Say hello to the nuclear saltwater rocket (also known as NSWR.... and I mean NSWR, NOT NSFW).
So KSP has the answer as per the usual:
How Come Nuclear Saltwater Rocket Engines Do Not Melt?
NSWR are the only theoretical realistic torchdrive rockets that have ever been designed.
It is my understanding that the energy release is equal to a constantly exploding nuke.... only directed as a rocket plume.
This reaction somehow does not occur until what?
Once it's already leaving the nozzle?
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RCgothic
RCgothic
Posted 1 hour ago
"Constantly Exploding Nuke" is a very poor descriptive term.
It's a nuclear reactor. We have plenty of nuclear reactors that deal with the heat produced by energy released.
Nuclear saltwater rocket engines are a type of reactor where the fuel is suspended in the propellant and made to undergo a quick reaction in a chamber before the nozzle throat. The heat of the nuclear energy released is carried away in the propellant exhaust.
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Shpaget
Shpaget
Posted 1 hour ago
When dealing with fission, neutron management is the name of the game. This is achieved by usage of different materials to absorb, reflect, moderate, propagate etc. the neutron to achieve the desired effect. Also, geometry is a big factor so by properly designing the reactor, and supplying the correct amount of fission fuel, in the correct geometry with correct combination of support materials you can achieve the desired result.
In case of NSWR, this specific combination is achieved only for a relatively small amount of fuel/propellant in a specific part of the engine that is designed to withstand these energies.
Conclusion: Like Arioch's super fuel rocket, the energy comes precisely from the propellant itself, but in the case of the NSWR it's uranium salts undergoing nuclear fission... which is suspended inside the propellant itself (the water).
Congrats Arioch! Turns Out Your Torchdrive Has A Real Life Counterpart!
Moderator: Outsider Moderators
Re: Congrats Arioch! Turns Out Your Torchdrive Has A Real Life Counterpart!
You can read more about them at Atomic Rockets, here: https://projectrho.com/public_html/rock ... 2.php#nswr
"Zubrin calculates that the 20% enriched uranium tetrabromide will produce a specific impulse of about 7000 seconds (69,000 m/s exhaust velocity), which is comparable to an ion drive. However, the NSWR is not thrust limited like the ion drive. Since the NSWR vents most of the waste heat out the exhaust nozzle, it can theoretically produce jet power ratings in the thousands of megawatts (meaning it is not power limited, like other nuclear propulsion). Also unlike the ion drive, the engine is relatively lightweight, with no massive power plant required."
"Zubrin then goes on to speculate about a more advanced version of the NSWR, suitable for insterstellar travel. Say that the 2% uranium bromide solution used uranium enriched to 90% U235 instead of only 20%. Assume that the fission yield was 90% instead of 0.1%. And assume a nozzle efficency of 0.9 instead of 0.8.
That would result in an exhaust velocity of a whopping 4,725,000 m/s (about 1.575% c, a specific impulse of 482,140 seconds). In a ship with a mass ratio of 10, it would have a delta V of 3.63% c. Now you're talkin..."
"Zubrin calculates that the 20% enriched uranium tetrabromide will produce a specific impulse of about 7000 seconds (69,000 m/s exhaust velocity), which is comparable to an ion drive. However, the NSWR is not thrust limited like the ion drive. Since the NSWR vents most of the waste heat out the exhaust nozzle, it can theoretically produce jet power ratings in the thousands of megawatts (meaning it is not power limited, like other nuclear propulsion). Also unlike the ion drive, the engine is relatively lightweight, with no massive power plant required."
"Zubrin then goes on to speculate about a more advanced version of the NSWR, suitable for insterstellar travel. Say that the 2% uranium bromide solution used uranium enriched to 90% U235 instead of only 20%. Assume that the fission yield was 90% instead of 0.1%. And assume a nozzle efficency of 0.9 instead of 0.8.
That would result in an exhaust velocity of a whopping 4,725,000 m/s (about 1.575% c, a specific impulse of 482,140 seconds). In a ship with a mass ratio of 10, it would have a delta V of 3.63% c. Now you're talkin..."