Comparison of Methods for Evaluating Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Tie-Tube Designs

摘要

One of the fundamental structural components in a nuclear thermal rocket design is the tie tube. Proper cooling and flow modeling is important both for the structural integrity of the reactor core and for proper design of downstream components that operate on the hydrogen exiting the tie tube. Two models have been developed. The first is a spreadsheet-based tool designed for sizing tie-tube components, considering mechanical stress and strain limits, deposited moderator power, thermal expansion along the flow path, and conduction from adjacent fuel blocks. The second is a three-dimensional SINDA/FLUINT model used as a benchmark, containing a complete finite-element fuel block and a 1/6th tie-tube model. This paper discusses the performance of both models, as well as the advantages and limitations of each.