Continued use of nuclear power is an important part of
the Department's strategy to provide for the Nation's energy security, as
well as to be responsible stewards of the environment.
Nuclear energy research currently provides over 20 percent of the
U.S. electricity generation and will continue to provide a significant
portion of U.S. electrical energy production for many years to come.
Also, nuclear power in the U.S. makes a significant contribution to
lowering the emission of gases associated with global climate change and air
pollution.
The Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology
(NE) enables the Department of Energy to provide the technical leadership
necessary to address critical domestic and international nuclear issues by
administering research and development and technical assistance in the
following general areas: (1) the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI)
Program addresses key issues affecting the future of nuclear energy in order
to preserve U.S. nuclear science and technology leadership, (2) the
Radioisotope Power Systems Program develops new
state-of-the-art radioisotope power systems to support the
NASA space missions and terrestrial applications for other agencies, (3) the
Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization (NEPO) Program conducts research to assure
the continued safe and reliable operations of over 100 of the Nation's
nuclear power plants, (4) the University Reactor Fuel and Educational
Assistance Program is designed to help retain the U.S. nuclear engineering
capability for conducting nuclear research, addressing pressing nuclear
environmental challenges, and preserving the nuclear energy option, and (5)
the Isotope Production Program produces and sells hundreds of stable and
radioactive isotopes that are widely used by domestic and international
customers for medicine , industry and research applications.
Nuclear power provides over 20 percent of the U.S.
electricity supply without emitting harmful air pollutants, including those
that may cause adverse global climite changes.
New methods and technologies are needed to address key issues that
affect the future deployment of nuclear energy and to preserve the U.S.
leadership in nuclear technology and engineering. This topic addresses several of these key technology areas:
improvements in nuclear reactor technology, computer simulation and modeling
applications, and advanced thermoelectric conversion devices and materials
for improved radioisotope power systems. Grant applications are sought
only in the following subtopics:
a. New
Technology for Improved Nuclear Energy Systems - Improvements and
advances are needed for reactor systems and component technologies that
would be ultimately used in the design, construction, or operation of
existing and future nuclear power plants and Generation IV nuclear power
systems [See References 1-3]. Grant
applications are sought to (1) improve and optimize nuclear power plant,
systems, and component instrumentation and control, by developing advanced
instrumentation, sensors, controls, and more accurate measurement of key
reactor and plant parameters; (2) improve monitoring of plant equipment
performance and aging, using improved diagnostic techniques for
in-service and non-destructive examinations; and (3) improve
corrosion resistance for light water reactor coolant system components,
secondary side equipment, and balance of plant systems, by exploring
advancements in materials and chemistry control systems [See Reference 4].
Grant applications that address concepts for complete or partial reactor
plant design are not of interest and will be declined.
b. Advanced
Reactor Computer Simulation and Modeling Applications - Advanced
computational techniques are needed for the design, development, testing,
monitoring, and safety evaluation of currently existing nuclear power plants
as well as advanced reactor designs and Generation IV nuclear power systems
[See References 1-3 ]. Grant applications are sought for new computer
simulation software and modeling applications, including those that use
parallel processing techniques, to support one or more of following areas:
(1) design, development, safety evaluation methods, and engineering
calculations for new and existing nuclear reactors, major reactor
components, and reactor core and fuel assemblies; and (2) assessment,
measurement, instrumentation, and control of nuclear reactor plant
performance and operations. Grant applications that address concepts for complete or
partial reactor plant design are not of interest and will be declined.
c. Conversion
Devices and Materials for Improved Performance of Radioisotope Power Systems
- Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTG) have been the sole
electrical power systems employed for NASA deep space exploration missions
such as Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo, Ulysses and more recently Cassini [See
References 1, 5-7]. These
power systems provide units of power equal to nominally 100 -150 watts
electrical. The RTG provide
very long life reliability, but their conversion efficiencies are low,
typically 6.5 to 7.5 percent when the silicon-germanium (SiGe)
unicouple is used as the thermoelectric conversion device.
Because of changes in mission plans and philosophy, future NASA
requirements will include higher conversion-efficiency units with
power levels from 50 to about 200 watts in planetary surface and deep space
vacuum environments. In
anticipation of these future needs, grant applications are sought to:
(1) Identify
and demonstrate a selective vent material for Radioisotope Power System (RPS)
generator housings which will allow helium to escape but will prevent air
(oxygen, nitrogen) and carbon dioxide from entering the generator at various
housing temperatures, up to 200°C;
(2) Develop
separator materials for use in close-spaced thermoelectric modules for
one of the following thermoelectric elements:
PbTe/TAGS (TAGS is derived from the names of the major constituents - tellurium, antimony, germanium, and silver) at a hot-side
temperature of 550°C or SiGe at a hot-side temperature of 1000°C.
(The ideal separator shall have a low thermal conductivity, be an
electrical insulator, prevent diffusion of dopant materials, and limit mass
transfer of thermoelectric materials over long operating lifetimes of the
thermoelectric modules.);
(3) Develop
a thermal "switch" material or device to prevent
over-heating of the radioisotope heat source in the event normal heat
flow through the energy conversion device (e.g., a Stirling converter) is
lost; and /or
(4) Develop
a high conductivity, low weight technique to collect heat from a GPHS
(general purpose heating device) module (~3.866" x 3.92") and
conduct it into the cylindrical heater head of a Stirling converter (2"
diam x 0.5" wide) at a temperature of 650oC.
|
Please note: (1) The technical topics are to be interpreted
literally, and all grant applications must respond to a particular topic and subtopic. (2)
Last year only 1 out of 4 grant applications were awarded; only those applications with
high
scientific/technical quality will be competitive. |
References
1.
What's News
U.S. DOE Office of Nuclear
Energy, Science and Technology
http://www.nuclear.gov
2.
Moving Forward on Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems
U.S. DOE Office of Nuclear
Energy, Science and Technology
http://gen-iv.ne.doe.gov/
3.
Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI)
U.S. DOE Office of Nuclear
Energy, Science and Technology
http://neri.ne.doe.gov/
4.
Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization Program (NEPO)
U.S. DOE Office of Nuclear
Energy, Science and Technology http://nepo.ne.doe.gov/
5.
Proceedings of the Space Technology & Applications International
Forum (STAIF), 1997 to date.(Web
site: http://www-chne.unm.edu/isnps/)
6.
Proceedings of the Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering
Conferences, American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1985 to
date. (American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics.
Telephone 703-264-7500.
Web site: http://www.aiaa.org/menu.hfm)
7.
Rowe, D. M., ed., CRC Handbook of Thermoelectrics, CRC
Press,1995.
(ISBN:
0-8493-0146-7)