Optimal Design of Supercritical CO2 Power Cycle for High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor

Abstract The supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) Brayton cycle has been regarded as a promising technique for future energy conversion systems. sCO2 recompression cycle configuration has been widely studied for nuclear reactors with the temperature difference between the reactor inlet and outlet restricted to 200°C. However, this cycle configuration may be not suitable for high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR) with a temperature difference up to 500°C. Herein, we aim to develop an optimal sCO2 cycle configuration for HTGR with a broad temperature span, which has both high cycle efficiency and sufficient mechanical security guaranteed by energy cascade utilization. We propose a recompression cycle combined with reheat and expansion technologies, and perform a parameter optimization in Fortran platform. First, the thermodynamic models of the system are established. Then, the parametric analysis is conducted about the effects of split ratio, temperature difference of the heat exchangers, inlet parameters of turbines and compressors, and isentropic efficiencies on the cycle performance. The sCO2 cycle tailored for HTGR can achieve a cycle efficiency of 44.98%. Our work not only highlights the design criteria of temperature-match between the HTGR and sCO2 cycle but also guides the numerical assessment of the steady-state performance.