Review of Helium and Xenon Pure Component and Mixture Transport Properties and Recommendation of Estimating Approach for Project Prometheus (Viscosity and Thermal Conductivity)

Abstract

The selected configuration for the Project Prometheus Space Nuclear Power Plant was a direct coupling of Brayton energy conversion loop(s) to a single reactor heat source through the gas coolant/working fluid. A mixture of helium (He) and xenon (Xe) gas was assumed as the coolant/working fluid. Helium has superior thermal conductivity while xenon is added to increase the gas atomic weight to benefit turbomachinery design. Both elements have the advantage of being non‐reactive. HeXe transport properties (viscosity and thermal conductivity) were needed to calculate pressure drops and heat transfer rates. HeXe mixture data are limited, necessitating the use of semi‐empirical correlations to calculate mixture properties. Several approaches are available. Pure component properties are generally required in the mixture calculations. While analytical methods are available to estimate pure component properties, adequate helium and xenon pure component data are available. This paper compares the sources of pure component data and the approaches to calculate mixture properties. Calculated mixture properties are compared to the limited mixture data and approaches are recommended to calculate both pure component and mixture properties. Given the limited quantity of HeXe mixture data (all at one atmosphere), additional testing may have been required for Project Prometheus to augment the existing data and confirm the selection of mixture property calculation methods.