Design point characteristics of a 15-to-80 kNe nuclear-reactor Brayton-cycle power system

A study of a 15-to-80 kWe nuclear-reactor-' -.powered Brayton-cycle power-system i s presented.The system has a design turbine i n l e t temperat u r e of 1 1 5 0 ' F based on the use of a zirconium-.hydride r e a c t o r but i s a l s o required t o be capab l e of operation a t t u r b i n e ' i n l e t temperatures up t o 1600° F with an advanced reactor.Considera t i o n s involved i n the s e l e c t i o n of cycle parame t e r s , working f l u i d , pressure l e v e l , and turbomachinery r o t a t i o n a l speed a r e discussed.Size and weight est*tes and predicted design-point performance and required r a d i a t o r area a r e pre-I sented. NASA-LEWIS AS PART OF i t s Brayton-cycle space ' 1power system technology program has been pursuing i the development of power conversion equipment f o r use with a nuclear-reactor heat-source.Cont r a c t s were l e t i n 1969 t o obtain a d e f i n i t i o n of optimum system parameters and preliminary designs of the turbine-alternator-compressor (TAC) assemb l y and t h e gas-loop heat exchangers and ducting (HXDA).The contractual e f f o r t was based on an in-house study of power conversion equipment producing 40 t o 160 kilowatts of gross a l t e r n a t o r power f o r use with an advanced 2200° R nuclearr e a c t o r (1)*., --r: With the cancellation of t h e SNAP-8 mercury Rankine program i n 1970, g r e a t e r emphasis was placed on t h e use of a Brayton power conversion module with the zirconium-hydride reactor.A Brayton power system capable of producing t e n s of kilowatts was a l s o a more immediate need.A con-' ' version system net power range of 15 t o 80 ktig , i was s e l e c t e d as more appropriate f o r near-future j 1 , space power needs and a s more closely matched t o i I t h e zirconium-hydride r e a c t o r power l e v e l .A i