Engineering

Heat transfer

Materials science

Brayton cycle

Operating system

Power (physics)

Computer science

Heat exchanger

Decay heat

Mechanical engineering

Thermodynamics

Physics

Nuclear engineering

Heat pipe

Conceptual design

Environmental science

Radiator (engine cooling)

Heat sink

Mechanics

Space (punctuation)

Annals of Nuclear Energy

A new conceptual design of a megawatt power level heat pipe cooled space reactor (HPCR) power system adopted the integrated heatpipe-fuel modules is developed. A moderated thermal-neutron spectrum reactor, is designed with the thermal power of 3.2 MW. It consists of 234 HP-Fuel elements, which is a central lithium heat pipe surrounded by highly enriched UN fuel pellet with cladding on both radial sides. The dual closed Brayton dynamic conversion using binary He-Xe gas as working fluid is adopted. System waste heat is transported by the sodium–potassium (NaK) alloy cooling circuit to the potassium heat pipe radiation panels. The neutronic and CFD thermal–hydraulic analysis results are provided for the current design. The normal operation condition and event of a heat pipe failure are calculated and assessed. The redundancy and reliability of the core design is evaluated. The main design parameters of the dual-Brayton energy conversion system and heat pipe radiation panel are also illustrated. System heat balance analysis is performed. The potassium heat pipe radiator is designed and evaluated for the thermal performance.

Conceptual design and analysis of a megawatt power level heat pipe cooled space reactor power system