Open AccessHAZARDS SUMMARY REPORT FOR A TWO WATT STRONTIUM-90 FUELED THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR
Publication year - 1959
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/4059982
Subject(s) - thermoelectric generator , strontium , watt , generator (circuit theory) , thermoelectric effect , nuclear engineering , environmental science , electrical engineering , engineering , physics , power (physics) , nuclear physics , thermodynamics
A hazards survey was made of the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) which utilizes the decay products from 8,300 c of Sr/sup 90/ and its daughter, Y/sup 90/ , to generate thermal energy. A diagram and description of the Sr/sup 90/-fueled APU are given. The location, temperature effects, emergency provisions, and structural requirements involved in the integration of the generator into the Discoverer or Sentry vehicles are discussed. The properties of Sr/sup 90/ are given. Shielding requirements were imposed primarily by weight limitations rather than by a predetermined design dose rate. The radioisotope must be contained under any conceivable condition, operational or accidental, when it is in the biosphere. The most stringent conditions in terms of internal and external mechanical, thermal, and chemical forces serve as design criteria. The hazards design criteria were determined by extreme conditions including handling accidents, missile vehicle failures, and re-entry through the atmosphere and subsequent earth impact. (M.C.G.