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HEAT-PIPE-COOLED REACTOR: A REVIEW OF DESIGN CONCEPTS AND
RESEARCH PROGRAM AT CNL
H.A. Zahlan1, Q.W. Cheng2
1, 2
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada
[Link]@[Link], [Link]@[Link]
Abstract
Small modular reactors (SMRs) are gaining more traction in Canada with the release of the pan-
Canadian SMR Roadmap in 2018 and the more recent SMR Action Plan released in
December 2020. The roadmap identified at least three potential applications for SMRs in Canada:
(i) on-grid power in provinces phasing out coal in the near future, (ii) off-grid power, district
heating and desalination in remote communities, and (iii) on- and off-grid power and heat for
heavy industry. The off-grid applications favour transportable and high-reliability SMRs with very
low electrical powers in the range of 1 to 20 MW. A heat pipe reactor (HPR), which uses heat
pipes to remove fission heat from the reactor core, is one suitable candidate for such applications.
This paper presents a review of HPR design concepts and a summary of the heat pipe research
program at the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL).
1. Introduction
A heat pipe is a passive heat exchanging system that employs a phase change to transfer heat from
a heat source (reactor core) to a heat sink (such as energy conversion system). Heat pipes are
considered reliable passive cooling systems with minimal requirements for maintenance. As
shown in Figure 1, a simple heat pipe consists of a pipe, a wick structure, and a working fluid that
saturates the wick structure. In steady-state operation, the vapour pressure in the evaporator section
is higher than that in the condenser section, which constantly drives the vapour from the evaporator
to the condenser. Heat pipes are passive, reliable heat transfer devices that can operate
independently of orientation and require minimal maintenance.
Figure 1 Schematic of a heat pipe
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A heat pipe reactor (HPR) contains a matrix of heat pipes embedded in a monolith core that also
houses fuel channels. The small-size, low-power HPR, which uses alkali-metal heat pipes, suits
the requirements for transportation and operation of a small modular reactor (SMR) in any
orientation. An HPR can be designed to have a negative thermal reactivity feedback, which allows
for reactor self-regulation and load following.
In the late 1980s, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) developed an HPR concept for
remote communities and submarine propulsion. This HPR, named “Nuclear Battery1,” addressed
the baseload for remote locations, and introduced a modular approach for meeting a higher power
demand [1]. Test facilities for high-temperature alkali-metal heat pipes were constructed at the
Whiteshell Laboratories (WL) site to support the Nuclear Battery concept in the 1980s. In 1989,
the Nuclear Battery development program was terminated. The scope of the new heat pipe research
program at CNL includes thermosiphons and alkali-metal heat pipes.
HPR has its roots in space applications. To date, the only tested fission HPR is the Kilopower
reactor developed by NASA for space applications [2]. This reactor used sodium heat pipes to
transfer heat to a Stirling engine for electricity generation. Los Alamos National Laboratory
(LANL) pioneered HPR development and heat pipe technology for many different applications.
The most recent development is a reactor concept called the Special Purpose Reactor (SPR), also
known as the Mega-Power reactor. This reactor is designed to operate at a power output of
5 MW(t). The SPR design uses an array of liquid potassium heat pipes in the reactor core as the
primary heat transport system. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) modified the SPR concept and
proposed two alternative designs for the reactor core to overcome the shortcomings of the stainless
steel (SS) monolith core used in the original LANL SPR design. The fuel elements in the
alternative designs are easier to manufacture, fabricate, assemble, test, and qualify prior to their
installation. Westinghouse is developing an HPR called eVinci, which is a commercial evolution
of the LANL SPR concept. It can operate for 10 years without refuelling, and can provide
electricity in the range of 0.2 MW(e) to 25 MW(e) and process heat up to 600C.
2. Nuclear Battery
2.1 Reactor Core Concept
The Nuclear Battery is a low-power reactor concept for use at off-grid remote locations [1]. It
features an array of potassium heat pipes to replace the traditional primary heat transport system,
a graphite moderator, TRISO fuel particles of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU,
19.75 wt% U-235) mixed with a graphite matrix (as a binding agent) in solid cylindrical compacts
(a few centimetres in diameter and several centimeters long), and burnable poisons for controlling
reactivity. It also features a negative temperature reactivity coefficient at reactor normal operating
temperature. This behaviour promotes stability in reactor power output and self-regulation. The
reference full power rating is 2,400 kW(t) (or 600 kW(e) net) and has an operational lifespan of
15 full-power years. The Nuclear Battery program investigated organic Rankine and Stirling cycle
engines for electricity generation. The program also investigated different core orientations,
depending on application-specific requirements; however, the reference design featured a vertical
orientation of the core. In this case, gravity would assist the circulation of potassium in the 159 heat
1
Currently, Dunedin Energy Systems Inc. has an exclusive license agreement to use the AECL Nuclear Battery
technology for the purpose of completion the design, and development and commercialization of a very-small
nuclear power plant that is called the Canadian Nuclear BatteryTM.
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pipes (Figure 2). Technical specifications of the Nuclear Battery are listed in Table 1. Table 4 in
Section 5.2 lists the main technical parameters for the HPR concepts discussed in Sections 2 to 5.
Table 1 Technical parameters of the Nuclear Battery [1]
Core structure Graphite monolith
Orientation Vertical
Thermal power rating (kW) 2,400
Nominal moderator surface temperature (C) 575
Number of heat pipes 159
Working fluid A few hundred grams of potassium per heat pipe
including less than one gram in vapour phase
Potassium operating temperature (C) 500, at sub-atmospheric pressure
Heat pipe material Niobium alloy
Wick structure Composite screen mesh
Heat pipe dimensions (cm) Length = 300.0
Diameter = 5.0
Control rod
Vaporizer
Heat pipe
Reflector
Core block
With fuel
Figure 2 Schematic of the Nuclear Battery core module
2.2 Potassium Heat Pipes
Figure 3 shows a prototype heat pipe with a structured (multilayer) wick manufactured for the
Nuclear Battery. During normal operation, the liquid potassium flows down by gravity through
the wick structure to the evaporator section. The wick structure enables the liquid potassium to
stay attached to the heat pipe surface through capillary effects. At the evaporator section, where
fission heat is transferred to the heat pipe, the fluid must stay in contact with the heater surface to
avoid dryout. Proper design of the wick is crucial for achieving high performance of the heat pipe.
Intensive research was performed to investigate the structured wick (composed of layers of
materials with different pore sizes).
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Figure 3 Heat pipe with structured wick developed for the Nuclear Battery
2.3 Fuel and Reactor Safety
The Nuclear Battery and the TRISO-fuelled, graphite-moderated, high-temperature gas-cooled
reactor (HTGR) have similar fuel safety characteristics. The fuel inventory in the Nuclear Battery
is made up of around 3×108 TRISO-coated fuel particles. The Nuclear Battery features a strong
negative core temperature reactivity coefficient at reactor nominal operating temperature.
Benefiting from the fission-products-retaining of TRISO coating, negligible release of fission
products is expected after a worst-case loss-of-regulation accident (LORA) with a loss-of-coolant
accident (LOCA). In this accident, the peak fuel temperature would reach 775C, which is far
below the design limit for TRISO (1,600C). In an accident scenario, air ingress to the reactor core
causes graphite oxidation, which is a major safety concern for the HTGR, and the graphite-
moderated HPRs would have a similar safety concern. Air ingress into the reactor core of an HPR
can occur through the gap between the heat pipe and the monolith channel because of structural
damage in the condenser section of the heat pipes or failure of a weld joining the heat pipes and
the reactor core surface at the exit of the reactor core. Oxidation also causes erosion of graphite,
which reduces the available reactivity and leads to a decrease in core temperature.
3. NASA Space Reactors
3.1 NASA Kilopower Reactor
NASA is developing the next generation in-space nuclear power systems. The power outputs of
these systems range from 1–10 kW(e) for unmanned probes and space missions to 10-100 kW(e)
for surface operation, and to 100 kW(e) for nuclear electric propulsion. The successful full-power
fission testing of the Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) in 2018 March
was a significant milestone in the development of the HPR and Stirling engine technologies.
KRUSTY was built in 2017 through the joint efforts of NASA, US Department of Energy (DOE),
and LANL.
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KRUSTY had a solid cast alloy reactor core in the shape of an upright cylindrical annulus with an
inner diameter (ID) of 4 cm and an outer diameter (OD) of 11 cm [3]. The height of the core was
25 cm. The core comprised 93% U-235 and 7% molybdenum, and contained 28 kg of U-235. Eight
Haynes-230 alloy heat pipes were evenly attached to the circumference of the core. The heat pipe
had an OD of 1.588 cm and an ID of 1.410 cm. Each heat pipe contained approximately 15 mL of
sodium, equivalent to a mass of 14 g, as the working fluid. The condenser section of the heat pipe
was connected to a flat plate that served as the energy transfer interface between all the heat pipes
and the eight Stirling engines. The design temperatures of the test reactor were ~825C for peak
core temperature, ~800C at the edge of the core, ~775C at the evaporator section of the heat
pipe, and ~750C at the hot end of the Stirling engine.
During the 2018 March testing, the reactor achieved full fission and Stirling power in the first hour
and the reactor temperature increased to ~850C [4]. By adjusting the reactivity of the core through
a control rod of boron carbide, the target fuel temperature of 800C was maintained. The recorded
test profiles of temperature and fission power as a function of time demonstrated a strong negative
thermal reactivity coefficient, indicating a safe and reliable reactor design [4].
Mcclure et al. [5] discussed the challenges and limitations in the upscaling of a kilowatt-level heat
pipe reactor to megawatt levels. Such a reactor has upscaling limitations due to the increased
weight and size of the heat pipe cooling system and due to challenges in reactor core
constructability with a large number of heat pipes. As the heat transfer rate is limited for a single
heat pipe, a larger reactor would require a greater number of heat pipes in the reactor core.
Constructability of a monolith block with a large number of heat pipes turned out to be limited
because of manufacturing challenges.
3.2 Heat-Pipe-Operated Nuclear Power Reactor for Planetary Missions
Ragheb [6] provided an overview of NASA’s space power reactor program, emphasizing the need
for nuclear power reactors in the upcoming human planetary missions, particularly the Mars
mission. The environment on Mars is very harsh for humans (with no magnetic field shielding
against galactic cosmic radiation, a CO2 atmosphere, gravity 3/8ths that of Earth, low solar flux,
and dust storms, to name a few issues), and the required power supply cannot rely solely on solar
or radioisotope sources. In other words, the required power is beyond any existing power supply
capacity.
The Heat Pipe Operated Mars Exploration Reactor (HOMER) is a 5–250 kW(e), heat-pipe-cooled,
nuclear power reactor that has been under development at LANL. The heat pipe working fluid is
sodium. The HOMER design includes peripheral control drums and allows for different options
for core power conversion systems. HOMER-15 is a 15 kW(t) nuclear fission reactor concept for
lunar and martian surface missions. The nuclear fuel is 97 wt% enriched uranium nitride pellets in
102 SS fuel pins. The Stirling engine produces 3 kW(e) from the energy transferred via 19 heat
pipes. The core contains hexagonal and quadrilateral fuel pin arrays that surround central heat
pipes. The fuel pin cladding is made of SS-316 alloy. The 25 kW(e) version HOMER-25 uses
uranium dioxide fuel and potassium heat pipes connected to six Stirling engines.
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4. LANL Special Purpose Reactor
4.1 Reactor Core Design
The Special Purpose Reactor (SPR) is a 5 MW(t) HPR fast-reactor design concept developed at
LANL. The reactor consists of a hexagonal SS monolith core in which channels are drilled to
contain an array of fuel pellets and heat pipes (Mcclure et al. [5]). In general, each heat pipe is
surrounded by six fuel elements with helium gas gaps. The SPR design uses potassium heat pipes
and an air–Brayton power conversion system.
4.2 INL-Modified LANL SPR Core Designs
The SPR phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) assessment, performed at INL by
Sterbentz et al. [7], revealed major concerns about the monolith core design. The PIRT assessment
also revealed a more significant concern about the inadequate approach to defence-in-depth2,
which requires the inclusion of barriers to prevent or mitigate fission product release during a
failure event. The double-containment design meets the single-failure criterion, but not the
defence-in-depth requirements. Another finding of the PIRT assessment is related to neutron
leakage. Because the heat pipes extend outside one of the axial faces of the core, approximately
30% of the cross-sectional area becomes open for neutrons to escape, thereby reducing core
reactivity [7].
Two alternative reactor core design concepts (herein referred to as Design A and Design B) were
proposed by Sterbentz et al. [8] to overcome the shortcomings of the SS-316 monolith core used
in the original LANL design. The fuel elements in Designs A and B are easier to manufacture,
fabricate, assemble, test, and qualify prior to their installation. An option to reduce thermal
resistances in Design A is to use liquid metal instead of helium to fill the inner and outer gaps of
the fuel element. The fuel elements and the heat pipes of Design B are placed in a tank filled with
liquid sodium to thermally bond the heat pipes and the fuel pins. The reactor core is different in
each of the two alternative designs and the LANL design. However, out-of-core features and
characteristics are the same. Table 2 shows the common parameters for the three reactor design
concepts, whereas Table 3 presents the differences. Sterbentz et al. [8] reported that Design A is
the simplest to manufacture.
2
Defence-in-depth is an approach that prevents and mitigates accidents that release radiation or hazardous
materials. It relies on the following principles: (i) redundancy, independence, and diversity, (ii) defences against
common-cause failure mechanisms and human errors, and (iii) safety margins.
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Table 2 Common parameters for Design A, Design B, and LANL reactor concepts (adapted
from Sterbentz et al. [8])
Reactor
Thermal and electrical powers 5 MW(t), 2 MW(e)
Cycle length 5 years
Coolant system Heat pipes
Reactor structure SS-316
Power Conversion System
Conversion cycle Open air-Brayton
Primary heat exchanger Air convection over heat pipes
Maximum air temperature (C) 675
Cycle efficiency (%) 40.3
Heat Pipes
Pipe wall material SS-316
Pipe inner diameter (cm) 1.575
Working fluid Potassium
Potassium mass (g/pipe) 100
Potassium temperature (C) 675
Evaporator HP length (m) 1.5
Adiabatic HP length (m) 0.4
Condenser HP length (m) 2.1
HP total length (m) 4.0
Table 3 Distinctive parameters for Design A, Design B, and LANL reactor concepts (adapted
from Sterbentz et al. [8])
Reactor Design A Design B LANL
Reactor core orientation Vertical Vertical Horizontal
Number of fuel elements in-core 1,134 2,112 2,112
Fuel element geometry Hexagonal Cylindrical Cylindrical
Fuel and heat pipe configuration Central heat pipe Fuel pins and heat Fuel pellet and heat pipe
surrounded by clad fuel pipes (hexagonal channels in the monolith
arrays) (hexagonal arrays)
Number of gas gaps 4 1 1
Thermal bonding media Helium/liquid metal Helium/liquid metal Helium
Cladding inner diameter (cm) 0.8939 (inner cladding) 1.505 No cladding
1.2867 (outer cladding)
Cladding thickness or minimum 0.4 (inner) 0.3 1.0 HP-to-fuel
web thickness (mm) 1.0 (outer) 1.75 fuel-to-fuel
Cladding geometry Cylindrical tube (inner) Cylindrical tube Monolith
Hexagonal tube (outer)
Fuel pin or element pitch (cm) 2.78 1.8 1.6
Fission gas plenum (cm) 2.0 2.0 20.0
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5. Westinghouse eVinci Micro Reactor
5.1 Reactor Core
The Westinghouse eVinci is a commercial evolution of the LANL SPR concept [9]. Limited
information has been published on this reactor concept. A general description of the eVinci HPR
concept was presented by Levinsky et al. [10]. The eVinci reactor is scalable from 0.2 to
15 MW(e). Levinsky et al. [10] proposed different options for the reactor components and heat
pipe working fluids. However, a reference reactor design was not specified. The reactor core
consists of a hexagonal steel monolith in which channels are created for fuel, neutron moderator,
and heat pipes. Unlike the SPR reactor, eVinci is an epithermal neutron3 spectrum reactor that uses
HALEU and a metal hydride as neutron moderator. The monolith core contains the fuel pellets,
whereas the heat pipes and moderator channels extend beyond the core to the two condenser
sections at both ends of the heat pipe. The reactor core orientation is horizontal with two primary
annular tube heat exchangers receiving heat from the ex-core condenser sections of the heat pipes.
A horizontal orientation of the HPR core might not be optimal for ground-based reactors because
it does not take advantage of gravity and buoyancy to drive the liquid and vapour phases. The
authors claim that the monolith core serves as the second fission product barrier if the first barrier,
the fuel pellet, is compromised. The reactor is designed to operate for 10 years without refuelling.
The core is surrounded by axial and radial reflectors in which six rotatable control drums are
placed. The control drums have absorbing and reflecting sections to control reactivity for reactor
startup and passive shutdown in a loss-of-power accident. Reactivity can be controlled by turning
the control drums (the only moving components in the reactor). A SS vessel contains the reactor
core and a reflector. The reflector surrounds the core and contains six reactivity control drums.
5.2 Heat Pipes and Shutdown Systems
The eVinci heat pipes remove the fission-reaction-generated heat in the core. The heat pipe
working fluid can be either sodium or potassium. The IAEA Report [9] specifies sodium as the
working fluid for the eVinci heat pipes. The reference power conversion system uses a 600C
supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle, and can use a Stirling cycle.
Two passive shutdown systems are designed for the eVinci reactor [10]. The first shutdown system
injects neutron-absorbing material into the hexagonal core centre. This shutdown system starts
when the monolith temperature reaches the maximum acceptable temperature for normal
operation. The proposed second shutdown system releases hydrogen from the moderator channels
that is produced in metal hydride thermal dissociation, which causes loss of moderation and
reactivity. During normal operation, reactivity is controlled via the negative fuel temperature
coefficient of reactivity, or the Doppler Effect, and the rotation of the control drums to the absorber
or reflector side. Table 4 lists the main characteristics of the Westinghouse eVinci in comparison
to the other HPR concepts discussed.
3
Epithermal neutrons have intermediate energies between those of thermal and fast neutrons.
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Table 4 Major technical parameters of different HPR concepts
Westinghouse eVinci AECL-WL NASA KRUSTY LANL SPR
Nuclear Battery Kilopower Reactor
Reactor power (MW(t)) 1 – 14 2.4 0.0043 – 0.0433 5
Heat pipe working fluid Sodium Potassium Sodium Potassium
Fuel type UO2 or UN TRISO fuel U-235 UO2
particle of
HALEU
Length of operation 5 to 10 years 15 years 12 to 15 years 5 years
without refuelling
Enrichment HALEU, 19.75% U-235 HALEU, 19.75% HEU, 93% U-235 HALEU,
U-235 and 7% 19.75% U-235
molybdenum
Power conversion Supercritical CO2 Organic Rankine Stirling engines Air–Brayton
system Brayton cycle or or Stirling conversion
Stirling cycle engines system
Neutron spectrum Epithermal Thermal Fast Fast
Reactor control system Control drums Control rod A single rod of Control drums
boron carbide
Filler material in core Unknown Helium None Helium
6. The Heat Pipe Research Program at CNL
6.1 Heat Pipe Experimental Program
Under AECL’s Federal Nuclear Science & Technology (FNST) Program, there are two studies
currently being conducted at CNL. Through these projects, CNL is building new alkali-metal heat
pipe test facilities – one of which utilizes sodium as the liquid coolant, and the other utilizes
potassium – to provide data for the development and verification of analytical models and safety
codes. The experimental results will be used to assess alkali-metal heat pipe thermal performance,
reliability, and failure modes for SMR applications. In particular, the heat transfer limits, such as
the sonic, entrainment, and capillary limits, will be evaluated.
Currently, a facility consisting of a single potassium heat pipe has been constructed and is
operational, and a multiple heat pipe test rig consisting of five heat pipes will be built in the near
future. In addition to the new alkali-metal heat pipe test facilities, there is a thermosiphon heat pipe
test facility at CNL. These facilities will be discussed in the following sections.
6.2 Thermosiphon Test Facility
The thermosiphon test facility is called the Gravity-Assisted Loop Heat Pipe (GA-LHP). It was
built for experimental investigation of decay heat removal from the spent fuel pool of a nuclear
power reactor during a station-wide power blackout. Experimental data from this test facility can
be used to develop analytical models that apply to different heat pipe designs. Figure 4 shows the
general assembly of the test rig. It consists of a water tank (61 cm by 77 cm by 134 cm), two 10 kW
electric heaters, a fin-type evaporator, a steam line, a water-cooled heat exchanger, a condensate
return pipe, and associated instrumentation. The fin-type evaporator has three fins to provide a
large heat transfer surface area. A water-cooled condenser is installed 6.5 m above the evaporator
to control the power throughput from the system. A mass flow meter is installed in the heat pipe
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above the evaporator. Pressure and temperatures can be measured and recorded at the inlet and
outlet of the evaporator and the condenser. The condenser cooling water flow rate can be
controlled, and the data are recorded for heat transfer analysis. Test results from the GA-LHP
indicated that, in the operating pool temperature range of 80 to 90°C, the loop heat pipe apparatus
can transfer 9 to 13 kW of thermal power.
Figure 4 General assembly of Gravity-Assisted Loop Heat Pipe facility
6.3 Single Potassium Heat Pipe Test Facility
The 3.2 kW potassium heat pipe (Figure 5) was manufactured by Advanced Cooling Technologies
Inc. The heat pipe nominal and maximum operating temperatures are 650C and 750C,
respectively. The entire length of the heat pipe is 1,200 mm and the heat pipe wall is made of 316L
stainless-steel tube with a 25.4 mm outer diameter. The potassium heat pipe is oriented vertically
with the evaporator section at the bottom, other orientations with small inclination angles (5°-15°)
from the vertical axis were considered in the design of the experimental rig. The heat pipe
evaporator section is tightly fitted into the central channel of a cylindrical stainless-steel heating
block that houses 6 cartridge heaters (1 kW each) distributed uniformly around the heat pipe
evaporator section. The heat pipe condenser section is surrounded by a cylindrical shell gas-gapped
calorimeter (heat exchanger). Inside the heat pipe, a wick structure with fine pores is fixed close
to the inner wall for condensate return. Thermal energy is transferred from the heating block to the
heat pipe evaporator section by conduction. The thermal energy is then transferred to the heat pipe
condenser section by the potassium vaporized in the evaporator section. The potassium vapour in
the condenser section condenses and the latent heat of vaporization is transferred to the gas-gapped
calorimeter, in which water circulates at a controlled temperature of 70C. The test rig 3D model
and flow diagram are presented in Figures 6 and 7, respectively.
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Heat Pipe Body Filler Tube
Ø6.35 mm
1200 mm
< 50.8 mm
Figure 5 Potassium stainless steel heat pipe dimensions
Heat
Exchanger
Water Tank
Water
for condenser
Tank
Flow
Meter
Pump
Figure 6 Single heat pipe test rig assembly
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Figure 7 Single heat pipe test rig flow diagram
7. Summary
Heat pipes are passive, reliable heat transfer systems that can operate independently of orientation.
This orientation-independent operation makes HPRs transportable and highlights their
functionality in mobile applications (e.g., a space mission). An HPR can be designed to have a
negative temperature reactivity feedback that allows for reactor self-regulation and load following.
The relatively low-powered output of the HPR allows for the construction of a full-scale, non-
nuclear, electrically heated demonstration unit to establish reactor system parameters and validate
computer code models.
HPR concepts have been under development in the United States and Canada for decades. NASA
has designed, built, and demonstrated a kilowatt-level HPR for space applications. However, a
kilowatt-level heat pipe reactor has upscaling limitations due to the increased size of the heat pipe
cooling system, and has challenges in reactor core constructability with the increased number of
heat pipes. HPR concepts developed by LANL and INL, and commercially by Westinghouse,
address some of these challenges. The HPR concept developed by AECL in the 1980s differs from
the US HPR concepts in that it operates with a thermal-neutron spectrum, a graphite moderator,
and TRISO fuel. An INL PIRT study identified significant failure mechanisms of the LANL SPR
concept, which is mostly applicable to other HPR concepts.
The present heat pipe experimental programs at CNL investigate heat transfer performance limits
and failure modes for thermosiphons and alkali-metal heat pipes. The results will be used to
develop analytical models for safety codes.
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Acknowledgement
This study was funded by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, under the auspices of the Federal
Nuclear Science and Technology Program.
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8. References
[1] K.S. Kozier, “The Nuclear Battery: A very small reactor power supply for remote
locations”, Energy, Vol. 16 (1–2), Section 7: Special topic, 1991, pp. 583–591,
[Link]
[2] Kilopower, [Link] Accessed date
2019 July.
[3] R.G. Sanchez, J.D. Hutchinson, P.R. Mcclure, and W.L. Myers, “Kilowatt Reactor
Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) Demonstration: CEDT Phase 1”, Preliminary
Design Documentation, 2015.
[4] KRUSTY: We Have Fission! Kilopower part III,
[Link]
Accessed date 2019 September.
[5] P.R. Mcclure, D.I. Poston, V.R. Dasari, and R.S. Reid, “Design of megawatt power
level heat pipe reactors”, LA-UR-15-28840, Los Alamos National Laboratory,
2015 November. DOI: 10.2172/1226133, Accessed date 2019 June.
[6] M. Ragheb, “Space Power Reactors”, Nuclear, Plasma and Radiation Science,
[Inventing the future], Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois,
[Link]
ering/Space%20Power%[Link], Accessed date 2019 December.
[7] J.W. Sterbentz, J.E. Werner, M.G. McKellar, A.J. Hummel, J.C. Kennedy, R.N. Wright,
and J.M. Biersdorf, “Special Purpose Nuclear Reactor (5 MW) for reliable power at
remote sites assessment report: Using Phenomena Identification and Ranking Tables
(PIRTs)”, INL/EXT-16-40741, Rev. 1, Idaho National Laboratory, 2017 April.
[[Link] Accessed date 2019 June.
[8] J.W. Sterbentz, J.E. Werner, A.J. Hummel, J.C. Kennedy, R.C. O’Brien, A.M. Dion,
R.N. Wright, and K.P. Ananth, “Preliminary assessment of two alternative core design
concepts for the Special Purpose Reactor”, INL/EXT-17-43212, Rev. 1, Idaho National
Laboratory, 2018 May. [[Link]
Accessed date 2019 July.
[9] IAEA, “Advances in Small Modular Reactor Technology Developments: A supplement
to: IAEA Advanced Reactors Information System (ARIS)”, 2018 Edition.
[10] A. Levinsky, J.J. van Wyk, Y. Arafat, and M.C. Smith, “Westinghouse eVinciTM reactor
for off-grid markets”, Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 119,
pp. 931–934, 2018 November.
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