Lunar Nuclear Power Plant With Solid Core Reactor, Heatpipes and Thermoelectric Conversion

This is a lunar nuclear power plant with the advantages of minimum mass, with no moving parts, no pumped liquid coolant, a solid metal rugged core, with no single point of failure. The electrical output is 100 kilowatts with a 500 kilowatt thermal reactor. The thermoelectric converters surround the potassium heatpipes from the core and water heatpipes surround the converter and connect to the radiator. The solid core reactor is made from HT9 alloy. The fuel is uranium oxide with 90% enrichment. The thermoelectric converter is bonded to the outside of the 1.10 inch ID heat pipe and is 30 inches long. The thermoelectric couple is Si/SiGe-Si/SiC Quantum Well with over 20% efficiency with an 890 K hot side and a 490 K cold side and produces 625 Watts. 176 converters produce 110 kWe. With less than 10% loss in controls this yields 100 kWe for use. The cylindrical thermoelectric converter is designed and fabricated by HIPing to keep brittle materials in compression and to ensure conductivity. The solid core is fabricated by machining the heatpipe tubes with 6 grooves that are diffusion bonded together by HIPing to form the fuel tubes. The maximum temperature of the heat pipes is 940 K and the return flow temperature is 890 K. The reactor core is hexagonal shaped, 61 cm. wide and 76.2 cm high with 12 rotating control drums surrounding it. There is shielding to protect components and human habitation. The radiator is daisy shaped at 45 degrees with each petal 5.5 meters long. The design life is ten years