Mapping of the thermodynamic performance of the supercritical CO2 cycle and optimisation for a small modular reactor and a sodium-cooled fast reactor

H.S. Pham, N. Alpy, J.H. Ferrasse, O. Boutin, J. Quenaut, M. Tothill, D. Haubensack and M. Saez

Energy, 2015, vol. 87, issue C, 412-424

Abstract: The supercritical CO2 (sc-CO2) cycle is being promoted worldwide by many R&D energy organisations and companies as an alternative to the Rankine steam cycle for its capacity to deliver high performance, simple and compact power conversion systems. The past decade has seen an extensive number of published studies carried out in view of analysing the advantages of this cycle for various applications, from nuclear to solar energies. In that context, this work first reports a mapping of the thermodynamic performance of different sc-CO2 cycle configurations that encompass a 250–850 °C TIT (turbine inlet temperature) range. The main compressor inlet temperature was chosen to be 35 °C to accommodate various heat-sink temperatures while the maximum pressure was parameterised at 20 MPa and at 25 MPa. These charts are seen to provide a preliminary engineering guideline to the maximum performance that one can expect from a sc-CO2 cycle coupled to a specific application. Additionally, they illustrate the effect of the interlinked constraints in terms of optimal recuperation power and IHX (Intermediate Heat eXchanger) inlet temperature.

Keywords: Supercritical CO2 cycle; Condensing mode; Efficiency; Irreversibility; Small modular reactor; Sodium-cooled fast reactor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:87:y:2015:i:c:p:412-424

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2015.05.022

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