IGF::OT::IGF IN THIS SBIR PHASE II PROGRAM ADVANCED COOLING TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (ACT) PROPOSES TO DEVELOP TI…

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IGF::OT::IGF IN THIS SBIR PHASE II PROGRAM ADVANCED COOLING TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (ACT) PROPOSES TO DEVELOP TITANIUM/WATER HEAT PIPES SUITABLE FOR SPACECRAFT FISSION POWER APPLICATIONS. NASA IS CURRENTLY EXAMINING SMALL FISSION POWER REACTORS DESIGN, SUCH AS THE KILOPOWER, WHICH AIMS TO PROVIDE ROUGHLY 1 KW OF ELECTRIC POWER. KILOPOWER PLANS TO USE TITANIUM/WATER HEAT PIPES TO REMOVE THE WASTE HEAT FROM THE COLD END OF THE CONVERTORS. PREVIOUS WATER HEAT PIPE DESIGNS FOR SPACE FISSION POWER ARE NOT SUITABLE, SINCE THEY CANNOT OPERATED IN A VERTICAL ORIENTATION, WHICH IS NECESSARY FOR GROUND TESTING OF KILOPOWER. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I AND II PROGRAMS IS TO DEVELOP A TITANIUM/WATER HEAT PIPE RADIATOR SUITABLE FOR SPACECRAFT FISSION POWER, SUCH AS KILOPOWER. TO MEET THIS OBJECTIVE, THE FOLLOWING ITEMS MUST BE ACHIEVED: DEMONSTRATE THE ABILITY TO TRANSPORT HEAT OVER A LONG DISTANCE FROM THE STIRLING COLD END TO THE RADIATOR, DESIGN AND FABRICATE A HEAT PIPE RADIATOR FOR INTEGRATION INTO THE KILOPOWER SYSTEM AND IDENTIFY THE BEST WICK DESIGN FOR THE VARIED OPERATING CONDITIONS OF THE KILOPOWER SYSTEM. THE PRINCIPLE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE II PROJECT WILL BE TO DEVELOP FULL-SCALE TITANIUM WATER HEAT PIPES THAT WILL BE SUITABLE FOR TESTING IN THE KILOPOWER DEMONSTRATION UNIT. THE IMMEDIATE NASA APPLICATION IS FOR SPACE FISSION NUCLEAR REACTORS THAT UTILIZE STIRLING CONVERTERS OR HERMOELECTRICS FOR POWER CONVERSION. NASA GLENN RESEARCH CENTER IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING A 1KWE FISSION POWER SYSTEM WITH A 15 YEAR DESIGN LIFE THAT COULD BE AVAILABLE FOR A 2020. AN ELECTRICALLY HEATED TEST OF THE COMPLETE REACTOR/ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM (EXCEPT FOR THE TITANIUM/WATER HEAT PIPES) IS PLANNED FOR IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS TEST. THIS TEST WILL USE AN ELECTRICALLY HEATED DEPLETED URANIUM CORE, AND WILL HELP VALIDATE THE OVERALL SYSTEM DESIGN. THE NEXT STEP WILL BE TO LIFE TEST THE COMPLETE SYSTEM, FROM THE ELECTRICALLY HEATED URANIUM CORE TO THE TITANIUM/WATER HEAT PIPES. ACT WILL DESIGN, FABRICATE, AND TEST THE TITANIUM/WATER HEAT PIPES FOR THE KILOPOWER LIFE TEST ONTHE PROPOSED PROGRAM. AT THE END OF THE PHASE II PROGRAM, THESE HEAT PIPES WILL BE DELIVERED TO NASA GLENN RESEARCH CENTER. ASSUMING THAT THE PHASE II PROGRAM IS SUCCESSFUL, ACT THEN PLANS TO ASSIST IN THE KILOPOWER LIFE TEST ON A PHASE III PROGRAM.