During the past few months there has been a renewed expression of interest in the high-temperature gas-cycle reactor coupled with a closed-cycle gas turbine in a single loop as a means of utilizing the energy available from nuclear fission. At present the procurement of two closed-cycle gas-turbine plants is planned in this country, both of which are suitable for use with a gas-cycle nuclear reactor as a heat source. These plants differ widely in output, purpose and the nature of the working fluid. One of the questions repeatedly raised during their design was the effect of the nature and characteristics of the working fluid on the design of the nonnuclear components. This pointed to the desirability of a specific study along these lines, which study was conducted by the author’s firm and is partially reported herein.

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