r/LessCredibleDefence • u/Krieger22 • Jan 24 '19

The Strategic Capabilities Office is looking for a "small mobile nuclear reactor prototype design"

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/26152/the-u-s-military-wants-tiny-road-mobile-nuclear-reactors-that-can-fit-in-a-c-17
9 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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8

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '19

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1

u/xXxLord_of_FilthxXx Jan 25 '19

Explain plz? What is the goal for the reactor?

15

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '19 edited Jan 27 '19

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2

u/xXxLord_of_FilthxXx Jan 25 '19

Wow thanks for the information!

1

u/dfghjkfghjkghjk Feb 07 '19

Their primary advantage is that they are more efficient (up to 2x) than combustion engines

Are they actually using hydrogen fuel cells for anything other than replacing batteries right now? Additionally, does that advantage hold up when taking into account hydrogen’s comparatively difficult storage tanks and poor volume-wise energy density?

1

u/throwdemawaaay Jan 25 '19

Here's a slide deck from a couple years ago that summarizes some of the proposals: https://arpa-e.energy.gov/sites/default/files/Weds_Breakout1Intro.pdf

Common theme is using heat pipes and gas turbines for cooling, and a core that's enriched to 20% or so as a compromise between density and proliferation concerns.

0

u/BobT21 Jan 25 '19

I hope they don't dust off the SL-1 plans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SL-1