Assessment of zero power critical experiments and needs for a fission surface power system

James R. Parry, John D. Bess, Bradley T. Rearden, Gary A. Harms

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is providing funding to the Department of Energy to assess, develop, and test nuclear technologies that could provide surface power to a lunar outpost. Sufficient testing of this fission surface power (FSP) system will need to be completed to enable a decision by NASA for flight development. The near-term goal for the FSP work is to conduct the minimum amount of testing needed to validate the system performance within an acceptable risk. This paper provides an assessment of the current modeling capabilities and quantifies a preliminary bias associated with the modeling methods for designing the nuclear reactor. Advanced analysis techniques using Zero Power Plutonium Reactor (ZPPR)-20C data should provide sufficient information to preclude the necessity of a cold critical test of the FSP. Further testing to reduce uncertainties in the beryllium and uranium cross-section data should reduce the overall uncertainty in the computational models.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAmerican Nuclear Society - 3rd Topical Meeting on Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space 2009, NETS 2009
Pages114-121
Number of pages8
StatePublished - 2009
Event3rd Topical Meeting on Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space 2009, NETS 2009 - Atlanta, GA, United States
Duration: Jun 14 2009Jun 19 2009

Publication series

NameAmerican Nuclear Society - 3rd Topical Meeting on Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space 2009, NETS 2009

Conference

Conference3rd Topical Meeting on Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space 2009, NETS 2009
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityAtlanta, GA
Period06/14/0906/19/09

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