空间锂冷核反应堆锂解冻方案探析

An Analysis of the Lithium Thawing Scheme for Space Lithium Cold Nuclear Reactor

空间核反应堆电源在深空探索,太空基站,行星表面基地等拥有难以替代的作用。为了进一步提高空间核反应堆电源输出功率和能量转化率效率,需要大幅度提高反应堆出口温度,锂工质成为高温反应堆的重要选择之一。锂作为空间核反应堆的工质有相当多的优点:载热密度大,沸点高,密度低,导热性能好等等。但是使用锂作为冷却剂有一个不得不面对的问题:锂高达453.65K的熔点使其在常温下成固态。为了保证反应堆正常启动到达额定功率,必须首先对锂进行解冻。文章介绍了美国空间核反应堆电源SP-100针对锂解冻方案设计所开展的工作,而后对SP-100锂解冻方案优缺点进行了分析,并提出可能的解冻方案和研究思路。希望通过提供的解冻方案和研究思路能为解决空间锂冷核反应堆在锂解冻过程中存在的问题提供有益的借鉴。

Space nuclear reactor power supply plays an irreplaceable role in deep space exploration,space base stations,planetary surface bases and so on.In order to further improve the power output power and energy conversion efficiency of space nuclear reactor,the outlet temperature of space nuclear reactor needs to be greatly increased,and lithium has become one of the important choices for high temperature reactors.Lithium as the working medium of space nuclear reactor has many advantages:high heat transfer density,high boiling point,low density,good thermal conductivity and so on.But there is a problem to be faced with using lithium as coolant:the melting point of lithium as high as 453.65K makes it solid at room temperature.In order to ensure the normal start-up of the reactor to reach the rated power,the lithium must be thawed first.This paper introduces the work on the design of lithium thawing scheme of American space reactor power supply SP-100,then analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of SP-100 lithium thawing scheme,and puts forward the possible thawing scheme and research ideas.It is hoped that the thawing scheme and research ideas provided can provide a useful reference for solving the problems existing in the lithium thawing process of the space lithium cold nuclear reactor.