Ultrahigh-Temperature Material Property Testing Above 2000C in Vacuum and Hot Hydrogen

During Phase II,nbsp;USNC-Tech will procure, assemble, calibrate, and demonstrate a system capable of the mechanical evaluation of NTP materials in ultrahigh-temperature vacuum and prototypical atmospheric conditions. This effort will produce the first in-situ mechanical testing system that simultaneously combines ultrahigh-temperature testing, hydrogen, and material property data collection.nbsp;To be constructed at USNC-Techrsquo;snbsp;advanced ceramics and materialsnbsp;facilitynbsp;in Salt Lake City, UT,nbsp;this testing systemnbsp;will be capable of materials evaluation under vacuum, hydrogen, nitrogen, and argon atmospheres at temperatures up to 2,700deg;C (2,972K), featuring both contact and non-contact measurement methods for test data collection.nbsp;nbsp;Modern NTP systems must endure extremely high temperatures (2,500-3,000K) to maximize specific impulse and minimize mass. To reach higher temperatures, miniaturize reactor form factors, and maintain high power densities ndash; all without sacrificing safety ndash; designers and manufacturers of such systems must be able to complete rigorous ground testing campaigns at operational temperatures with similar environmental conditions.nbsp;Existing experimental data does not adequately capture the dynamic characteristics of the extreme environments within advanced reactors.nbsp;Breakthroughs in refractory and ceramic materials have enabled engineers to consider the use of high-performance fuel, moderator, and structural materials that were historically unavailable for use in heritage NTP systems. For relevant materials developed after earlier testing campaigns, nonbsp;experimentalnbsp;datanbsp;exists.nbsp;The successful construction of the proposed testing and evaluation infrastructure will enable performance verification of these materials in a prototypical environment. Without the proposed testing infrastructure, a variety of novel, high-performance materials will not reach the TRLs required for reliable infusion into target NTP-enabled missions.