overview of usnc-tech leu fission power systems for...

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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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-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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overview of usnc-tech leu fission power systems for...

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