Synthesizing optimal design configurations for a brayton cycle power plant

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the use of the simulated annealing method for the analysis of design configurations for a Brayton cycle power plant. This application centers around a sequential modular chemical process simulator, the Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power System (SNAPS), designed to simulate the operation of power plants with different energy conversion techniques, to find optimal characteristics constrained by feasibility limitations, and to design the plant for maximum flexibility and reliability. The modular nature of SNAPS allows for the analysis of numerous configurations of nuclear power plants. Since the solution space is characterized by a large number of design and structural parameter combinations, it demonstrates the successful applicability of simulated annealing as a synthesis tool for nuclear power plant design problems. Simulated annealing is found to perform very well in the face of a large number of discontinuities in the solution space.