A systems study of a stirling convertor based space nuclear power system

A study of several systems of a Stirling convertor based nuclear power system was performed. The study included the Stirling convertor hot side interface, Stirling convertor cold side interface, and the generator heat rejection system. Analysis indicates a one-size-fits-all approach does not work for system components. The hot side interface options decrease the temperature drop from the baseline of 80^◦C down to 8^◦C. However, the hot side interface has a trade-off of development risks (time and money) vs flight risks (more development, but more robust system overall), which needs to be performed for the available resources during development. The cold side interface has little influence to select either heat pipe or pumped coolant and the option should be left open for the heat rejection system. The heat rejection system study pushes the simpler design fixed heat pipe design for the smaller scale systems, but tends to a more complex pumped coolant wing design for the larger scale systems. Performance for the various options is similar, but size, robustness, and risk are the differentiating factors.