The Parameter Analysis on the Gas Turbine Cycle in a High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor

Abstract

The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) technology is the only nuclear technology capable of achieving coolant temperatures as high as 950 °C and at the same time ensuring safe and efficient production of electricity, process steam and hydrogen. HTGR can be combined with a gas turbine to be gas turbine cycle with HTGR. This cycle can make use of high temperature (750–950°C) gas heated by HTGR to generate electricity with high efficiency. Because it breaks through the temperature limit of steam cycle and incorporates the inter-cooling and recuperating, so the gas turbine cycle with HTGR is expected to be a competing candidate for future concepts of high efficiency power generation. The performance of direct gas turbine with HTGR coupled with recuperating, inter-cooling and pre-cooling process was investigated. Considering the selection of working fluid, the thermal efficiency of gas turbine with HTGR with helium, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and their mixtures as the working fluid was compared. Then, the influence of different parameters such as turbine inlet temperature, pressure loss coefficient and recuperation effectiveness on cycle efficiency was analyzed. Some useful conclusions were drawn on the system performance.