CESIUM VAPOR CONTROL CIRCULATION AND PURGE

THE CESIUM RESERVOIRS FOR THE THERMIONIC REACTOR SYSTEMS PRESENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT IMPOSE SIGNIFICANT DESIGN CONSTRAINTS AND STABILITY UNCERTAINTIES. A NEW TYPE OF LIQUID CESIUM RESERVOIR HAS BEEN CONCEIVED THAT MAINTAINS A TEMPERATURE-INDEPENDENT CESIUM PRESSURE, CONTINUOUSLY RECIRCULATES CESIUM VAPOR THROUGH THE THERMIONIC FUEL ELEMENTS (TFE) AND PURGES IT OF IMPURITIES. THIS DEVICE, THE "CESIATOR", IS BASED ON WELL-ESTABLISHED GAS-BUFFERED HEAT PIPE PRINCIPLES. THE CESIATOR OFFERS NEW TFE DESIGN OPTIONS FOR FISSION PRODUCT/IMPURITY HANDLING THAT ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR AN INTERCELL INSULATOR-SEAL AND ASSOCIATED FAILURE MODES. IN THIS STUDY, CESIATOR PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS ARE BEING ESTIMATED BASED ON DATA FOR EXPECTED RELEASE OF FISSION PRODUCTS AND THEIR EFFECT TFE PERFORMANCE. AN ANALYTICAL MODE IS BEING DEVELOPED THAT DESCRIBES THE EFFECT OF DESIGN PARAMETERS ON CESIATOR PERFORMANCE. VALIDITY OF THE MODEL AND OPTIMUM CESIATOR DESIGN ARE BEING CONFIRMED QUANTITATIVELY IN TESTS OF A CEISTOR MOCKUP, WHICH ALSO IS A DELIVERABLE ITEM FOR VISUAL DEMONSTRATION OF OPERATING PRINCIPLES. THE DATA AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES DEVELOPED WILL BE USED TO PREPARE A DETAILED PROGRAM PLAN FOR DEVELOPMENT AND TEST OF A PROTOTYPE CEISATOR IN LATER RESEARCH SUITABLE FOR USE IN SUBSEQUENT TFE IN-CORE TESTS. THIS RESEARCH, WHEN SUCCESSFUL, WOULD ESTABLISH A VERSATILE OPTION FOR A CRITICAL COMPONENT IN THE THERMIONIC NUCLEAR REACTOR SYSTEMS PRESENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT FOR SPACE POWER REQUIREMENTS. THE CESIATOR WOULD HAVE SIMILAR GENERIC IMPORTANCE FOR ALL FUTURE SPACE AND TERRESTRIAL APPLICATIONSOF THERMIONIC CONVERSION TECHNOLOGY, AND FOR ALL DEVICES REQUIRING A CONTROLLED CESIUM VAPOR ATMOSPHERE.