Evaluation and Optimization of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Conversion Cycle for Nuclear Applications

Evaluation and Optimization of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Conversion Cycle for Nuclear Applications PDF Author:
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Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
There have been a number of studies involving the use of gases operating in the supercritical mode for power production and process heat applications. Supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) is particularly attractive because it is capable of achieving relatively high power conversion cycle efficiencies in the temperature range between 550°C and 750°C. Therefore, it has the potential for use with any type of high-temperature nuclear reactor concept, assuming reactor core outlet temperatures of at least 550°C. The particular power cycle investigated in this paper is a supercritical CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle. The CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle can be used as either a direct or indirect power conversion cycle, depending on the reactor type and reactor outlet temperature. The advantage of this cycle when compared to the helium Brayton Cycle is the lower required operating temperature; 550°C versus 850°C. However, the supercritical CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle requires an operating pressure in the range of 20 MPa, which is considerably higher than the required helium Brayton cycle operating pressure of 8 MPa. This paper presents results of analyses performed using the UniSim process analyses software to evaluate the performance of the supercritical CO2 Brayton Recompression Cycle for different reactor outlet temperatures. The UniSim model assumed a 600 MWt reactor power source, which provides heat to the power cycle at a maximum temperature of between 550°C and 750°C. The UniSim model used realistic component parameters and operating conditions to model the complete power conversion system. CO2 properties were evaluated, and the operating range for the cycle was adjusted to take advantage of the rapidly changing conditions near the critical point. The UniSim model was then optimized to maximize the power cycle thermal efficiency at the different maximum power cycle operating temperatures. The results of the analyses showed that power cycle thermal efficiencies in the range of 40 to 50% can be achieved.

Evaluation and Optimization of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Conversion Cycle for Nuclear Applications

Evaluation and Optimization of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Conversion Cycle for Nuclear Applications PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
There have been a number of studies involving the use of gases operating in the supercritical mode for power production and process heat applications. Supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) is particularly attractive because it is capable of achieving relatively high power conversion cycle efficiencies in the temperature range between 550°C and 750°C. Therefore, it has the potential for use with any type of high-temperature nuclear reactor concept, assuming reactor core outlet temperatures of at least 550°C. The particular power cycle investigated in this paper is a supercritical CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle. The CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle can be used as either a direct or indirect power conversion cycle, depending on the reactor type and reactor outlet temperature. The advantage of this cycle when compared to the helium Brayton Cycle is the lower required operating temperature; 550°C versus 850°C. However, the supercritical CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle requires an operating pressure in the range of 20 MPa, which is considerably higher than the required helium Brayton cycle operating pressure of 8 MPa. This paper presents results of analyses performed using the UniSim process analyses software to evaluate the performance of the supercritical CO2 Brayton Recompression Cycle for different reactor outlet temperatures. The UniSim model assumed a 600 MWt reactor power source, which provides heat to the power cycle at a maximum temperature of between 550°C and 750°C. The UniSim model used realistic component parameters and operating conditions to model the complete power conversion system. CO2 properties were evaluated, and the operating range for the cycle was adjusted to take advantage of the rapidly changing conditions near the critical point. The UniSim model was then optimized to maximize the power cycle thermal efficiency at the different maximum power cycle operating temperatures. The results of the analyses showed that power cycle thermal efficiencies in the range of 40 to 50% can be achieved.

Optimization and Comparison of Direct and Indirect Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Plant Cycles for Nuclear Applications

Optimization and Comparison of Direct and Indirect Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Plant Cycles for Nuclear Applications PDF Author:
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
There have been a number of studies involving the use of gases operating in the supercritical mode for power production and process heat applications. Supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) is particularly attractive because it is capable of achieving relatively high power conversion cycle efficiencies in the temperature range between 550 C and 750 C. Therefore, it has the potential for use with any type of high-temperature nuclear reactor concept, assuming reactor core outlet temperatures of at least 550 C. The particular power cycle investigated in this paper is a supercritical CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle. The CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle can be used as either a direct or indirect power conversion cycle, depending on the reactor type and reactor outlet temperature. The advantage of this cycle when compared to the helium Brayton cycle is the lower required operating temperature; 550 C versus 850 C. However, the supercritical CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle requires an operating pressure in the range of 20 MPa, which is considerably higher than the required helium Brayton cycle operating pressure of 8 MPa. This paper presents results of analyses performed using the UniSim process analyses software to evaluate the performance of both a direct and indirect supercritical CO2 Brayton Recompression cycle for different reactor outlet temperatures. The direct supercritical CO2 cycle transferred heat directly from a 600 MWt reactor to the supercritical CO2 working fluid supplied to the turbine generator at approximately 20 MPa. The indirect supercritical CO2 cycle assumed a helium-cooled Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR), operating at a primary system pressure of approximately 7.0 MPa, delivered heat through an intermediate heat exchanger to the secondary indirect supercritical CO2 Brayton Recompression cycle, again operating at a pressure of about 20 MPa. For both the direct and indirect cycles, sensitivity calculations were performed for reactor outlet temperature between 550 C and 850 C. The UniSim models used realistic component parameters and operating conditions to model the complete reactor and power conversion systems. CO2 properties were evaluated, and the operating ranges of the cycles were adjusted to take advantage of the rapidly changing properties of CO2 near the critical point. The results of the analyses showed that, for the direct supercritical CO2 power cycle, thermal efficiencies in the range of 40 to 50% can be achieved. For the indirect supercritical CO2 power cycle, thermal efficiencies were approximately 10% lower than those obtained for the direct cycle over the same reactor outlet temperature range.

A Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Cycle for Next Generation Nuclear Reactors

A Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Cycle for Next Generation Nuclear Reactors PDF Author: Vaclav Dostal
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
A systematic, detailed major component and system design evaluation and multiple parameter optimization under practical constraints has been performed of the family of supercritical CO2 Brayton power cycles for application to advanced nuclear reactors. The recompression cycle is shown to excel with respect to simplicity, compactness, cost and thermal efficiency. The main advantage of the supercritical CO2 cycle is comparable efficiency with the helium Brayton cycle at significantly lower temperature (550°C vs. 850 0C), but higher pressure (20 MPa vs. 8 MPa). The supercritical CO2 cycle is well suited to any type of nuclear reactor with core outlet temperature above [approx.] 500 0C in either direct or indirect versions. By taking advantage of the abrupt property changes near the critical point of CO2 the compression work can be reduced, which results in a significant efficiency improvement. However, a real gas cycle requires much more careful optimization than an ideal gas Brayton cycle. Previous investigations by earlier authors were systematized and refined in the present work to survey several different CO2 cycle layouts. Inter- cooling, re-heating, re-compressing and pre-compressing were considered. The recompression cycle was found to yield the highest efficiency, while still retaining simplicity. Inter-cooling is not attractive for this type of cycle as it offers a very modest efficiency improvement. Re-heating has a better potential, but it is applicable only to indirect cycles. Economic analysis of the benefit of re-heating for the indirect cycle showed that using more than one stage of re-heat is economically unattractive.

Handbook of Generation IV Nuclear Reactors

Handbook of Generation IV Nuclear Reactors PDF Author: Igor Pioro
Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
ISBN: 0128226536
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 1112

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Book Description
Handbook of Generation IV Nuclear Reactors, Second Edition is a fully revised and updated comprehensive resource on the latest research and advances in generation IV nuclear reactor concepts. Editor Igor Pioro and his team of expert contributors have updated every chapter to reflect advances in the field since the first edition published in 2016. The book teaches the reader about available technologies, future prospects and the feasibility of each concept presented, equipping them users with a strong skillset which they can apply to their own work and research. Provides a fully updated, revised and comprehensive handbook dedicated entirely to generation IV nuclear reactors Includes new trends and developments since the first publication, as well as brand new case studies and appendices Covers the latest research, developments and design information surrounding generation IV nuclear reactors

Fundamentals and Applications of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (SCO2) Based Power Cycles

Fundamentals and Applications of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (SCO2) Based Power Cycles PDF Author: Klaus Brun
Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
ISBN: 0081008058
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
Fundamentals and Applications of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (SCO2) Based Power Cycles aims to provide engineers and researchers with an authoritative overview of research and technology in this area. Part One introduces the technology and reviews the properties of SCO2 relevant to power cycles. Other sections of the book address components for SCO2 power cycles, such as turbomachinery expanders, compressors, recuperators, and design challenges, such as the need for high-temperature materials. Chapters on key applications, including waste heat, nuclear power, fossil energy, geothermal and concentrated solar power are also included. The final section addresses major international research programs. Readers will learn about the attractive features of SC02 power cycles, which include a lower capital cost potential than the traditional cycle, and the compounding performance benefits from a more efficient thermodynamic cycle on balance of plant requirements, fuel use, and emissions. Represents the first book to focus exclusively on SC02 power cycles Contains detailed coverage of cycle fundamentals, key components, and design challenges Addresses the wide range of applications of SC02 power cycles, from more efficient electricity generation, to ship propulsion

Conception and Optimization of Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycles for Coal-fired Power Plant Application

Conception and Optimization of Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycles for Coal-fired Power Plant Application PDF Author: Qiao Zhao
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Efficiency enhancement in power plant can be seen as a key lever in front of increasing energy demand. Nowadays, both the attention and the emphasis are directed to reliable alternatives, i.e., enhancing the energy conversion systems. The supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) Brayton cycle has recently emerged as a promising solution for high efficiency power production in nuclear, fossil-thermal and solar-thermal applications. Currently, studies on such a thermodynamic power cycle are directed towards the demonstration of its reliability and viability before the possible building of an industrial-scale unit. The objectives of this PhD can be divided in two main parts: • A rigorous selection procedure of an equation of state (EoS) for SC-CO2 which permits to assess influences of thermodynamic model on the performance and design of a SC-CO2 Brayton cycle. • A framework of optimization-based synthesis of energy systems which enables optimizing both system structure and the process parameters. The performed investigations demonstrate that the Span-Wagner EoS is recommended for evaluating the performances of a SC-CO2 Brayton cycle in order to avoid inaccurate predictions in terms of equipment sizing and optimization. By combining a commercial process simulator and an evolutionary algorithm (MIDACO), this dissertation has identified a global feasible optimum design -or at least competitive solutions- for a given process superstructure under different industrial constraints. The carried out optimization firstly base on cycle energy aspects, but the decision making for practical systems necessitates techno-economic optimizations. The establishment of associated techno-economic cost functions in the last part of this dissertation enables to assess the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The carried out multi-objective optimization reflects the trade-off between economic and energy criteria, but also reveal the potential of this technology in economic performance.

Advanced Power Generation Systems

Advanced Power Generation Systems PDF Author: Ibrahim Dincer
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0123838614
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 657

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Book Description
Advanced Power Generation Systems examines the full range of advanced multiple output thermodynamic cycles that can enable more sustainable and efficient power production from traditional methods, as well as driving the significant gains available from renewable sources. These advanced cycles can harness the by-products of one power generation effort, such as electricity production, to simultaneously create additional energy outputs, such as heat or refrigeration. Gas turbine-based, and industrial waste heat recovery-based combined, cogeneration, and trigeneration cycles are considered in depth, along with Syngas combustion engines, hybrid SOFC/gas turbine engines, and other thermodynamically efficient and environmentally conscious generation technologies. The uses of solar power, biomass, hydrogen, and fuel cells in advanced power generation are considered, within both hybrid and dedicated systems. The detailed energy and exergy analysis of each type of system provided by globally recognized author Dr. Ibrahim Dincer will inform effective and efficient design choices, while emphasizing the pivotal role of new methodologies and models for performance assessment of existing systems. This unique resource gathers information from thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and energy system design to provide a single-source guide to solving practical power engineering problems. The only complete source of info on the whole array of multiple output thermodynamic cycles, covering all the design options for environmentally-conscious combined production of electric power, heat, and refrigeration Offers crucial instruction on realizing more efficiency in traditional power generation systems, and on implementing renewable technologies, including solar, hydrogen, fuel cells, and biomass Each cycle description clarified through schematic diagrams, and linked to sustainable development scenarios through detailed energy, exergy, and efficiency analyses Case studies and examples demonstrate how novel systems and performance assessment methods function in practice

Modeling the Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle with Recompression

Modeling the Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle with Recompression PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) power cycles show promise for a wide range of applications, such as concentrating solar power, next-generation nuclear reactors, and waste-heat recovery. Models capable of predicting the design-point, off-design, and part-load performance of SCO2 power cycles are necessary for evaluating cycle designs. These models should be flexible in order to accommodate the range of designs under consideration and computationally efficient in order to enable timely optimization studies, possibly while considering cycle performance on an annual or life-cycle basis. This document reports on the development of a modeling framework that accommodates these requirements and is capable of predicting the performance of recuperated and recompression cycle configurations. The modeling framework is in Fortran and is flexible with respect to component-level specifics, such as the type of compressor used in the cycle or the method used to represent the off-design performance of the turbine. Optimization routines are integrated into the models, allowing exploration of optimal component and system designs or optimal operating strategies for a given system design. The optimal design-point and off-design performance of various cycle designs is predicted using turbomachinery models based on the radial compressors and turbines that are currently being investigated by Sandia National Laboratory for use in SCO2 applications. A range of heat rejection (low-side) temperatures are considered and results indicate that operating the cycles at warmer low-side temperatures requires a corresponding increase in low-side pressure in order to maximize thermal efficiency. The relationship between low-side temperature and pressure suggests that inventory control (i.e., actively controlling the low-side pressure) is a favorable control mechanism, especially if the power plant is expected to operate away from its design point for significant periods of time. For cycles designed to operate at warmer heat rejection temperatures (e.g., a dry-cooled design in an arid climate), the benefits of recompression are reduced and a simple recuperated cycle may be favorable. The optimal SCO2 Brayton cycle design depends on the application being considered, and the developed modeling framework provides the consistent performance predictions that are required for further application-specific analyses.

Performance Improvement Options for the Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle

Performance Improvement Options for the Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) Brayton cycle is under development at Argonne National Laboratory as an advanced power conversion technology for Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs) as well as other Generation IV advanced reactors as an alternative to the traditional Rankine steam cycle. For SFRs, the S-CO2 Brayton cycle eliminates the need to consider sodium-water reactions in the licensing and safety evaluation, reduces the capital cost of the SFR plant, and increases the SFR plant efficiency. Even though the S-CO2 cycle has been under development for some time and optimal sets of operating parameters have been determined, those earlier development and optimization studies have largely been directed at applications to other systems such as gas-cooled reactors which have higher operating temperatures than SFRs. In addition, little analysis has been carried out to investigate cycle configurations deviating from the selected 'recompression' S-CO2 cycle configuration. In this work, several possible ways to improve S-CO2 cycle performance for SFR applications have been identified and analyzed. One set of options incorporates optimization approaches investigated previously, such as variations in the maximum and minimum cycle pressure and minimum cycle temperature, as well as a tradeoff between the component sizes and the cycle performance. In addition, the present investigation also covers options which have received little or no attention in the previous studies. Specific options include a 'multiple-recompression' cycle configuration, intercooling and reheating, as well as liquid-phase CO2 compression (pumping) either by CO2 condensation or by a direct transition from the supercritical to the liquid phase. Some of the options considered did not improve the cycle efficiency as could be anticipated beforehand. Those options include: a double recompression cycle, intercooling between the compressor stages, and reheating between the turbine stages. Analyses carried out as part of the current investigation confirm the possibilities of improving the cycle efficiency that have been identified in previous investigations. The options in this group include: increasing the heat exchanger and turbomachinery sizes, raising of the cycle high end pressure (although the improvement potential of this option is very limited), and optimization of the low end temperature and/or pressure to operate as close to the (pseudo) critical point as possible. Analyses carried out for the present investigation show that significant cycle performance improvement can sometimes be realized if the cycle operates below the critical temperature at its low end. Such operation, however, requires the availability of a heat sink with a temperature lower than 30 C for which applicability of this configuration is dependent upon the climate conditions where the plant is constructed (i.e., potential performance improvements are site specific). Overall, it is shown that the S-CO2 Brayton cycle efficiency can potentially be increased to 45 %, if a low temperature heat sink is available and incorporation of larger components (e.g., heat exchangers or turbomachinery) having greater component efficiencies does not significantly increase the overall plant cost.

Handbook of Research on Advancements in Supercritical Fluids Applications for Sustainable Energy Systems

Handbook of Research on Advancements in Supercritical Fluids Applications for Sustainable Energy Systems PDF Author: Chen, Lin
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1799857980
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 821

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Book Description
Supercritical fluids are increasingly being used in energy conversion and fluid dynamics studies for energy-related systems and applications. These new applications are contributing to both the increase of energy efficiency as well as greenhouse gas reduction. Such research is critical for scientific advancement and industrial innovations that can support environmentally friendly strategies for sustainable energy systems. The Handbook of Research on Advancements in Supercritical Fluids Applications for Sustainable Energy Systems is a comprehensive two-volume reference that covers the most recent and challenging issues and outlooks for the applications and innovations of supercritical fluids. The book first converts basic thermo-dynamic behaviors and “abnormal” properties from a thermophysical aspect, then basic heat transfer and flow properties, recent new findings of its physical aspect and indications, chemical engineering properties, micro-nano-scale phenomena, and transient behaviors in fast and critical environments. It is ideal for engineers, energy companies, environmentalists, researchers, academicians, and students studying supercritical fluids and their applications for creating sustainable energy systems.