Consideration of LENR for Aircraft Propulsion (15ATC-0399) Session ATC502 - Business/Economics - Future Propulsion Technology

Transcription

1 Consideration of LENR for Aircraft Propulsion () Session ATC502 - Business/Economics - Future Propulsion Technology David L. Daggett, Ph.D., President John Patterson, Chief Electrical Engineer Katy Goloborodov, Engineering Intern Phonon Energy Inc. AeroTech Sept 23, 2015

2 What if claims of a clean energy breakthrough are true? Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) demonstration Source: ECAT.com

3 LENR would be a world changing technology for aviation too. (1) (1) Nickel-Hydrogen is the fuel used in ECAT s LENR reactor

4 Agenda Introduction to LENR Design considerations & enabling technology Proposed Hybrid LENR propulsion system Summary Paper # (if applicable) 4

5 LENR background March Prof Pons and Fleishman announce excess heat in electrochemistry experiments. DOE engages prestigious researchers to perform superficial evaluations The press coins term cold fusion Repeatability issues preclude validation by 3rd parties Nov 1989 DOE issues negative report March 1990 Nature publication says farewell to cold fusion Source: C. Beaudette Excess Heat Source: NYtimes.com

6 Cold Fusion Hot Again 60 minutes

7 Andrea Rossi s E-cat progress E-cat 1MW prototype Tom Darden of Industrial Heat funds Rossi s work

8 Bill Gates briefed on LENR by Dr. Vittorio Violante at the ENEA* labs in Frascati, Italy * The Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development Photo: E-catalyzer.it

9 Rob Duncan (VP of Research) recently founded Center for Emerging Energy Sciences (CEES) at Texas Tech for R&D of LENR

10 Airbus appears to support LENR as evidenced on their Chief Scientist s LinkedIn Page

11 Alex Parkhomov replicates E-cat experiments For 1 gram of Ni powder 2.58X more energy out than input

12 LENR would be classified as a weak (nuclear) force Force figure: The decay of specific nuclear particles results in transmutation, resulting in the release of energy One example: Nickel isotope Ni + n (ULM?) Neutron Unstable Nickel isotope (½ life = 2.5 hr) β Ni Cu + v e Beta Radiation Stable Copper isotope Neutrino

13 Power density of LENR fuel is 108* times higher than jet fuel in Parkhomov demonstration Jet-A 18,500 BTU/lb LENR Ni 3,084,000 J of power produced in 40 min = 1285 W (4385 BTU) 1285 W/ 1 gram Ni (4385 BTU/ lb) = 1285 W/g (1,993,182 BTU/lb) 1,993,182 BTU/lb /18,500 BTU/lb= 108 or 108X higher than Jet-A* * Probably much higher as experiments were terminated before fuel was exhausted.

14 Cost of LENR heat is 40X cheaper* than Jet-A in Parkhomov s experiment Jet-A 18,500 BTU/lb 6.72 lb/gal $3/gal = $ per BTU LENR 1,993,182 BTU/lb $12.00 per lb = $ per BTU Historical cost of Nickel $ per BTU $ per BTU = 40X * Probably much less as experiments were terminated before fuel was exhausted.

15 Agenda Introduction to LENR Design considerations & enabling technology Proposed Hybrid LENR propulsion system Summary Paper # (if applicable) 15

16 Design considerations for LENR aircraft propulsion Airplane Requirements Safety Economics Powerplant Factors Lowest Failure Rate Achievable, Redundancy, Mishap Impact Cost, Reliability, Low Maintenance LENR vs. Turbofan Perhaps safer as no liquid fuel spills, need to design for no reactor breach Very high development cost, very low operating cost, better reliability and maintenance due to lower operating temperatures Performance Weight, Range, Power, Throttle Response Unknown system weight, unlimited range, refueling every 6 months, hybrid system required for good throttle response Regulations & Public Acceptance Certification, Non-nuisance New certification needed, LENR name needs to be replaced for public acceptance Environmental Emissions, Noise Zero emissions when used in closed cycle system, much lower noise

17 Closed cycle may be needed to eliminate any reactor emissions Open Cycle Closed Cycle Reactor Reactor Beta Ray Emissions?

18 Helium Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) support system could be considered with a LENR reactor for an aircraft hybrid propulsion system LENR heat reactor 850 C Generator Helium Hx system for energy conversion Lithium Hx system for high heat x-fer and reactor isolation System modified from: earch/gas-cooled-fastreactor/

19 Aircraft need fast throttle response Cruise Typical Flight Segment Taxi and Take-off Climb Initial Climb 10,000 ft Descent Approach & Land Taxi Power Setting (notional) 0 lb

20 Hybrid system would make up for slow reactor response Cruise Typical Flight Segment Taxi and Take-off Climb Initial Climb 10,000 ft Descent Approach & Land Taxi Power Setting (notional) 0 lb Battery + Reactor Reactor Battery Regen. Power supplied to gate?

21 Use well-proven hybrid technologies from other transports for aircraft design Souce: Source:

22 Advanced batteries would also be an enabling technology for a hybrid aircraft SUGAR Volt battery powered airplane concept Source: ttp://

23 High Temperature Super Conductors are required to reduce hybrid system weight OR Copper High temperature (LN2) super conductors Source: Amercian Superconductor

24 Electric aircraft motor studies will support LENR-powered architectures Source:

25 Electric propulsion will allow a plethora of aircraft designs for reduced noise and improved environmental performance Source:

26 Agenda Introduction to LENR Design considerations & enabling technology Proposed Hybrid LENR propulsion system Summary Paper # (if applicable) 26

27 Option 1: Central Power Supply Architecture Arrangement Source: NASA Electric driven fans Controller LN superconducting system LENR Reactor & Generator Short Range Batteries

28 Option 2: Engine-Mounted LENR Concept Intercoolers Recuperator Closed Cycle Concept LENR Reactor Turbine Fan Motor Generator Compressors

29 Agenda Introduction to LENR Design considerations & enabling technology Proposed Hybrid LENR propulsion system Summary Paper # (if applicable) 29

30 LENR is: Promising An Enabling Technology Economically Game-Changing Further Investigation is warranted Phonon Energy s LENR Test Rig

31 Thank you Questions?