Conceptual design for the energy conversion system of a nuclear gas turbine cogeneration plant

Abstract

The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) is a nuclear reactor which can be designed to be inherently safe. When the helium heated in the reactor is used directly in a closed-cycle gas turbine system, the excellent safety characteristics can be combined with a high efficiency. Because of the small scale and simple modular design (both a result of the inherent safety) the HTGR is suitable for combined heat and power (CHP) production. In this article an energy conversion system for a nuclear gas turbine cogeneration plant is designed. First, with help of a basic model, a cycle choice is made and some parameters such as pressure ratio and heat-power ratio are optimized. With a steady state model a conceptual design is made and a sensitivity analysis is carried out for a number of design parameters. Finally, the off-design behaviour is optimized.