| Popis: |
The light-weight radioisotope heater unit (LWRHU) is a {sup 238}PuO{sub 2}-fueled heat source designed to provide one thermal watt in each of various locations on a spacecraft. Los Alamos National Laboratory designed, fabricated, and safety tested the LWRHU. The heat source consists of a hot-pressed {sup 238}PuO{sub 2} fuel pellet, a Pt-30Rh vented capsule, a pyrolytic graphite insulator, and a fineweave-pierced fabric graphite aeroshell assembly. A series of sequential impacts tests using simulant-fueled LWRHU capsules was recently conducted to determine a failure threshold. Sequential impacting, in both end-on and side-on orientations, resulted in increased damage with each subsequent impact. Although the tests were conducted until the aeroshells were sufficiently distorted to be out of dimensional specification, the simulant-fueled capsules used in these tests were not severely deformed. Sequential impacting of the LWRHU appears to result in slightly greater damage than a single impact at the final impact velocity of 50 m/s. Postimpact examination revealed that the sequentially impacted capsules were slightly more deformed and were outside of dimensional specifications. |
