Date of Award
2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Committee Chair
D. Keith Hollingsworth
Committee Member
Dale Thomas
Committee Member
George Nelson
Subject(s)
Nuclear propulsion--Models, Nuclear reactors--Thermodynamics
Abstract
A numerical model was developed to study the heat transfer within the reactor of a Centrifugal Nuclear Thermal Propulsion system wherein liquid uranium heats hydrogen gas via direct-contact heat transfer. This one-dimensional, steady-state model treats the liquid uranium annulus of the centrifugal reactor as a conducting solid with internal energy generation and includes models of convection on the outside of the reactor, nonuniform energy generation from a detailed neutronics calculation, and models of bubble velocity and heat transfer. Results for three annulus geometries were compared for a variety of run conditions with the goal of maximizing the propellant output temperature within constraints on wall temperature and void fraction. Temperatures of approximately 3800 �� can be achieved with wall temperatures of roughly 1500 ��, while wall temperatures of roughly 2500 �� are required to achieve core temperatures on the order of 5000 ��.
Recommended Citation
Keese, Jacob T., "Thermal model of a centrifugal nuclear thermal propulsion system" (2022). Theses. 386.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-theses/386