{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":93989,"title":"Fabrication and Characterization of a Grooved Ring Fuel Element for a Nuclear Thermal Rocket","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10563,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10560,"level":3,"code":"TX01.4.3","title":"Nuclear Thermal Propulsion","definition":"Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engines use a fission reactor (solid, liquid or gas) in the thrust chamber to heat large mass flow of propellant to extremely high temperatures for high specific impulse at high thrust.","exampleTechnologies":"Solid state NTP, gas and liquid ore NTP","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"startTrl":2,"currentTrl":3,"endTrl":3,"benefits":"Fuel element fabrication has proven to be a significant challenge to nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) programs. Heritage designs use hexagonal fuel elements with cylindrical passages for propellant flow, which are difficult to manufacture and have heat transfer limitations. The goals of this project are to develop an alternative grooved disk fuel element design, and to construct and test prototype fuel element disks of carbide materials. This project will help build the foundation for the development of higher performance NTR fuel elements.","description":"The proposed innovation is a new fuel element design that involves a stack of grooved disks, where propellant can flow along the grooves. This design increases surface area in contact with propellant, leading to higher heat transfer, engine efficiency, and propellant temperatures. Higher thrust-to-weight ratios are also possible, and the design can also alleviate some of the manufacturing hurdles that exist with hexagonal elements. The approach is to (1) determine viable compositions of representative grooved disk prototypes, (2) evaluate fabrication processes through the manufacture of prototype disks, and (3) characterize the microstructure of these disks. This project will also evaluate the feasibility of incorporating advanced carbide fuels into NTR reactor designs.","destinations":[{"lkuCodeId":1518,"code":"MARS","description":"Mars","lkuCodeTypeId":526,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"DESTINATION_TYPE","description":"Destination Type"}},{"lkuCodeId":1546,"code":"INSIDE_SOLAR_SYSTEM","description":"Others Inside the Solar System","lkuCodeTypeId":526,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"DESTINATION_TYPE","description":"Destination Type"}}],"startYear":2016,"startMonth":10,"endYear":2017,"endMonth":7,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":53841,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Brian","lastName":"Taylor","fullName":"Brian D Taylor","fullNameInverted":"Taylor, Brian D","middleInitial":"D","primaryEmail":"brian.d.taylor@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programDirectors":[{"contactId":335305,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Michael","lastName":"Lapointe","fullName":"Michael R Lapointe","fullNameInverted":"Lapointe, Michael R","middleInitial":"R","primaryEmail":"michael.r.lapointe@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programExecutives":[{"contactId":392233,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Richard","lastName":"Howard","fullName":"Richard W Howard","fullNameInverted":"Howard, Richard W","middleInitial":"W","primaryEmail":"richard.w.howard@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programManagers":[{"contactId":28,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"John","lastName":"Dankanich","fullName":"John W Dankanich","fullNameInverted":"Dankanich, John W","middleInitial":"W","primaryEmail":"john.dankanich@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"website":"","libraryItems":[],"transitions":[{"transitionId":54153,"projectId":93989,"transitionDate":"2017-07-01","path":"Closed Out","infoText":"Closed out","infoTextExtra":"","dateText":"July 2017"}],"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"program":{"acronym":"MSFC CIF","active":true,"description":"Through the Center Innovation Fund, the Space Technology Mission Directorate allocates a small portion of the NASA workforce and procurement budget to internal research and development to feed early stage innovation in technology and exploration. Activities with in the Center Innovation Fund are proposed and led by NASA scientists and engineers. These activities and creative initiatives pursue emerging technologies that leverage talent and capabilities at the NASA Centers. ","parentProgram":{"acronym":"CIF","active":true,"description":"
Through the Center Innovation Fund, the Space Technology Mission Directorate allocates a small portion of the NASA workforce and procurement budget to internal research and development to feed early stage innovation in technology and exploration. Activities with in the Center Innovation Fund are proposed and led by NASA scientists and engineers. These activities and creative initiatives pursue emerging technologies that leverage talent and capabilities at the NASA Centers.
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