Nuclear Rocket Plume Studies.
Abstract
This paper contains a description and detailed computational analysis of a vortex cleaning system designed to remove radioactive material from the plumes of nuclear rockets. The proposed system is designed to remove both particulates and radioactive gaseous material from the plume. A two part computational model is used to examine the system's ability to remove particulates, and the results indicate that under some conditions, the system can remove over 99% of the particles in the flow. This paper identifies two critical parameters which govern the effectiveness of the system and provides the information necessary to estimate cleaning efficiencies for particles of known sizes and densities. A simple steady analytical solution is also developed to examine the system's ability to remove gaseous radioactive material. This analysis, while inconclusive, suggests that the swirl rates necessary to achieve useful efficiencies are too high to be achieved in any practical manner. Therefore, this system is probably not suitable for use, with gaseous radioactive material. This paper also concludes that the system can cause negligible specific impulse losses, though there may be a substantial mass penalty associated with its use. plume, nuclear rocket
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 05, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA267154
Entities
People
- Daniel Hastings
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology