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Lead-based reactor nuclear power has the advantages of inherent safety, compact size, light weight, long service life, and high efficiency, and it is widely applied to advanced marine equipment, unmanned underwater vehicles, and deep-sea space stations for energy and power purposes. Conducting research on lead-based reactor marine nuclear power is key to the technological innovation of energy and power for marine equipment in China. This study clarifies the application scenarios and development demands of marine nuclear power, summarizes the development status of lead-based reactor nuclear power from the aspects of technical characteristics, representative applications, and research status, and analyzes corresponding key technologies including nuclear fuel and cladding materials, key components in the primary loop, coolant processes and oxygen control, and advanced power generation technologies. Moreover, the study explores the development challenges for lead-based reactor marine nuclear power and proposes there feasible technical routes: low-temperature lead-based reactor marine nuclear power, high-temperature and high-efficiency lead-based reactor marine nuclear power, and integrated natural-circulation lead-based reactor marine nuclear power. Furthermore, we propose the following suggestions to promote the leapfrog development of marine nuclear power in China:(1) strengthening research and development (R&D) of specialized technologies for the lead-based reactor marine nuclear power and accelerating the deployment of demonstrative projects; (2) incorporating lead-based reactors into the country's major energy strategies and creating a standards system; (3) establishing national joint R&D centers and creating new models for technological innovation and industrial development.

AbstractA nuclear battery is a promising candidate for small power supply sources in the military and commercial fields, but its output power and energy conversion efficiency need to be improved. This paper mainly describes a design, preparation, and electrical performance analysis of a GaAs-based tritium battery. The design of the tritium battery uses a multistage process with Monte Carlo and Matlab simulations. A titanium tritide source was prepared by a high-temperature tritium absorption device, and a GaAs semiconductor transducer was developed using a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition method. The D/Ti ratio and T/Ti ratio of the deuterium/tritium titanium films were 1.9 and 1.7, respectively. Two kinds of GaAs-based PIN junction semiconductor transducers were proposed and irradiated with the prepared tritium source. Their electrical properties were measured in situ and analyzed qualitatively. Under the irradiation of a 0.61-Ci tritium source, the short-circuit current of the device was 0.3 to 0.38 μA, the open-circuit voltage was 35 to 63 mV, the peak power was 2.8 to 6.4 nW, and the energy conversion efficiency of the GaAs semiconductor transducer was about 1.86%. It was found that an air gap between the GaAs semiconductor transducer and the radioactive source caused serious loss of beta particle energy, resulting in low output power and low energy conversion efficiency of the nuclear battery. The open-circuit voltage of the devices with a SiO2 passivation layer on the surface decreased both in a dark environment and in light illumination, but SiO2 passivation did not reduce surface recombination as expected. The research work in this paper will provide some valuable reference for the preparation and performance optimization of nuclear batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractA 100-W radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) is by far the most suitable power supply for long-term deep space exploration where solar power would not be feasible. Understanding the thermal performance and electrical performance of the RTG under operational conditions is paramount for its nominal and safety performance during the space mission. In this paper, modeling and experimental studies on the thermal behavior and electrical performance of the 100-W RTG have been conducted. The RTG uses high conversion efficiency skutterudite-based thermoelectric convertor (TEC) arrays thermally coupled with a radioisotope heat unit (RHU) to generate electricity. A comprehensive finite element model and an electrical heating prototype of the 100-W RTG have been built to assess the performance of the RTG designs. Critical temperature, generated power, and energy conversion efficiency were evaluated. The simulation results show that the maximum output power of the RTG can reach about 120 W(electric); the temperature of the hot end of the TECs is about 853 K, and the temperature of the cold end is about 473 K, making a temperature difference of about 380 K. The RTG prototype with Bi2Te3 TECs generated about 60 W(electric) of electrical power in the first experimental research stage. These research results have significant reference for extension of the RTG prototype to the actual power source of the RHU and allow for future research and development improvements of the 100-W RTG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]