Development of High Fidelity, Fuel-Like Thermal Simulators for Non-Nuclear Testing

Non‐nuclear testing can be a valuable tool in the development of a space nuclear power or propulsion system. In a non‐nuclear test bed, electric heaters are used to simulate the heat from nuclear fuel. Work at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center seeks to develop high fidelity thermal simulators that not only match the static power profile that would be observed in an operating, fueled nuclear reactor, but also match the dynamic fuel pin performance during feasible transients. Comparison between the fuel pins and thermal simulators is made at the outer fuel clad surface, which corresponds to the outer sheath surface in the thermal simulator. The thermal simulators that are currently being developed are designed to meet the geometric and power requirements of a proposed surface power reactor design, accommodate testing of various axial power profiles, and incorporate imbedded instrumentation. Static and dynamic fuel pin performances for a proposed reactor design have been determined using SINDA/FLUINT the...