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Project Prometheus--turbine or MHD?



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 11th 04, 06:53 PM
Asherian
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Default Project Prometheus--turbine or MHD?

Does anybody know whether Project Prometheus is going to use a
turbine-driven generator or an MHD?
  #2  
Old February 12th 04, 02:51 AM
Henry Spencer
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Default Project Prometheus--turbine or MHD?

In article ,
Asherian wrote:
Does anybody know whether Project Prometheus is going to use a
turbine-driven generator or an MHD?


Nobody's made any decisions at that level of detail. It might well do
something like thermionic conversion.

MHD is actually pretty unlikely. As I understand it, making reliable,
long-lived MHD systems is an unsolved problem.
--
MOST launched 30 June; science observations running | Henry Spencer
since Oct; first surprises seen; papers pending. |
  #5  
Old February 14th 04, 12:03 AM
dave schneider
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Default Project Prometheus--turbine or MHD?

(Allen Thomson) wrote in message . com...
(Asherian) wrote


Does anybody know whether Project Prometheus is going to use a
turbine-driven generator or an MHD?


What little has come out, mostly relative to JIMO, leads me to
think that they're intending to revive SP-100 as a first step.
IIRC, the baseline SP-100 design used thermoelectric converters,
though there was consideration of thermionic or dynamic upgrades.

Manned Mars propulsion will require something beyond that.


Science Daily just had a release from Los Alamos that's related; you
might have seen it at other sites, too.

quote
Los Alamos Leading Fast-paced Reactor Research To Power Planned
Journey To Jupiter's Icy Moons

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Feb. 10, 2004 -- A proposed U.S. mission to
investigate three ice-covered moons of Jupiter will demand fast-paced
research, fabrication and realistic non-nuclear testing of a prototype
nuclear reactor within two years, says a Los Alamos National
Laboratory scientist.

The roots of this build and test effort have been under way at Los
Alamos since the mid-1990s, said David Poston, leader of the Space
Fission Power Team in Los Alamos' Nuclear Design and Risk Analysis
Group.

NASA proposes using use electrical ion propulsion powered by a nuclear
reactor for its Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, an element of Project
Prometheus, which is scheduled for launch after 2011. However, the
United States hasn't flown a space fission system since 1965.

Poston discussed technical requirements for such a fission reactor in
two presentations Monday at the Space Technology and Applications
International Forum in Albuquerque. Los Alamos is a co-sponsor of the
forum. Poston discussed "The Impact of Core Cooling Technology Options
on JIMO Reactor Designs" and "The Impact of Power and Lifetime
Requirements on JIMO Reactor Designs."
/quote

and

quote
Most researchers have agreed on the best fuels and reactor
construction materials for the proposed fast-spectrum, externally
controlled JIMO reactor. The major design choice that remains is how
best to transport power from the reactor core to the power conversion
system.

Los Alamos and NASA are examining three primary options for core
cooling: pumped liquid-metal sodium or lithium; sodium or lithium
liquid metal heat pipes; and inert helium or helium-xenon gas. Many of
these options have been tested for decades for terrestrial reactors,
but the reactor for JIMO would be unique, Poston said.
/quote

The original is at Los Al's site:
http://www.lanl.gov/worldview/news/r...e/04-005.shtml

/dps
  #7  
Old February 23rd 04, 06:53 AM
MSu1049321
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Default Project Prometheus--turbine or MHD?

If an MHD, you have exhaust that can be an additional, albeit minor, source of
thrust.
 




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