Comparative Analysis of Thermodynamic Cycles of Selected Nuclear Ship Power Plants With High-Temperature Helium-Cooled Nuclear Reactor

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents a comparative analysis of thermodynamic cycles of two ship power plant systems with a high-temperature helium-cooled nuclear reactor. The first of them is a gas system with recuperator, in which classical gas chamber is substituted for a HTGR reactor (High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor). The second of the considered cycles is a combined gas-steam system where working medium flux from gas turbine outlet is directed into waste heat boiler and its heat is utilized for production of superheated steam to drive steam turbine. Preliminary calculations of the combine cycles showed that it is necessary to expand the system by adding to its steam part an inter-stage overheat for secondary steam, owing to that a required degree of steam dryness at outlet from the turbine can be reached, ensuring its correct operational conditions. The analyzed power systems were compared to each other with regard to efficiency of their thermodynamic cycles. Also, efficiency of particular cycles were subjected to optimization in respect to such parameters as : working gas temperature at outlet from reactor in gas system as well as steam pressure at outlet from waste heat boiler and partition pressure in steam part of combined system. Advantages of nuclear power plants compared with the classical power systems dominating currently in sea transport were also discussed.