Publication Date:
2019-07-13
Description:
NASA is currently developing an updated concept for a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system. To enable this concept, efficient thermal insulation and cryocooler heat exchanger systems are required to eliminate boil-off of propellant. This paper presents the results of a thermal model used to assess the feasibility of using active cooling with a tube-on-tank heat exchanger configuration for the inline tank of the NTP system. Results show that: cryocooler working fluid temperature and mass flow rate can be adjusted to achieve zero boil off (ZBO) with broad area cooling, over-sizing the cryocooler lift directly translates into a reduction in tank pressure, and broad area cooling may still maintain ZBO despite the reduced heat transfer between tank wall and propellant that is expected in reduced gravity.
Keywords:
Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics; Numerical Analysis
Type:
GRC-E-DAA-TN62843
,
2019 Nuclear and Emerging Technology; Feb 25, 2019 - Feb 27, 2019; Richland, WA; United States
Format:
application/pdf
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