Kurzbeschreibung
(Englisch)
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Currently, the most common in-space propulsion options are electric propulsion with solar power or chemical propulsion with storable propellants. However, there is now a broad scientific and technical consensus that these systems will probably soon reach their limits in terms of enabling new space markets
and/or operations. On the other hand, the huge potential of nuclear reactor based systems, both for surface fission power and for in-space propulsion, has led the US to revitalize and boost its R&D programs, noting that China is also now emerging as a key player in this field. Europe has on the other hand not done very much so far and given that this implies a strategic risk to lose competitiveness in the area of space innovations, ESA has now set the assessment of nuclear propulsion options as one its key longer-term priorities. In that context, the development of advanced modelling and simulation capabilities will be a top priority, not only to evaluate/optimize prospective reactor/fuel designs but also to assess their safety performance with the highest level of reliability. However, such developments will not only require to spark momentum on space activities within the leading European nuclear fission research centres. It will also necessitate to tightly connect such activities with the space research and industrial community. Under these considerations, the MARVIS framework constitutes a strategic opportunity to help positioning Switzerland at the forefront of the European research on space nuclear reactors in general and in the area of modelling and simulations in particular. This, along with the participation of an industrial partner, will contribute in to
the consolidation of a Swiss “network of excellence” for space nuclear related activities. In these perspectives, the project hereby proposed aims at pioneering the development of an open source European nuclear simulation platform for space applications and conceptual evaluations. As situation target for the first developments to be undertaken within this project, focus will be given heat-pipe based nuclear electric propulsion designs for deeps space exploration. In that context, the specific research objectives are:
1) to establish transient capabilities based on coupling 3-D core neutronics and thermal-hydraulics higher-fidelity solvers with dynamical models of the power/propulsion systems;
2) conducting high-resolution experiments to improve knowledge on SHP phenomena;
3) develop an advanced code for heat pipes that could also be used to inform lower order thermal-hydraulics solvers. The objective is also to identify platform requirements and test functional concepts that will enable a practical diffusion of the platform to an enlarged spectrum of capabilities and to a defined range of users.
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