Nuclear Thermal Electric Propulsion (NTEP) refers to a type of electric propulsion system that uses nuclear thermal energy to generate electricity, which is then used to power electric thrusters.
For NTEP, the specifics of the nuclear reactor design, the thermodynamic cycle used to convert thermal energy to electricity, and the electric propulsion system all play critical roles in determining the overall system performance and specific impulse.
The calculation of specific impulse for NTEP is often based on the overall system efficiency, which involves the conversion of thermal energy to electric power and the subsequent efficiency of the electric propulsion system.
It is defined as the thrust generated per unit of propellant expended and is expressed in seconds.
where,
- is the specific impulse of the rocket engine (in seconds, s)
- F is the Thrust Produced
- ṁ is the mass flow rate of propellant in KG/Sec
- g0 is the acceleration due to gravity