Research on uranium plasmas and their technological applications

TITLE......Page 2
Foreword......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
Introduction......Page 10
Review......Page 12
SESSION I: CONCEPTS......Page 18
GENERAL DESCRIPTION......Page 19
NEUTRONICS......Page 20
TRANSPARENT WALL......Page 22
FLUID MECHANICS......Page 23
SEEDING......Page 25
REFERENCES......Page 26
DISCUSSION......Page 27
Relationship Between Engine Parameters and the Fuel Mass Contained in An Open-Cycle Gas-Core Reactor......Page 29
ANALYSIS......Page 30
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION......Page 33
SUMMARY OF RESULTS......Page 36
DISCUSSION......Page 37
NUCLEAR LIGHT BULB RESEARCH PROGRAM......Page 39
SlMULATlON OF THERMAL ENVIRONMENT......Page 40
OPTICAL ABSORPTION IN FUSED SILICA......Page 42
DISCUSSION......Page 43
The Colloid-Core Concept-A Possible Forerunner for the Gaseous Core......Page 45
SYSTEM CHARACTERISTlCS......Page 46
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF THE TEST REACTOR......Page 48
CONCLUSIONS......Page 50
APPENDIX: PRESSURE LOSS DUE TO DRAG IN THE VORTEX CHAMBER......Page 51
DISCUSSION......Page 52
Pulsed Plasma-Core Rocket Reactors......Page 53
THE BASIC FUEL CONSUMPTION RELATION......Page 54
NEUTRON FLUX AND MAXIMUM REACTOR TEMPERATURE......Page 56
HIGH NEUTRON FLUXES BY PULSED OPERATION......Page 57
DYNAMIC FUEL-PROPELLANT SEPARATION......Page 58
FUEL-PROPELLANT OPTIMIZATION......Page 59
REFERENCES......Page 61
Gaseous Fission Closed-Loop MHD Generator......Page 63
MHD GENERATOR......Page 64
RADIATOR......Page 65
DISCUSSION......Page 66
PLASMA KINETICS......Page 69
THERMAL ELECTRON ENERGY BALANCE......Page 70
DETERMINATION OF THE POPULATION OF ATOMIC EXCITED STATES......Page 71
RESULTS AND DISCUSSlON......Page 72
CONCLUSIONS......Page 76
DISCUSSION......Page 77
SESSION II: CONTAINMENT, FLOW, AND STABILITY......Page 80
UNHEATED VORTEX TESTS......Page 81
HEATED VORTEX TESTS......Page 83
DISCUSSION......Page 85
VORTEX STUDIES......Page 87
COAXIAL-FLOW EXPERlMENTS WITH MAGNET......Page 92
ANALYSIS OF MAGNETIC STABILIZATION......Page 96
DISCUSSION......Page 97
Experimental Study of the Effect of Inlet Conditions on the Flow and Containment Characteristics of Coaxial Flows......Page 99
DlSCUSSlON OF RESULTS......Page 101
REFERENCES......Page 108
DISCUSSION......Page 109
Self -Confined Rotating Flows for Containment......Page 111
FINITE-AMPLITUDE ALFVEN WAVE......Page 112
CONTAlNMENT BY SWIRLING ROTATION......Page 113
CONTAINMENT BY SMOKE-RING ROTATION......Page 117
REFERENCES......Page 118
DISCUSSION......Page 119
Stability of Two-Fluid Wheel Flows With an Imposed Uniform Axial Magnetic Field......Page 121
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS......Page 123
FORMULATION OF STABILITY PROBLEM......Page 124
DISPERSION RELATION......Page 128
DISCUSSION......Page 129
SUMMARY OF RESULTS......Page 134
APPENDIX A......Page 135
APPENDIX B......Page 136
APPENDIX C......Page 141
REFERENCES......Page 142
FORMULATION......Page 145
SIMPLIFIED STABILITY CRITERION......Page 147
DISCUSSION......Page 148
DISCUSSION......Page 149
An Acoustic Instability Driven by Absorption of Radiation in Gases......Page 151
DISCUSSION......Page 153
Gas-Core Nuclear Rocket With Fuel Separation by MHD-Driven Rotation......Page 155
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY......Page 156
APPLICATION......Page 158
REFERENCES......Page 163
DISCUSSION......Page 164
A. THEORETICAL DETERMINATIONS......Page 166
PRESENT STATUS OF KNOWN PROPERTIES OF THE URANIUM SPECTRUM......Page 167
PRESENT STATUS OF MEASUREMENTS......Page 172
FUTURE NEEDS AND PLANS......Page 175
CONCLUDlNG REMARKS......Page 177
REFERENCES......Page 178
DISCUSSION......Page 179
HYDROGEN......Page 181
SEEDS......Page 183
URANIUM......Page 184
TYPICAL CASE......Page 185
REFERENCES......Page 186
DISCUSSION......Page 187
Conditions for Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium in Uranium......Page 189
MODEL FOR URANIUM......Page 190
LTE OPACITIES......Page 191
NON-LTE OPACITIES......Page 192
DISCUSSION......Page 194
B. EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATIONS......Page 196
Boiling Point of Uranium......Page 197
DISCUSSION......Page 201
MEASUREMENTS OF TEMPERATURE AND PARTIAL PRESSURES......Page 203
MEASUREMENT OF ABSORPTION AND EMISSION COEFFICIENTS......Page 208
REFERENCES......Page 210
DISCUSSION......Page 211
Uranium Plasma Opacity Measurements......Page 213
EXPERIMENTAL DATA......Page 214
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION......Page 218
DISCUSSION......Page 220
Generation of a Fissioning Plasma......Page 221
CALCULATIONS......Page 222
DISCUSSION......Page 224
Investigation of Arc Plasma at Extremely High Pressures......Page 227
MEASUREMENT OF TRANSPORT PROPERTIES......Page 228
RESULTS......Page 229
DISCUSSION......Page 231
SESSION IV: NUCLEONICS AND RADIATION......Page 233
Neutron Kinetics of Cavity Reactors......Page 235
THEORY......Page 237
IMPLICATION FOR REACTOR STABILITY......Page 240
CONCLUSION......Page 242
APPENDIX......Page 244
DISCUSSION......Page 245
SYMBOLS......Page 247
THEORY......Page 248
DlSCUSSlON OF RESULTS......Page 250
REFERENCES......Page 251
The Radiant Heat Flux Limit of Bypass Flow in a Uranium Plasma Rocket......Page 253
ANALYSIS......Page 254
DISCUSSION......Page 255
DISCUSSION......Page 256
A Study of Thermal Radiation Absorption Processes in Gas-Core Reactors......Page 259
MIE THEORY RESULTS......Page 264
PREVIOUS EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS......Page 265
PROCEDURE FOR HIGH-PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS......Page 268
RESULTS OF MEASUREMENTS A T 12 ATM......Page 269
REFERENCES......Page 273
Radiation Transport in a Uranium Plasma Reactor With Reflecting Walls......Page 275
ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT OF URANIUM......Page 276
RADIATION FLUX AND TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION......Page 278
REFERENCES......Page 280
DISCUSSION......Page 281
ROCKET ENGINE CHARACTERISTICS......Page 283
DEFINITION OF PLUME BOUNDARY......Page 284
CALCULATION OF FISSION FRAGMENT FORMATION......Page 285
RADIATION DOSE TO THE CREW......Page 286
REFERENCES......Page 287
VIEW FACTORS FOR BLACKBODY SYSTEMS......Page 289
VIEW FACTORS FOR GRAYBODY SYSTEMS......Page 290
VIEW FACTORS AMONG ZONES......Page 292
NONISOTHERMAL EMISSlON CONDITIONS......Page 293
APPROXIMATION FOR SYSTEMS OF VARIABLE EXTINCTION COEFFICIENT......Page 294
REFERENCES......Page 296
SESSION V: NUCLEAR LIGHT BULB ENGINE......Page 299
REFERENCE ENGINE CONFIGURATlON......Page 301
ENGINE DYNAMICS MODEL......Page 302
DYNAMIC RESPONSES OF ENGINE......Page 303
ENGINE STARTUP......Page 305
DISCUSSION......Page 306
ANALYTICAL METHOD......Page 307
REFERENCES......Page 313
DISCUSSION......Page 314
Development of a High-Intensity RF Radiant Energy Source for Simulating the Thermal Environment of the Nuclear Light Bulb Reactor......Page 317
DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT......Page 318
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS......Page 319
REFERENCES......Page 321
DISCUSSION......Page 322
RESULTS OF INITIAL EXPERIMENTS......Page 323
REFERENCES......Page 327
DISCUSSION......Page 328
SESSION VI: MHD POWER GENERATION......Page 330
STATE OF THE ART......Page 331
NUCLEAR APPLICATIONS......Page 338
REFERENCES......Page 340
DISCUSSION......Page 341
Kinetic Studies of Nuclear-Seeded MHD Plasmas......Page 343
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD......Page 344
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS......Page 346
CONCLUDING REMARKS......Page 349
DISCUSSION......Page 350
THE MHD GENERATOR CONCEPT......Page 351
GENERATOR OPERATING CONDITIONS......Page 352
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION......Page 353
CONCLUSIONS......Page 356
DISCUSSION......Page 357
Gas-Core Reactors for MHD Power Systems......Page 359
REFERENCES......Page 364
DISCUSSION......Page 365
DIFFUSION-RECOMPINATION STUDIES......Page 367
CONDUCTIVITIES OF IONIZED REACTOR COOLANTS......Page 369
DISCUSSION......Page 370
SESSlON VII: NUCLEAR LASERS......Page 372
On Gas Laser Pumping via Nuclear Radiations......Page 373
REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES OF DIRECT EXCITATION OF GAS LASERS......Page 374
IN-CORE LASER STUDIES AT UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS......Page 377
REFERENCES......Page 383
DISCUSSION......Page 384
Calculations of Ionization-Excitation Source Rates in Gaseous Media Irradiated by Fission Fragments and Alpha Particles......Page 385
PREVIOUS STUDIES AND THE MODEL......Page 386
RESULTS FOR HELIUM IRRADIATION IN A GAS CHANNEL BETWEEN TWO INFINITE SOURCE FOILS......Page 395
CONCLUSIONS......Page 401
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 402
APPENDIX A......Page 403
APPENDIX B......Page 406
APPENDIX C......Page 408
APPENDIX D......Page 409
REFERENCES......Page 410
EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS......Page 413
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS......Page 414
DISCUSSION......Page 415
Frank E. Rom......Page 417
J. W. Morfitt......Page 422
F. C. Schwenk......Page 423
G. H. McLafferty......Page 425
Jack Kerrehrock......Page 428
R. T. Schneider......Page 429
Comments on the Colloid-Core Reactor......Page 431
REFERENCES......Page 433
ATTENDEES......Page 435