Can nuclear thermal rocket propulsion engines be used in space?

ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. military researchers are surveying industry for companies able to design space-qualified nuclear thermal rocket propulsion engines for future military and commercial space applications.

What is thermal energy storage?

Not surprisingly, thermal energy storage (TES) has been one of the most widely utilized and studied energy storages. It becomes an integral part of various present thermal systems especially in large-scale applications where the demand fluctuates significantly.

How to achieve high thermal storage capacity?

To achieve high thermal storage capacity and excellent system efficiency, storage materials with high storage energy density are crucial. Next, a good heat transfer rate and compatibility between HTF and the storage medium is required.

Are rocks more suitable for storage involving high-temperature application?

Nevertheless, rocks have the ability to hold higher temperatures than water and have relatively higher density. 27 Hence, rocks may be more suitable for storage involving high-temperature application. Heat stored in sensible thermal energy storage and latent thermal energy storage.

What is rock-based energy storage?

This rock-based energy storage has recently gained significant attention due to its capability to hold large amounts of thermal energy, relatively simple storage mechanism and low cost of storage medium.

What are the thermophysical properties of sensible thermal energy storage materials?

Thermophysical properties of typical solid sensible thermal energy storage materials. Table 2 summarizes the working range of TES systems based on sensible heat storage materials. As can be seen, various storage materials with different porosities are used for this purpose, and energy densities in TES systems from 15 to 810 kWh/m 3 are reported.