, security and nonproliferation advantages. The authors present a thorough examination of the technology and defend methods by which the new generation of nuclear power plants known as GEN-IV can safely be used as an efficient source of renewable energy. Provides a unique and innovative approach to the implementation of Small Modular Reactor as part of GEN-IV technology; Discusses how Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) can deliver a viable alternative to Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs); Presents an argument defending the need for nuclear power plant as a source of energy, its efficiency and cost effectiveness, as well as safety related issues.




Nuclear Power and the Environment


Book Description

Reviews the political and social context for nuclear power generation, the nuclear fuel cycles and their implications for the environment.




Handbook of Generation IV Nuclear Reactors


Book Description

Handbook of Generation IV Nuclear Reactors, Second Edition is a fully revised and updated comprehensive resource on the latest research and advances in generation IV nuclear reactor concepts. Editor Igor Pioro and his team of expert contributors have updated every chapter to reflect advances in the field since the first edition published in 2016. The book teaches the reader about available technologies, future prospects and the feasibility of each concept presented, equipping them users with a strong skillset which they can apply to their own work and research. - Provides a fully updated, revised and comprehensive handbook dedicated entirely to generation IV nuclear reactors - Includes new trends and developments since the first publication, as well as brand new case studies and appendices - Covers the latest research, developments and design information surrounding generation IV nuclear reactors