ACNP-62015A MOBILE ENERGY DEPOT Feasibility STUDY
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jiiiY O ' 1 0 4 2 2 '=rvT/i) Volume 1 of II ACNP-62015A AEC Research and Development Report P i 5 MOBILE ENERGY DEPOT FEASiBILITY STUDY - SUMMARY REPORT 13 July 1962 O / tument cogtalns restricted data as 19^ ^ ot the ^S^osure o^W^xon- jMne'rt.o an unauthorized oec- Work performed under Contract AT(30-1)-2931 for the United States Atomic Energy Commission ALLIS-CHALMERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY ATOMIC ENERGY DIVISION M ilw aukee 1, Wisconsin W tun CHMnris _ _ .. 4iirv«r I PISTRIBUTION OF THI IS UNLIMITED DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency Thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use wouid not infringe privately owned rights. 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Makes any warranty or representation to others, expressed or implied, with respect to the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information contained in this report, or that the use of any information, apparatus, method, or process dis closed in this report may not infringe privately owned rights; or B. Assumes any liabilities to others with respect to the use of, or for damages resulting from the use of any information, apparatus, method, or process disclosed in this report. 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Series A 3iB^7JW !fVnK^iirW XSsBl^ijaB N Y O 10422 Volume I of II S ffi C-83, Reactors - Critical Features of i' r~i k K v.^. : ■ V -> P |rif M ilitary Power Reactors -iv;. • : A jy ,:-3 ACNP-62015A (M-3679 , 26th Edition) II' MOBILE ENERGY DEPOT FEASIBILITY STUDY - SUMMARY REPORT S. B. Burwell A. F. Erwin J. P. Manion J. A. Carlson P. G . Grimes S. E. Rohowetz I. G. Clark R. J . Jasinski C. L. Sollenberger .. E. Donelan T. P. Kruzic J. F. Thompkins *n o (D July 13, 1962 K 'S a i M W. M. Hawkins, Jr. <T>P Project Manager n CM w r- 4J O o :RESlf?lCT£D^ATA document contains restricted data CO as d efined in the Atomic Energy Act of > CO H« 1954 Its transm ittal or the disclosure o Si t o f I cont^t^ in ajiy manner to an unaii tlnjBi^ed^^erscrfi is^^rohibite(^ . - i f W - Prepared under the direction of the rh New York Operations Office U. S. Atomic Energy Commission Work performed under Contract AT(30-1)-2931 for the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission o x S °s S |2 3 «-2,E prepared by ^ O c 3, M as £ *^cEc«<25 c « o5 cE ;.2 c , w w « ^ ALLIS-CHALMERS MANUFACTURING COMPAN ->-So^5 jcEu G Oo 2VI a£ o ’-S 5; »■■= Milwaukee, Wisconsin o c i ° ■ £ 2 „ ... s >• and O S ■?,«>'- = o s 2 ■ _ 5«.C0OxC WM z 5^ 5 o a .2 > AIR PRODUCTS & CHEMICALS, INC. r Allentown, Pennsylvania al5 « -js c c £) tfi o g " -S .2 S " “ ® 0 ° ’^E S"''==2 •2 0 u S«c8qii«£03 I h &£ u £E"US.S 'IS d o c u m e n t is u n l im !t o [V ABSTRACT Various methods of producing and using nuclear power for m ilitary land vehicles and other m ilitary equipment were investigated and evaluated. A nuclear-powered mobile energy depot (MED) would move with advancing armies and produce vehicle fuels from materials readily available in the field. This would make mechanized units independent of external fuel supplies for extended periods, and permit them to move quickly and easily to areas impossible for units that depend on the customary fuel supply lines. Many possible MED systems were evaluated on the basis of energy sources, fuel manufac turing (by both conventional and chemonuclear processes), fuel storage and transportation, and fuel utilization in both present-day internal-combustion engines and power units of the future (i.e., fuel cells). The applications of more than a dozen MED systems to vehicular propulsion were studied. Recommendations were made covering several preferred systems and areas for further study. , ■ it.. ' i -4 - FOREWORD The increasing mechanization of modern armies;wi.th the attendant increase in fuel,re quirements^, has placed an.increasing burden on m ilitary supply services. Owing to.the special ability of nuclear fuel to provide a concentrated^, long-lived source of power, largply independent of supply lines, m ilitary planners and strategists have long sought to make use of nuclear energy. For some applications requiring small amounts of power (up to a:few kilowatts),, radioisotopes may be used, but for power requirements measured in megawatts the only practical source of energy is the fission reactor. Unfortungtely, the shielding associated with a reactor would make the plant so large and heavy that the direct application of nuclear power to.the majority of military vehicles would not be a practical possibility, in naval applications, where size and weight lim i tations do not apply and where cost is outweighed by other considerations, nuclear power plants have supplanted other forms of power ,in several cases. The small power requirement of individual m ilitary land vehicles, is also economically unfavorable for direct use of nuclear power reactors. The unit cost of a plant per in stalled kilowatt is inversely proportional to.the size of the plant. Moreover, the oper ating cost per unit of energy produced is.reduced as the load factor, is increased. Thus, a few large plants in continuous operation are economically more favorable.than many small power plants operating intermittently to meet the requirerhents of individual vehicles. For the latter use, there still seems to be no better system than chemically fueled power plants. However, the maintenance of a-long,, vulnerable fuel supply line to keep chemi cally fueled vehicles functioning requires a great expense and in time of war diverts m ilitary capacity that could be more usefully employed otherwise. The concept of .the mobile energy depot(MED) offers a possible solution to the problem of meeting these divergent requirements. In essence, the MED concept.Involves a com pact nuclear power plant coupled to a fuel processing plant. The power reactor would be large enough to produce energy economically, but not too large and unwieldy to be transported readily. The fuel processing plant would also be of a size suitable for trans portation by air or highway and would be capable of producing sufficient fuel supply a considerable number of vehicles continuously. The feed materials for the fuel proc essing plant must be .those commonly available anywhere in,,the world (i.e ., air, earth, and water). The MED would move with advancing armies and create fuel for a ll army needs from materials readily available In the field. Tank, truck, and other mechanized units would be independent of an external fuel supply for many months, and could relo cate quickly and easily to areas that would present prohibitive supply problems to con ventional mechanized units. Hence, the objective of the MED study was to Investigate and evaluate various methods ond systems by which power produced by one or more nuclear power sources can be used to martufacture fuel suitable to power m ilitary land vehicles and other m ilitary equipment. • • •• .* If this idea: is fully developed, operations could be carried on in regions of the world and under conditions now beyOnd the capability of military units. M ilitary operations would achieve a. new flexibility and the ability of the military to function in the after math of nuclear warfare would be vastly enhanced. • • • • • • • * • • • •••• •• •• •••••• • •• '• • •••• ,■*« • •••••• ••• •• •••• CO N TEN TS V V olum e I ABSTRACT FOREWORD O'O. O'O- O. O. O-'O.- 0-0 - O' 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS '7 LIST O F FIGURES . .. 15 LIST O F TABLES o ' O' e • 0* 0- o 0 ■ o ■ o o • 0 • 18 lo INTRODUCTION 21 2. SUMMARY .25 2.1 ENERGY SOURCES 25 2 .2 FUEL.s y s t e m s ., 0 '' e / 0 o o' e 28 2.3 FUEL UTILIZATION 32 2 .4 REFERENCES .