Steam-Reheat Options for Pressure-Tube SCWRs

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Saltanov ◽  
Wargha Peiman ◽  
Amjad Farah ◽  
Krysten King ◽  
Maria Naidin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Reactors ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Reaction Rates ◽  
Pressure Tube ◽  
Outlet Temperature ◽  
Chemical Production ◽  
Production Of Hydrogen ◽  
The Usa

Concepts of nuclear reactors cooled with water at supercritical pressures were studied as early as the 1950s and 1960s in the USA and Russia. After a 40-year break, the idea of developing nuclear reactors cooled with SuperCritical Water (SCW) became attractive again as the ultimate development path for water cooling. The main objectives of using SCW in nuclear reactors are: 1) to increase the thermal efficiency of modern Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) from 30–35% to about 45–48%, and 2) to decrease capital and operational costs and hence decrease electrical energy costs. SCW NPPs will have much higher operating parameters compared to modern NPPs (pressure about 25 MPa and outlet temperature up to 625°C), and a simplified flow circuit, in which steam generators, steam dryers, steam separators, etc., can be eliminated. Also, higher SCW temperatures allow direct thermo-chemical production of hydrogen at low cost, due to increased reaction rates. To achieve higher thermal efficiency Nuclear Steam Reheat (NSR) has to be introduced inside a reactor. Currently, all supercritical turbines at thermal power plants have a steam-reheat option. In the 60’s and 70’s, Russia, the USA and some other countries have developed and implemented the nuclear steam reheat at subcritical-pressure experimental boiling reactors. There are some papers, mainly published in the open Russian literature, devoted to this important experience. Pressure-tube or pressure-channel SCW nuclear reactor concepts are being developed in Canada and Russia for some time. It is obvious that implementation of the nuclear steam reheat at subcritical pressures in pressure-tube reactors is easier task than that in pressure-vessel reactors. Some design features related to the NSR are discussed in this paper. The main conclusion is that the development of SCW pressure-tube nuclear reactors with the nuclear steam reheat is feasible and significant benefits can be expected over other thermal-energy systems.

Steam-Reheat Option for SCWRs

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Saltanov ◽  
Romson Monichan ◽  
Elina Tchernyavskaya ◽  
Igor Pioro
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Reactors ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Reaction Rates ◽  
Pressure Tube ◽  
Outlet Temperature ◽  
Chemical Production ◽  
Production Of Hydrogen

Concepts of nuclear reactors cooled with water at supercritical pressures were studied as early as the 1950s and 1960s in the USA and Russia. After a 30-year break, the idea of developing nuclear reactors cooled with SuperCritical Water (SCW) became attractive again as the ultimate development path for water cooling. The main objectives of using SCW in nuclear reactors are: 1) to increase the thermal efficiency of modern Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) from 30 – 35% to about 45 – 48%, and 2) to decrease capital and operational costs and hence decrease electrical energy costs. SCW NPPs will have much higher operating parameters compared to modern NPPs (pressure about 25 MPa and outlet temperature up to 625°C), and a simplified flow circuit, in which steam generators, steam dryers, steam separators, etc., can be eliminated. Also, higher SCW temperatures allow direct thermo-chemical production of hydrogen at low cost, due to increased reaction rates. To achieve higher thermal efficiency a nuclear steam reheat has to be introduced inside a reactor. Currently, all supercritical turbines at thermal power plants have a steam-reheat option. In the 60’s and 70’s, Russia, USA and some other countries have developed and implemented the nuclear steam reheat at subcritical-pressure in experimental reactors. There are some papers, mainly published in the open Russian literature, devoted to this important experience. Pressure-tube or pressure-channel SCW nuclear-reactor concepts are being developed in Canada and Russia for some time. It is obvious that implementation of the nuclear steam reheat at subcritical pressures in pressure-tube reactors is easier task than that in pressure-vessel reactors. Some design features related to the nuclear steam reheat are discussed in this paper. The main conclusion is that the development of SCW pressure-tube nuclear reactors with the nuclear steam reheat is feasible and significant benefits can be expected over other thermal-energy systems.

SCW Pressure-Channel Nuclear Reactors: Some Design Features and Concepts

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. Duffey ◽  
I. L. Pioro ◽  
B. A. Gabaraev ◽  
Yu. N. Kuznetsov
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Reactors ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Reaction Rates ◽  
Outlet Temperature ◽  
Chemical Production ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Production Of Hydrogen ◽  
Pressure Channel

Concepts of nuclear reactors cooled with water at supercritical pressures were studied as early as the 1950s and 1960s in the USA and Russia. After a 30-year break, the idea of developing nuclear reactors cooled with supercritical water (SCW) became attractive again as the ultimate development path for water-cooling. The main objectives of using SCW in nuclear reactors are 1) to increase the thermal efficiency of modern nuclear power plants (NPPs) from 33–35% to about 40–45%, and 2) to decrease capital and operational costs and hence decrease electrical energy costs (∼$1000 US/kW). SCW NPPs will have much higher operating parameters compared to modern NPPs (pressure about 25 MPa and outlet temperature up to 625 °C), and a simplified flow circuit, in which steam generators, steam dryers, steam separators, etc., can be eliminated. Also, higher SCW temperatures allow direct thermo-chemical production of hydrogen at low cost, due to increased reaction rates. Pressure-channel SCW nuclear reactor concepts are being developed in Canada and Russia. Design features related to both channels and fuel bundles are discussed in this paper. Also, Russian experience with operating supercritical steam heaters at NPP is presented. The main conclusion is that development of SCW pressure-channel nuclear reactors is feasible and significant benefits can be expected over other thermal energy systems.

Study on Thermal Efficiency of SuperCritical Water NPPs

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Mazza ◽  
Paul Ponomaryov ◽  
Yifeng Zhou ◽  
Igor Pioro
Keyword(s):  
Supercritical Water ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Reactors ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
Power Cycle ◽  
Cost Efficient

As the demand for emission-free energy increases, the continued improvement of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) and their thermal efficiencies is crucial to fulfilling that demand. Current NPPs, especially, with water-cooled reactors, have significantly lower thermal efficiencies (32–36%) compared to those of modern advanced thermal power plants (55–62%). Even Generation-III+ water-cooled NPPs will have thermal efficiencies not higher than 37–38%. Therefore, to be competitive on the energy market, new nuclear reactors and NPPs, so-called, Generation-IV concepts, should be designed and commissioned. The paper discusses the vital role that thermal efficiency plays with respect to how far nuclear reactors can be more cost efficient and competitive. An evaluation of thermal efficiencies has been carried out for SuperCritical Water (SCW) NPPs with Rankine “steam”-turbine power cycle using the IAEA DEsalination Thermodynamic Optimization Program (DE-TOP). Various options for improving thermal efficiencies of SCW NPPs have been studied. This study was performed in support of possible designs of the first experimental SCW reactors.

Investigation of Thermal Efficiency of Generic Pressure-Channel Reactors With Steam Reheat

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifeng Zhou ◽  
Paul Ponomaryov ◽  
Cristina Mazza ◽  
Igor Pioro
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Reactor ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Pressure Channel ◽  
High Neutron

Currently, i.e., in 2016, 4361 nuclear-power reactors operate in the world. 96.6% of these reactors are water-cooled (373 reactors (280 PWRs, 78 BWRs and 15 LGRs are cooled with light water and 48 reactors — PHWRs are cooled with heavy water. 15% of all water-cooled reactors are pressure-channel or pressure-tube design, the rest — pressure-vessel design. All current NPPs with water-cooled reactors have relatively low thermal efficiencies within 30–36% compared to that of current NPPs with AGRs (42%) and SFR (40%) and compared to that of modern advanced thermal power plants: combined-cycle plants (up to 62%) and supercritical-pressure coal-fired plants (up to 55%). Therefore, it is very important to propose ways of improvement of thermal efficiency for this largest group of nuclear-power reactors. It should be noted that among six Generation-IV nuclear-reactor concepts one concept is a SCWR, which might reach thermal efficiencies within the range of 45–50% and even beyond. However, this concept has been never tested, and the most difficult problem on the way of implementation of this type of reactor is the reliability of materials at supercritical pressures and temperatures, very aggressive reactor coolant – supercritical water, and high neutron flux. Up till now, no experiments on behavior of various core materials at these conditions have been reported so far in the open literature. As an interim way of thermal-efficiency improvement for water-cooled NPPs nuclear steam reheat can be considered. However, this way is more appropriate only for pressure-channel reactors, for example, CANDU-type or PHWRs. Moreover, in the 60’s and 70’s, Russia, the USA and some other countries have developed and implemented the nuclear steam reheat in subcritical-pressure experimental boiling reactors. Therefore, an objective of the current paper is to summarize this experience and to estimate effect of a number of parameters on thermal efficiencies of a generic pressure-channel reactors with nuclear steam reheat. For this purpose the DE-TOP program has been used.

Power Cycles of Generation III and III+ Nuclear Power Plants

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey Dragunov ◽  
Eugene Saltanov ◽  
Igor Pioro ◽  
Pavel Kirillov ◽  
Romney Duffey
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Thermal Power Plants

It is well known that the electrical-power generation is the key factor for advances in any other industries, agriculture and level of living. In general, electrical energy can be generated by: 1) non-renewable-energy sources such as coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear; and 2) renewable-energy sources such as hydro, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and marine. However, the main sources for electrical-energy generation are: 1) thermal - primary coal and secondary natural gas; 2) “large” hydro and 3) nuclear. The rest of the energy sources might have visible impact just in some countries. Modern advanced thermal power plants have reached very high thermal efficiencies (55–62%). In spite of that they are still the largest emitters of carbon dioxide into atmosphere. Due to that, reliable non-fossil-fuel energy generation, such as nuclear power, becomes more and more attractive. However, current Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) are way behind by thermal efficiency (30–42%) compared to that of advanced thermal power plants. Therefore, it is important to consider various ways to enhance thermal efficiency of NPPs. The paper presents comparison of thermodynamic cycles and layouts of modern NPPs and discusses ways to improve their thermal efficiencies.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Energy Efficiency and the Reduction of Atmospheric Emissions by Generating Electricity from a Solar Thermal Power Generation Plant

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 645
Author(s):  
Gary Ampuño ◽  
Juan Lata-Garcia ◽  
Francisco Jurado
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Energy Generation ◽  
Solar Thermal ◽  
Electrical Network ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Outlet Temperature ◽  
Solar Thermal Energy ◽  
Generation Plant

The increase of renewable energy generation to change the productivity of a country and electrify isolated sectors are some of the priorities that several governments have imposed in the medium term. Research centers are looking for new technologies to optimize the use of renewable energies and incorporate them into hybrid generation systems. In the present work, the modeling of a solar thermal energy generation plant is being carried out. The climatic data used belong to two coastal cities and one island of Ecuador. The contribution of this work is to simulate a complete model of SCF and PCS, in which the variables of outlet temperature and oil flow are involved at the same time. Previously investigations use only outlet temperature for evaluating power plants. The model of the solar thermal plant is composed of a field of solar collectors, a storage tank, and an energy conversion system. As a result, we obtain a model of a thermosolar plant that will allow us to make decisions when considering the incorporation of micronetworks in systems isolated from the electrical network. The use of thermosolar technology allows the reduction in the risk of spills by the transport of fossil fuels in ships. The study of the CO2 emission factor in Ecuador from 2011 to 2018 is also carried out.

The Analysis between Two Different Methods of Power Plant Boiler Thermal Efficiency

2014 ◽  
Vol 536-537 ◽  
pp. 1578-1582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Po Li ◽  
Cheng Wei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Performance Test ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
National Standard ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Excess Air ◽  
Power Plant Boiler ◽  
Plant Boiler

The power plant boiler is one of the most important facilities in thermal power plants. The thermal efficiency of power plant boilers is the index. This paper discusses the relationship between the boiler thermal efficiency and the coefficient of excess air via two methods, one is called the simplified calculating formula and the other is the calculating formula according to the The People's Republic of China national standard power plant boiler performance test procedures. According to the proposed methods, by solving the same optimal problem, optimum excess air coefficients are obtained. Then a comparative analysis is given. Moreover, an improved way for saving calculation time to get the coefficients of the mixed coal in the so called simplified calculating formula is developed.

Advanced Gas Turbine Technology for Sendai Thermal Power Station, Unit No. 4

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadahiro Ohno ◽  
Hiroyuki Yamazaki ◽  
Naoki Hagi ◽  
Hidehiko Nishimura
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Thermal Power Station ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Power Station ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
Station Unit

Worldwide environmental concerns are placing center focus on effective utilization of energy and carbon dioxide emission reductions. The power generation industry has engaged in the replacement of existing aged thermal power plants with state-of-the-art natural gas fired power plants capable of achieving considerable reductions in energy consumption and emissions of green house gases. The replacement of three exiting 175MW heavy oil and coal-firing power plants with a highly effective 446MW gas-firing combined cycle power plant owned and operated by Tohoku Electric Power Company is one example of this effort. The construction of the new Sendai thermal power station, Unit No.4 started in November, 2007 achieving commercial operation in July, 2010. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries most recent 50Hz F class gas turbine upgrade, the M701F4 was adopted for this project. This engine is based on the successful M701F3 gas turbine with a 6% air flow increase and a slight bump of the turbine inlet temperature in order to achieve better thermal efficiency and more power output. The application of these advanced technologies resulted in a plant thermal efficiency of approximately 58% LHV of the new unit from the original 43% of the previous coal-firing units. The application of these advanced technologies and the use of natural gas resulted in a 2/3 carbon-dioxide emissions reduction.

scholarly journals Power Window

2007 ◽  
Vol 129 (04) ◽  
pp. 38-39
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Winters
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Draft Report ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Usa

Over the time, oil companies, utilities, and the Bush administration have come around to the idea that global warming is real and a consortium of USA. Companies including PG&E, Duke Energy, and Alcoa- has reportedly asked for congressional action to control carbon emissions. The chart presented in the article shows in detail the carbon dioxide emitted across the entire US economy, as determined by a draft report of the USA. Environmental Protection Agency released in February. Each square represents 10 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions and there are 726 of them. A quick glance shows that massive amounts of carbon dioxide are produced from the burning of coal in thermal power plants and the burning of gasoline and diesel fuel in the engines of cars and trucks. Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, and France are considered as models of Western society. They owe their position to a few factors, some of which may be emulated, and some of which are geographical accidents.

Thermal-Hydraulic and Neutronic Analysis of a Reentrant Fuel-Channel Design for Pressure-Channel Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactors

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Peiman ◽  
I. Pioro ◽  
K. Gabriel
Keyword(s):  
Supercritical Water ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Nuclear Reactors ◽  
Outlet Temperature ◽  
Channel Design ◽  
Fuel Channel ◽  
Temperature And Pressure ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
Pressure Channel ◽  
Centerline Temperature

To address the need to develop new nuclear reactors with higher thermal efficiency, a group of countries, including Canada, have initiated an international collaboration to develop the next generation of nuclear reactors called Generation IV. The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Program has narrowed design options of the nuclear reactors to six concepts, one of which is supercritical water-cooled reactor (SCWR). Among the Generation IV nuclear-reactor concepts, only SCWRs use water as a coolant. The SCWR concept is considered to be an evolution of water-cooled reactors (pressurized water reactors (PWRs), boiling water reactors (BWRs), pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), and light-water, graphite-moderated reactors (LGRs)), which comprise 96% of the current fleet of operating nuclear power reactors and are categorized under Generation II, III, and III+ nuclear reactors. The latter water-cooled reactors have thermal efficiencies of 30–36%, whereas the evolutionary SCWR will have a thermal efficiency of approximately 45–50%. In terms of a pressure boundary, SCWRs are classified into two categories, namely, pressure-vessel (PV) SCWRs and pressure-channel (PCh) SCWRs. A generic pressure-channel SCWR, which is the focus of this paper, operates at a pressure of 25 MPa with inlet and outlet coolant temperatures of 350°C and 625°C, respectively. The high outlet temperature and pressure of the coolant make it possible to improve thermal efficiency. On the other hand, high operating temperature and pressure of the coolant introduce a challenge for material selection and core design. In this view, there are two major issues that need to be addressed for further development of SCWR. First, the reactor core should be designed, which depends on a fuel-channel design. Second, a nuclear fuel and fuel cycle should be selected. Several fuel-channel designs have been proposed for SCWRs. These fuel-channel designs can be classified into two categories: direct-flow and reentrant channel concepts. The objective of this paper is to study thermal-hydraulic and neutronic aspects of a reentrant fuel-channel design. With this objective, a thermal-hydraulic code has been developed in MATLAB, which calculates fuel-centerline-temperature, sheath-temperature, coolant-temperature, and heat-transfer-coefficient profiles. A lattice code and diffusion code were used to determine a power distribution inside the core. Then, heat flux in a channel with the maximum thermal power was used as an input into the thermal-hydraulic code. This paper presents a fuel centerline temperature of a newly designed fuel bundle with UO2 as a reference fuel. The results show that the maximum fuel centerline temperature exceeds the design temperature limits of 1850°C for fuel.

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