Nuclear Locomotion

1. Nuclear Locomotion The Only Way to Travel

2. Types of Locomotion Naval Propulsion Submarines Surface Ships Space Power Rockets Satellites Terrestrial Applications Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

3. Naval Reactors Compact PWRs Single reactor in subs Surface ships can have more (1, 2, or 8) Uranium-Zirconium Metal Alloy Highly enriched uranium (20-96%) >10 year operation without refueling 30-40 years in submarines Up to 50 years in aircraft carriers Up to 190 MWt

4. Naval Reactors

5. Naval Nuclear Countries United States Russia Great Britain France China

6. Nuclear Powered Subs Greater speed Travels faster underwater than at the surface Freedom from noise Long submersion times Travel long distances Independent Ability to launch missiles while submerged

7. The Nautilus (1954) First Nuclear Submarine 62,000 on first fuel loading First submarine under the North Pole Water-moderated PWR Broke many submarine endurance records Museum in Groton, CT

8. Russian Typhoon Six built in 1980s Largest nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines 175 m * 23 m Two PWRs 163 crew 23,200-24,500 tonnes

9. USS Long Beach Guided Missile Cruiser 1959-1995 Two nuclear reactors All new cruiser design Traditional cruiser hull Only ship built of this type First nuclear cruiser

10. Nuclear Cruisers USS Long Beach (1959-1995) USS Bainbridge (1961-1996) USS Truxtun (1967-1995) California Class USS California (1971-1998) South Carolina (1972-1998) Virginia Class USS Virginia (1974-1994) USS Texas (1975-1993) USS Mississippi (1976-1997) USS Arkansas (1978-1998)

11. USS Enterprise (1960) First Nuclear Aircraft Carrier 8 nuclear reactors (PWRs) 80 aircraft 3500 crew members 1123 feet long 257 feet wide 250 feet high

12. Civilian Ships Merchant ships U.S. NS Savannah (1959-1972) Freighter with 60 passenger cabins 600 feet long, 20,000 tons, 80 MWt German Otto Hahn (1964-1979) Operated 10 years and converted to diesel power Japanese Mutsu (1964-1995) Decommissioned and placed in a museum Russian Sevmorput (1988-Present) Container cargo ship

13. Russian Icebreakers Lenin (1959-1989) Two nuclear reactors with four steam turbines Helicopter landing strip Decommissioned because hull was being worn thin from ice friction Converted to museum

14. Russian Icebreakers Murmansk Shipping Company Based at Atomflot Arktika-class icebreaker 2 nuclear reactors First surface ship to reach the North Pole Operates in deep arctic waters Taymyr-class icebreaker 1 nuclear reactor Operates in shallow waters

15. Space Nuclear Propulsion Eject hot atoms or hot gases from the rear of the reactor Two basic approaches for converting fission into propulsion Nuclear thermal propulsion Electric propulsion

16. Thermal Propulsion Basic rocket equation Mass of the rocket full (m0) and empty (m) Velocity of the spacecraft(v) and exhaust (vf) Mass of the exhaust gas (Me) Escape velocity (ve) Gravitational constant (g0) Radius of earth (rE) Boltzmann constant (k) Exhaust temperature (T)

17. Nuclear Thermal Rocket System

18. Electric Propulsion Use the thermal power to electrical energy that is used to accelerate ions (then neutralized) to produce a beam of very fast moving atoms Low thrust, small fuel flow, high exhaust speeds and high specific impulse Example: Hall Thrusters

19. Electric Propulsion Electrothermal electricity is passed through the propellant to ionize and heat the gas Electromagnetic confine, heat and accelerate a plasma of propellant ions Electrostatic accelerate ions between two electric grids

20. Specific Impulse Figure of merit to compare the thrust (force of acceleration per mass consumption rate) The smaller the exhaust particles, the greater the thrust

21. Rocketry - NERVA Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application 1960-1972 Modern interests Nuclear supply ships Lunar and Martian Bases Deep-space travel Reusable rockets

22. Nuclear-Electric Power Generators Thermoelectric - RTG SNAP odd isotope decay heats the hot junction SNAP even reactor heats fluid that heats the hot junction Thermionic generators MIR and TOPAZ Russian space program Induced ionization Creates ion pairs as the radiation passes through Excitation of semiconductors Radiation voltaic cells Collection of charged particles Intermediate conversion

23. Satellites - RTGs First satellite launched by US Navy June 29, 1961 (RTG of 3 W) Since then more than 26 spacecraft using one or more RTGs have been launched Apollo power on moon Pioneer and Voyager Galileo, Ulysses, Cassini New Horizon (Pluto)

24. Stirling Engines No combustion External heat source heats an enclosed gas Pistons are moved as the gas expands and contracts between a heat source and heat sink More efficient Takes time to start up and change power rates

25. US Aircraft Reactor Experiment (ARE) US developed designs and prototypes for aircraft (bombers) in the 1950s Potentially flown for weeks or months without refueling Cancelled due to hazard potential of such aircraft and development of ICBM technology

26. Nuclear Aircraft Significant weight to carry reactor and shielding 165,000 pounds Large aircraft hanger needed Two prototype reactors built at INL 2.5 MWt Nuclear powered flight is technologically feasible

27. Nuclear Locomotives Conceptual Use compact nuclear reactor to operate a steam engine Allow for �limitless� train operations Accident hazards and concerns

28. Nuclear Automobiles The Ford Nucleon Nuclear-powered concept car Ford Motor Co 1958 Reactor in trunk of car Operated for 5000 miles per fuel loading Never actually built or put into production Icon of Atomic Age in 1950s

29. FBNR Fluidized Bed Nuclear Reactor Small, modular 8-mm fuel spheres fluidized by water Limited power levels and inherent safety features

30. Examples and Problems Specific Impulse