In May of 1960 La Fleur Enterprises, later to become The La Fleur Corporation, undertook the design of a closed-cycle gas turbine utilizing helium as a working fluid. The useful output of this machine was to be in the form of a stream of helium bled from the last stage of the compressor. This stream was to be used in a low-temperature refrigeration cycle (not described in this paper) and would be returned to the compressor inlet at approximately ambient temperature and at compressor-inlet pressure. The design of this machine was completed by the end of 1960 and construction was initiated immediately. The unit was completed and initial tests were made in the Spring of 1962. This paper covers the design philosophy as it affected the conceptual and preliminary design phases of the project and describes briefly the design of the various components. Photographs of these components and a flow schematic are included.
Analytical and preliminary design studies of nuclear rocket propulsion systems. Volume VI. Compilation of hydrogen properties