| Autor: |
Gregory A. Johnson, Nora M. Low, William M. Kelly, Eugene Normand, Andrew J. Zillmer |
| Rok vydání: |
2006 |
| Předmět: |
|
| Zdroj: |
AIP Conference Proceedings. |
| ISSN: |
0094-243X |
| DOI: |
10.1063/1.2169273 |
| Popis: |
The Multi‐Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) is the next generation (RTG) being developed by DOE to provide reliable, long‐life electric power for NASA’s planetary exploration programs. The MMRTG is being developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Teledyne Energy Systems Incorporated (TESI) for use on currently planned and projected flyby, orbital and planet landing missions. This is a significant departure from the design philosophy of the past which was to match specific mission requirements to RTG design capabilities. Undefined mission requirements provide a challenge to system designers by forcing them to put a design envelope around “all possible missions”. These multi‐mission requirements include internal and external radiation sources. Internal sources include the particles ejected by decaying Pu‐238 and its daughters plus particles resulting from the interaction of these particles with other MMRTG materials. External sources include the full spectrum of charged particle radiation surrounding planets with magnetic fields and the surfaces of extraterrestrial objects not shielded by magnetic fields. The paper presents the results of investigations into the environments outlined above and the impact of radiation exposure on potential materials to be used on MMRTG and ground support personnel. Mission requirements were also reviewed to evaluate total integrated dose and to project potential shielding requirements for materials. Much of the information on mission shielding requirements was provided by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The primary result is an ionizing radiation design curve which indicates the limits to which a particular mission can take the MMRTG in terms of ionizing radiation exposure. Estimates of personnel radiation exposure during ground handling are also provided. |
| Databáze: |
OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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