General Electric Direct-Air-Cycle Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program: Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Application Studies (Comprehensive Technical Report)

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This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency Thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

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Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document.

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COMPREHENSIVE TECHNICAL REPORT AIRCRAFT NUCLEAR PROPULSION PROGRAM AN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND PROPULSION OPERATION FLIGHT PROPULSION LABORATORY DEPARTMENT AIRCRAFT NUCLEAR PROPULSION United States Air Force United States Atomic Energy Comm ~ ssion Contract No. AT(11-1)- 171

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Col. Ola P. Thorne Lt. Col. Stanley Valcik (2) DTIE (14) plus reproducible master Oak Ridge, Tennessee

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This is one of twenty-one volumes summarizing the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program of the General Electric Company. This portion describes the studies of advanced applications of nuclear reactors that were performed, including various types of aircraft, missiles, space vehicles, ships, and portable power plants. In part, the studies are based on the advanced power plants described in Although most of the work was concerned with open-cycle, gas-cooled systems, other systems were also investigated, such as closed gas cycle, indirect liquid metal cycle, gas fission, and liquid circulating fuel systems. Air, helium, hydrogen, and neon were considered as coolants for the gascooled systems. Except for a portable nuclear system for power generation, all the studies were concerned with proThe application studies show the feasibility both of using reactors developed during the ANP program in advanced vehicles, and of the use of advanced reactors in various types of systems. Performance data, configurations, development program elements andschedules, and estimated costs are included in this summary of the results of the studies.

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In mid-1951, the General Electric Company, under contract to the United States Atomic Energy Commission and the United States Air Force, undertook the early development of a militarily useful nuclear propulsion system for aircraft of unlimited range. This r e - search and development challenge to meet the stringent requirements of aircraft applications was unique.New reactor and power-plant designs,new materials, and new fabrication and testing techniques were required in fields of technology that were, and still are, advancing very rapidly. The scope of the program encompassed simultaneous advancement in reactor, shield, controls, turbomachinery, remote handling, and related nuclear and The power-plant design concept selected for development by the General Electric Company was the direct air cycleturbojet. Air is the only working fluid in this type of system. The reactor receives air from the jet engine compressor, heats it directly, and delivers it to the turbine. The high-temperature air then generates the forward thrust as it exhausts through the engine nozzle. The direct air cycle concept was selected on the basis of studies indicating that it would provide a relatively simple, dependable, and serviceable power plant with high-performance potential. The decision to proceed with the nuclear-powered-flightprogramwas based on the 1951 recommendations of the NEPA (Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft) project. Conducted by the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation under contract to the USAF, the five-year NEPA project was a study and research effort culminating in the proposal for active development of nuclear propulsion for manned aircraft. In the ensuing ten years. General Electric's Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Department carried on the direct air cycle development until notification by the USAF and USAEC, early in 1961, of the cancellation of the national ANP program. The principal results of the ten-year effort are described in this and other volumes listed inside the front cover of the Comprehensive Technical Report of the General Electric Direct Air Cycle'Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program. Although the GE-ANPD effort was devotedprimarily to achieving nuclear aircraft powerbutions were made to all aspects of gas-cooled reactor technology and other promising nuclear propulsion systems (described mainly in APEX-910 through APEX-921). The Program Summary (APEX-901) presents a detailed description of the historical, programmatic, and technical background of the ten years covered by the program. A graphic summary of these events is shown on the next page. Each portion of the Comprehensive Report, through extensive annotation and referencing of a large body of technical information, now makes accessible significant technical data, analyses, and descriptions generated by GE-ANPD. The references are grouped by subject and the complete reference list is contained in the Program Summary, APEX-901. This listing should facilitate rapid access by a researcher to specific interest areas or

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ANP Flight Program Reoriented to Research Starts on Nuclear HTRE No 2 - Test HTRE NO 1 - First Summary of events — General Electric Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program* *L)<'tailed history and chronology is provided m Trogram Sun mciry APEX-901 Chronology information extracted from Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program hear ng before the Subcomrn ttee on Research and Development of the Joint Com mittee on Atomic Energy 86th Congress of The United States First Session July 23 1959 United States Government Printing Office Washington 1959

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sources of data. Each portion of the Comprehensive Report discusses an aspectof the Pro - g r a m not covered in other portions. Therefore, details of power plants can be found in the power-plant volumes and details of the technologies used in the power plants can be found in the other volumes. The referenced documents and reports, a s well a s other GE-ANPD technical information not covered by the Comprehensive Report, a r e available through the United States Atomic Energy Commission, Division of Technical Information Extension, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The Report is directed to Engineering Management and assumes that the reader is generally familiar with basic reactor and turbojet engine principles; has atechnical understanding of the related disciplines and technologies necessary for their development and design; and, particularly in APEX-910 through APEX-921, has an understanding of the related computer and computative techniques. The achievements of General Electric ' s Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program were the result of the efforts of many officers, managers, scientists, technicians, and administrative personnel in both government and industry. Most of them must remain anonymous, but particular mention should be made of Generals Donald J . Keirn and Irving L. Branch of the Joint USAF-USAEC Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Office (ANPO) and their staffs; M e s s r s . Edmund M. Velten, Harry H. Gorman, and John L. Wilson of the USAF-USAEC Operations Office and their staffs; and Mess rs. D. Roy Shoults, Samuel J . Levine, and This Comprehensive Technical Report represents the efforts of the USAEC, USAF, and GE-ANPD managers, writers, authors, reviewers, and editors working within the Nuclear Materials and Propulsion Operation (formerly the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Department). The local representatives of the AEC-USAF team, the Lockland Aircraft Reactors Operations Office (LAROO), gave valuable guidance during manuscript preparation, and special appreciation is accorded J . L. Wilson, Manager, LAROO, and members of his staff. In addition to the authors listed in each volume, some of those in the General Electric Company who made significant contributions were: W. H. Long, Manager, Nuclear Maand production staffs. Their time and energy are gratefully acknowledged. THE EDITORIAL BOARD:

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1. Introduction and Summary 15 2.1 Conversion of C-99 Cargo Aircraft 17 2. 2.1 Introduction and Summary 17 2. 2.2 Power-Plant Design and Performance 20 2. 3 Navy Nuclear Seaplane 28 2 . 3 . 1 Introduction and Summary 28 2 . 3 . 6 Installation of Other Power Plants 37 2.4.1Basis of the Study 40 2 . 4 . 2 Flight Test Operations 40 2 . 4 . 3 Description of the Aircraft 40 2. 4. 4 Description of Power Plants 41 2. 5. 5 Aircraft Modification Studies 51 2. 6. 4 Basic Factors and Assumptions 56 2. 7.1 Turbojet, Turboprop, and Turboaft-Fan 58 2 . 7 . 2 Direct and Indirect Cycles 61

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3.1 Effect of Power-Plant Weight on Performance 67 3 . 1 . 2 The Basic Turbojet Engine 68 3. 2.2 Other Ei^ine Application Studies 74 3 . 3 . 1 Description of the Mission 75 4 . 1 . 4 Facilities and Ground Support 89 4.2 Nuclear Turbojet Missiles 89 4. 2. 2 Nuclear Snark Missile 92 5 . 1 . 1 Comparison of Nuclear and Chemical Systems 105 5.2 Rockets for Space Missions 108 5. 2. 2 Trajectory Program Development 108 8. Army Portable Nuclear Power Plant 121 8. 3 Scope of the Study 121

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9. Closed Cycle Helium Power Plants 127 11.2 601B Power Plant Applications 137 11. 2.1 Surface Escorts (Antisubmarine and Antiaircraft) 140 11.3 601A Power Plant Applications 144 12. Aerospace Nuclear Propulsion System 145

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2. 6 - Preliminary layout, modified J73-GE-3 25 2.7 - Power plant installed in a seaplane 31 2.10 - Modified AC-110 power plant 37 2.16 - Convair - San Diego modification of the " P r i n c e s s " aircraft 47 2.18 - Approximate isodose pattern around the flying test bed 52 2.19 - General arrangement of B-52 aircraft with XNJ140E-1 power plant 52 2. 21 - Effect of engine type on relative productivity of nuclear-fueled aircraft 60 3. 2 - Maximum design lift-to-drag ratios 76 3.3 - Effect of design Mach number on airframe structure weight 76 4. 2 - Ramjet power-plant configuration, bottom inlet , 81 4. 3 - Nuclear ramjet ground-test prototype 82 4. 4 - Radial section of nuclear-ramjet reactor 84 4. 5 - Assumed ram recovery 87 4. 6 - Layout of ACA-8 missile 90 4.9 - Offset H20-moderated reactor with modified J79-X207 engine 95 4.10 - Offset ceramic reactor with modified J79-X207 engine 96 4.12 - Variation of thrust with altitude 101 5.1 - Advanced chemical systems 106 5. 2 - Nuclear-H2 system for 60, 000-pound payload 107

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6.1 - Hot-cycle nuclear helicopter system 112 6. 2 - Cold-cycle nuclear helicopter system 112 6. 3 - Mixed-cycle nuclear helicopter system 112 7.1 - Draft and clearances for hydrofoil study 115 7.2 - Schematic of closed-neon-cycle hydrofoil power plant 117 8.3 - Portable-power-plant power as a function of ambient temperature 124 9.1 - Schematic diagram of direct air cycle turbojet 128 9. 2 - Schematic diagram of closed cycle compressor-jet 128 9. 3 - Schematic diagram of closed cycle turbojet 129 9.4 - Schematic diagram of closed cycle turboprop 129 10.1 - Propulsion system proposal layout...., 132 10. 2 - Shaft horsepower as a function of ambient temperature 134 11. 3 - Installation of 601B power package on destroyer escort 141 11. 4 - Installation of 601B power package on a submarine 143 12. 2 - Main nuclear power plant for turbo-ram-rocket 148 12. 5 - Flight plan for earth-orbiting fuel station 151 12. 6 - Separation of liquid hydrogen payload in orbit 152 12. 7 - Assembly of earth-orbiting fuel station 153 12. 8 - Approaching last-trip assembly prior to interplanetary flight 154 12. 9 - Final assembly for interplanetary flight 155 12.10 -Nuclear flight in Martian atmosphere 157

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2. 2 - Summary of Design Data 26 2. 3 - Comparison of Liquid-Circulating- Fuel and Direct-Cycle Power Plants 27 2 . 4 - Aircraft Weight Estimates o 27 2. 5 - Basic Requirement for a Naval Nuclear Seaplane 29 2. 6 - Additional Assumptions for a Naval Nuclear Submarine 29 2.7 - Maximum Flight Performance 32 2.8 - X310 Engine Performance Summary 34 2o 9 - Martin Company Study: Group Weight Statement of Air Cycle Configurations. 46 2.10 - Comparative System Performance 46 2.11 - Convair Study: Group Weight Statement for Two T-57's and Two J-75's 48 2.13 - B-52G Flight Test Aircraft Weight and Performance Summary 56 2.14 - Subsonic X211 Turbojet Study Performance at ARDC Pressure Atmosphere, 100% Ram Recovery, No Bleed-Air or Power Extraction 57 2.15 - Comparison of Nuclear Turbojet, Turboaft-Fan, and Turboprop 2.16 - Comparison of Aircraft Performance by Ei^ine Type 59 2.17 - Altitude Performance per Reactor 62 2.18 - Airport Performance per Reactor 63 2.19 - Reactor Component Weights 63 2.21 - Airplane Comparative Performance 64 3. 5 - Llft-to-Drag Ratios for a "Dry" Configuration Supersonic Airplane 73 3.6 - Supersonic Performance Summary for the "Dry" Configuration 73 3.7 - Component Weights of "Wet" Configuration 73 3.8 - Supersonic Performance Summary for the "Wet" Configuration 74 3.9 - Wing Loadings for Supersonic Airplanes 77 4 . 1 - Summary of Configuration Data for Ramjet Reactor 85 4. 3 - Summary of Thermal and Nuclear Design Data 86 ^ 4. 4 - Design Point and Off-Design Performance Data 88 W 4. 5 - Missile Dimensions and Parameters 89

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4. 8 - Core Performance Comparison 98 5. 2 - Total U-235 Consumed in Graphite-Reflected Systems at 7.1 - Weights of Power-Plant Components 117 7.2 - Weight Summary of Power-Plant Components 118 8.1 - Portable Nuclear Power-Plant Weights 123 10.1 - Shield Thicknesses for Airship Power Plant 133 10. 2 - Performance of Airship Power Plant 133 11.1 - Performance of Two Hydrofoil Designs 142

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1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY This volume consists of summaries of advanced application studies of nuclear power plants performed by the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Department of the General Electric Company. The term "advanced application" is used with two connotations. The first r e f e r s to the application of nuclear power plants developed during the ANP program In vehicles or systems other than those for which they were originally designed. The second meaning r e f e r s to variations of the basic ANP power plants, or completely new ones, a s applied to various vehicles or systems. The field of advanced applications, therefore, was in addition to, or beyond, the p r i m a r y ANP program effort at any given time. For example, when the p r i m a r y effort of the ANP program was on the XNJ140E-1 power plant for the Convair NX-2 airplane, the study of this power plant in a B-52 a i r - craft was considered an "advanced application." Similarly, studies of the P140Y2 power plant, a high-performance, supersonic version of the XNJ140E-1, in any vehicle were The purpose of the work was to provide a basis for planning future nuclear weapons systems for the national defense, and to advance the technology of nuclear reactors by finding useful applications in various fields. The applications work was closely coordinated with the developmental phases of the ANP program: preliminary design, conceptual design, and materials development effort. Some of the early studies on nuclear ramjets and rockets, summarized in this volume, influenced later government programs such a s ROVER and PLUTO. Early applications studies also influenced …