BIPS Turboalternator-Compressor Characteristics and Application to the NASA Solar Dynamic Ground Demonstration Program

The recently initiated, NASA-sponsored 2 kW_e Solar Dynamic Space Power System Ground Test Demonstration (SDGTD) Program requires both physical and thermodynamic integration of the Brayton Isotope Power System (BIPS) Turboalternator-compressor (TAC) and recuperator with a heat receiver, solar concentrator, and radiator based on Space Station Freedom (SSF) designs to provide a cost-effective, minimal-risk, viable ground test system. The optimization of a non-mission-specific system, using existing components, requires a modified analytical system approach from that used during the SSF effort. Desirable test system characteristics must be identified and then optimized to achieve these characteristics within the capability of the supplied components. Initial thermodynamic analyses and component sizing studies indicate that the BIPS TAC and recuperator can be successfully integrated into a fully operational solar dynamic power conversion system which can be used to evaluate a complete solar dynamic system in a simulated space environment.