摘要: Centrifugal nuclear thermal propulsion (CNTP) systems have the potential to operate at specific impulses an order of magnitude greater than state of the art chemical rockets. CNTP systems feed propellant into the outer walls of ra... 展开 Centrifugal nuclear thermal propulsion (CNTP) systems have the potential to operate at specific impulses an order of magnitude greater than state of the art chemical rockets. CNTP systems feed propellant into the outer walls of rapidly rotating cylinders housing molten uranium, the propellant then flows through the molten core, into a central void, and out a nozzle producing thrust. Understanding the behavior of diffuse material like bubbles and foam in the cores of CNTP systems is key to predicting heat transfer to the propellant and mass loss from the core. Smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) formulations have proven useful for modelling complex multiphase fluid interactions in nuclear systems. This paper investigates a novel approach for modelling and visualization of diffuse material in a CNTP core. An algorithm has been adapted that assigns each fluid particle a value representing its potential to generate diffuse material based on relative velocities of nearby particles, particle kinetic energies, and local concavity of propellant-uranium interfaces. The diffuse material is used to modify system optical properties in post processing to generate images. 收起