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Proving DRACO will deliver
The United States is now closer than it has been in over five decades to launching the first nuclear thermal rocket into space, thanks to DRACO—the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Orbit.
M.A. Hoffman, C.L. Gallagher
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 3 | May 1992 | Pages 1688-1692
Plasma Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29965
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The CFAR (compact fusion advanced Rankine) cycle concept for an advanced tokamak reactor consists of a high temperature blanket cooled by evaporating mercury, microwave superheaters and magnetohydrodynamic generators for direct electric power generation. The vanadium alloy blanket is designed to minimize the MHD pressure losses in the front section where the mercury is evaporating. A passive concept for condensing the mercury vapor in the event of a LOCA (loss of coolant accident) is described. It is shown that an active cooling system is required to keep the vanadium alloy structure and the front part of the blanket at acceptable temperatures during cool-down after a LOCA.