Additively Manufactured Ceramic Heat Pipes for Space Nuclear Reactors

Nuclear electric propulsion systems provide a variety of benefits including increased science payload, reduced flight times and longer mission lifetimes. These advantages enable a wide range of missions such as manned missions to Mars, unmanned missions to the outer planets and deep-space. The thermal management system linking the reactor to the hot end of the power conversion system must be efficient, lightweight and reliable. These requirements become more challenging as the total power scales to the megawatt level. In this SBIR program, Advanced Cooling Technologies in collaboration USNC-Tech will develop an additively manufactured high-power ceramic thermal management system for space nuclear applications. The system will be highly reliable, passive, efficient, and lightweight. The use of ceramics will result in substantial mass and volume savings to the reactor and thermal management system.

The thermal management technology proposed here is relevant to several areas of NASA’s Technology Roadmap, including “Power for In-Space Propulsion”, “Fission Space Power and Energy Storage” and “Heat Transport for Thermal Control Systems”. This system will benefit many space-based fission power systems such as nuclear electric propulsion and power generation on the lunar and Martian surface.

A passive ceramic-based thermal management system will result in significant improvements to the nuclear reactor design. In addition to space-based applications, the thermal management system is relevant to small modular and micro nuclear reactors. Additively manufactured ceramic-based thermal management systems will also benefit high-temperature applications such as hypersonic flight.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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