Influence of Cooling Water Parameters on the Thermal Performance of the Secondary Circuit System of a Modular High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Nuclear Power Plant

Xin Wang, Gang Zhao, Xinhe Qu (), Xiaoyong Yang, Jie Wang and Peng Wang
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Xin Wang: Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology Cooperation Innovation Center, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Gang Zhao: Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology Cooperation Innovation Center, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Xinhe Qu: Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology Cooperation Innovation Center, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Xiaoyong Yang: Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology Cooperation Innovation Center, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Jie Wang: Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology Cooperation Innovation Center, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Peng Wang: State Nuclear Electric Power Planning, Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Beijing 100095, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-17

Abstract: This study quantitatively analysed the influence of cooling water parameters on the performance of a modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (MHTGR) nuclear power plant (NPP). The secondary circuit system and cold-end system were modelled using EBSILON software, version 16.0. The influence of cooling water inlet temperature and mass flow rate on the thermal performance of the secondary circuit system was analysed over the full power range with the goal of optimising net power. Under 100% rated condition, for each 1 °C increase in cooling water inlet temperature between 10 and 33 °C, the net power and cycle efficiency decreased by 0.67 MW and 0.14%, respectively, whereas the heat consumption rate increased by 28.72 kJ/(kW·h). The optimal cooling water mass flow rates corresponding to cooling water inlet temperatures of 16 °C and 33 °C were obtained. The optimal cooling water mass flow rate decreased nonlinearly with decreasing power levels. At a cooling water inlet temperature of 33 °C, an increase in cooling water mass flow rate from the designed value (7697.61 kg/s) to the optimal value (10,922.14 kg/s) resulted in a 1.03 MW increase in net power. These findings provide guidelines for MHTGR NPP operation optimisation and economic improvement, especially under high-temperature weather conditions.

Keywords: modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor; condenser; cooling water; high-temperature weather; EBSILON software (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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