Aerospace radioisotope heater technology has been developed through analysis and testing of improved containment and ablation materials and configurations. To best meet the widest application range, an unvented Pu-238 sphere/cube heater in two power sizes, 5 and 50 W(th), is recommended. The critical design constraint is helium pressure containment during reentry for up to 20 years. An ATJ-S graphite ablator combined with a heat-treated pyrolytic-graphite insulator wrapped around a T-111/Pt - 20 wt% Rh capsule is the optimum configuration using current technology. A HfB2 composite currently being developed would provide a major reduction in ablation rates.
Improved technology for multiwatt radioisotope heater units
Verbesserte Technologie fuer Multiwatt-Radioisotopenbatterien
Nuclear Technology ; 19 , 2 ; 117-125
1973
9 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 9 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
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