A High Temperature Heat Rejection System for Fission Power Generation

According to the NASA SBIR 2020 program solicitation, kilowatt-class fission power generation is an enabling technology for lunar and Mars surface missions that require day and night power for long-duration surface operations, and may be the only viable power option to achieve a sustained human presence.nbsp; In response to NASA SBIR FY 2020 topic Z1.03, Thermal Management, ThermAvant Technologies, LLC (ThermAvant) proposes to develop a high temperature, large format, high capacity Oscillating Heat Pipe (OHP) embedded radiator panel to significantly improve the size, weight and power density of future kilowatt class Fission Power Systems (FPS).nbsp; This proposal aims to develop thin profile radiator panels, e.g. greater than 1m2 scale x 2-3mm thick, used to reject heat from the waste heat (cold) side of the reactor system. nbsp;During the six-month Phase I effort, the team proposes to design and empirically demonstrate high temperature prototype radiator panels.