Actions for Light-weight radioisotope heater impact tests [electronic resource].

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Light-weight radioisotope heater impact tests [electronic resource].

Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 1998.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Physical Description
9 pages : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators
Los Alamos National Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
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Summary
The light-weight radioisotope heater unit (LWRHU) is a ²³⁸PuO₂-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 ²³⁸PuO₂ fuel pellet, a Pt-30Rh vented capsule, a pyrolytic graphite insulator, and a fineweave-pierced fabric graphite aeroshell assembly. To compare the performance of the LWRHUs fabricated for the Cassini mission with the performance of those fabricated for the Galileo mission, and to determine a failure threshold, two types of impact tests were conducted. A post-reentry impact test was performed on one of 180 flight-quality units produced for the Cassini mission and a series of sequential impact tests using simulant-fueled LWRHU capsules were conducted respectively. The results showed that deformation and fuel containment of the impacted Cassini LWRHU was similar to that of a previously tested Galileo LWRHU. Both units sustained minimal deformation of the aeroshell and fueled capsule; the fuel was entirely contained by the platinum capsule. Sequential impacting, in both end-on and side-on orientations, resulted in increased damage with each subsequent impact. 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.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:la-ur--97-3390
E 1.99: conf-980103--
conf-980103--
la-ur--97-3390
Subject(s)
Other Subject(s)
Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
12/31/1998.
"la-ur--97-3390"
" conf-980103--"
"DE98001474"
Space technology and applications international forum, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 25-29 Jan 1998.
Rinehart, G.H.; Herrera, A.; Reimus, M.A.H.
Funding Information
W-7405-ENG-36
View MARC record | catkey: 14403721