A Method for Developing and Testing Nuclear Reactor Systems with Space Applications and Improving Performance of Heat Pipe Reactor Systems

The concept of using nuclear reactor technology in propulsion systems is nearly as old as nuclear reactors themselves. Numerous publications, many at very primitive conceptual levels, suggested nuclear propulsion in the 1940s. Since then, numerous attempts have been made to build and fly a nuclear rocket, yet there have been no such systems advanced to the point of a system test in more than half a century.

This dissertation presents an approach to reactor system development, a testing approach developed by the author that resulted in the operation of the world’s first heat pipe reactor system, and the world’s first reactor system to produce electricity with Stirling engines. In the process of concept development, the author identified an opportunity to advance the state-of-the-art in heat pipe engineering, and presents a multi-stage heat pipe configuration that significantly improves heat pipe performance,particularly as heat pipes lengths increase.

The operation of the Demonstration Using Flattop Fission (DUFF) and the multi-stage heat pipe configurations herein significantly increase the likelihood of a heat pipe reactor system finding a place in regular use. Given the inherent safety of nuclear systems generally, and of heat pipe reactor systems over their conventional pumped-loop counterparts, there is hope that both space exploration and terrestrial energy security benefit from these designs.