Lightweight power bus for a baseload nuclear reactor in space

Author

Oberly, Charles E. ; Massie, Lowell D. ; Hoffman, Dennis J.

Author_Institution

Aero Propulsion Lab., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, USA

Volume

25

Issue

2

fYear

1989

fDate

3/1/1989 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1803

Lastpage

1806

Abstract

Space environmental interactions with the power distribution/power processing subsystem can become a serious problem for power systems rated at tens to hundreds of kilowatts. Utilization of ceramic superconductors at 1000 A/cm², which has already been demonstrated at 77 K, in a conductor configuration may eliminate both bus mass and distribution voltage problems in a high-power satellite. The analytical results presented demonstrate that a superconducting coaxial power transmission bus offers significant benefits in reduced distribution voltage and mass

Keywords

busbars; coaxial cables; high-temperature superconductors; space vehicle power plants; superconducting cables; 77 K; HTS; baseload nuclear reactor in space; ceramic superconductors; conductor configuration; high temperature superconductors; high-power satellite; lightweight power bus; mass reduction; power supplies; reduced distribution voltage; space vehicles; superconducting coaxial power transmission bus; voltage reduction; Ceramics; Conductors; Fission reactors; High temperature superconductors; Power distribution; Power system analysis computing; Satellites; Superconducting transmission lines; Superconductivity; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.92652

Filename

92652