A Fissioning Plasma Core Reactor Powered MHD-MPD Propulsion System

An advanced nuclear electric propulsion system based on gaseous and liquid droplet core reactor (GCR) with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power conversion is proposed. The energy of the partially ionized fissioning gas in GCR is directly coupled to the applied magnetic field of the MHD generator to achieve high conversion efficiency at high temperatures. The high operating temperature of the combined GCR-MHD power generation system provides a unique flexibility for weight and size reduction in heat rejection radiator, which are the most dominate part of such high power systems. For multimegawatt power operation, the system features core outlet temperatures of 3000 to 5000 K at pressures of about 10 to 100 atm, MHD temperatures of 2000 to 3000 K, and radiator temperatures of 1200 to 2500 K. This combination of parameters offers the potential for low total system specific mass in the range of .5 to 2.5 kg/KWe.