BRAYTON ENERGY LLC — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: Z1

Description

Trade studies to recommend a novel, nuclear-fueled, recuperated, Closed Brayton Cycle (CBC) power system optimized for use in space are proposed. A CBC with nuclear heat source will need to incorporate at least three critical heat exchangers:Primary Heat Exchanger (PHX): transfers thermal power from the nuclear source, or secondary loop, to the enginersquo;s working fluid at turbine inlet temperatureRecuperator: exchanges heat from turbine exhaust to PHX inlet to improve cycle efficiencyRadiator (or Pre-cooler): rejects heat from the cycle upstream of compressor inletThis program will include the preliminary design of the above components to arrive at defensible system-level mass estimates. The optimization of these critical heat exchanger components must be done collectively and in tandem with cycle and engine design efforts to appropriately capture the competing effects controlling total system mass. While architecture selection will favor production-ready heat exchanger concepts based on decades of related research, manufacture, and testing, the end result is predicted to be a novel blend of demonstrated fundamentals combined in new ways to achieve long, reliable life at extreme operating temperature and pressure with minimal mass. The special end use case of this system will likely require some deviation from established heat exchanger design methods, in which case preliminary design, analysis, fabrication, and lab demonstration of key innovations will be accelerated to fall within Phase I of the program.