PDF Publication Title:
Text from PDF Page: 012
12 Chapter 2. Basis of Comparison (1965). Since then, NASA has made several attempts to design and fly a nuclear power reactor. In recent years, NASA has funded the Kilopower project to develop a low temperature nuclear power reactor (Gibson et al., 2017). However, given the low TRL with respect to an FPS and the political issues associated with testing and launching nuclear reactors, the solar array approach is further evaluated here. A solar array module (which includes the photovoltaics, support structure, and electronics) to produce 5 kW of power has been estimated to have a mass of 2,919 kg per module, or 14,595 kg total for 25 kW capability (Hecht et al., 2015). A 30-kW fission power system has also been proposed at 7,800 kg per unit (Hecht et al., 2015). A recent study from a NASA COMPASS team indicated a 1/5-scale ISRU plant would be 192 kg and a full production model would be 671 kg (Sanders et al., 2015). The total mass of a SOXE-based system includes the chemical plant plus the power generation scheme required to operate it. To be viable, this total mass must be lower than the total mass of O2 required (30,000 kg). The total mass of the system above is 18,486 kg. This provides a mass leverage (the ratio of the mass of carried oxygen to the mass of an in-situ oxygen production plant) of about 1.6. An FPS could be deployed to improve this advantage, but this requires parallel development of two low TRL technologies: a full scale SOXE plant and an FPS. Furthermore, given the generally unfavorable public perception of using fission reactors for spacecraft applications, this presents an unknown risk for long-term support for FPS development. Table 2.2 below provides an analysis of a representative SOXE-based plant, along with the mass and power fraction that each subsystem contributes to the total system. From this, the potential advantage of a PEC system can be considered by recognizing that certain sub-systems will be common to both (i.e., filtration, storage, etc.). As seen below, scale-up to full production will require 20 kW for the SOXE stack, in line with what is reported in Rapp (2016) for a similar scale of production, with 35 kW total required at scale. If the basic chemical processing plant for a full-sized unit is 671 kg and a maximum of 18% of the mass could be saved by using PEC technology, this represents 120 kg of mass saving. Most significantly, if 20,433 kg of solar array modules is required to run the full SOXE system (35 kW) and the power to operate just the chemical plant could be reduced by a maximum of 39% by switching to a PEC device, then up to 8,757 kg could be saved from power considerations alone (only 20 kW solar array required). If the total mass contribution of the SOXE plant and the power systems required to run it could be reduced by 8,877 kg (as above), the total system mass could be brought to 11,566 kg, thus increasing the mass leverage to almost 3. This is a significant benefit to future Mars architectures. With lightweight, large-area PEC structures, it may be possible to reduce the mass even further. In addition, thermal considerations are much less significant with PEC systems as the temperature swings experienced by the device on a diurnal basis are much less than for SOXE (i.e., ambient to 25◦C vs. ambient to 800◦C) and material thermal expansion coefficient mismatches are less important; hence, device reliability may be improved as a result. Note also that the SOXE mass estimates from the MOXIE demoPDF Image | ISRU Challenge Production of O2 and Fuel from CO2
PDF Search Title:
ISRU Challenge Production of O2 and Fuel from CO2Original File Name Searched:
ISRU_final_report.pdfDIY PDF Search: Google It | Yahoo | Bing
Salgenx Redox Flow Battery Technology: Power up your energy storage game with Salgenx Salt Water Battery. With its advanced technology, the flow battery provides reliable, scalable, and sustainable energy storage for utility-scale projects. Upgrade to a Salgenx flow battery today and take control of your energy future.
CONTACT TEL: 608-238-6001 Email: greg@salgenx.com | RSS | AMP |