Disk Conversion System for NERVA Reactor

Abstract : The principal results of the study have been to: (1) confirm that cesium seeded hydrogen plasma disk MHD generator can meet its expected performance while operating in a stable plasma regime; and (2) identify the conditions under which plasma properties and generator performance can be experimentally established. The next phase of the project will involve the design, construction and testing of a subscale model of this type of generator. The results of this work will be scalable to the design of a prototype system, either as a space power supply or in a combined power supply/thruster configuration. The goal of the project is to demonstrate that attractively low specific mass space power systems are achievable with this technology for multimegawatt power level applications. It will also contribute to the development of the disk generator for terrestrial MHD systems, particularly in central station electric utility applications.