Tipo di tesi
Tesi di laurea magistrale
Titolo
Preliminary analysis of an ammonia irradiation test loop for nuclear thermal propulsion systems
Dipartimento
INGEGNERIA CIVILE E INDUSTRIALE
Corso di studi
INGEGNERIA NUCLEARE
Parole chiave
- Activation Analysis
- Ammonia Decomposition
- Ammonia Radiolysis
- Monte Carlo Simulations
- Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
Data inizio appello
04/06/2026
Consultabilità
Non consultabile
Data di rilascio
04/06/2029
Riassunto (Inglese)
This thesis presents the preliminary design and numerical investigation of an experimental loop for ammonia decomposition studies under neutron irradiation, developed within the framework of the Bimodal Ammonia Nuclear Thermal and Electric Rocket (BANTER) project.
The proposed facility is intended for installation inside the HK-1 channel of the LVR-15 research reactor at Research Centre Řež (CVR), with the objective of studying catalytic ammonia cracking in a radiation environment. Ammonia decomposition into hydrogen and nitrogen reduces the average molecular weight of the exhaust products and therefore represents a promising approach for improving propulsion performance, potentially enabling specific impulse values up to 500 s.
After a brief overview of the historical development of nuclear thermal propulsion technologies, the work reviews the state of the art of experimental ammonia cracking systems and induction heating techniques in order to identify suitable engineering solutions for the proposed loop.
Monte Carlo models based on the OpenMC code were developed to perform neutron transport, depletion, and activation analyses of the system. Specific attention is devoted to nitrogen activation phenomena, including preliminary assessments of photonuclear activation pathways, owing to their relevance to safety considerations, post-irradiation handling, and operation of the irradiation facility.
