Thermodynamic analysis of a supercritical water reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edwards, M.

2007-01-01

A thermodynamic model has been developed for a hypothetical design of a Supercritical Water Reactor, with emphasis on Canadian design criteria. The model solves for cycle efficiency, mass flows and physical conditions throughout the plant based on input parameters of operating pressures and efficiencies of components. The model includes eight feedwater heaters, three feedwater pumps, a deaerator, a condenser, the core, three turbines and two reheaters. To perform the calculations, Microsoft Excel was used in conjunction with FLUIDCAL-IAPWS95 and VBA code. The calculations show that a thermal efficiency of 47.5% can be achieved with a core outlet temperature of 625 o C. (author)

Features of supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle coupled with reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan Chengjie; Wang Jie; Yang Xiaoyong

2010-01-01

In order to obtain acceptable cycle efficiency, current helium gas turbine power cycle technology needs high cycle temperature which means that the cycle needs high core-out temperature. The technology has high requirements on reactor structure and fuel elements materials, and also on turbine manufacture. While utilizing CO 2 as cycle working fluid, it can guarantee to lower the cycle temperature and turbo machine Janume but achieve the same cycle efficiency, so as to enhance the safety and economy of reactor. According to the laws of thermodynamics, a calculation model of supercritical CO 2 power cycle was established to analyze the feature, and the decisive parameters of the cycle and also investigate the effect of each parameter on the cycle efficiency in detail were obtained. The results show that supercritical CO 2 power cycle can achieve quite satisfied efficiency at a lower cycle highest temperature than helium cycle, and CO 2 is a promising working fluid. (authors)

Novel Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Cycle Utilizing Pressured Oxy-combustion in Conjunction with Cryogenic Compression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brun, Klaus; McClung, Aaron; Davis, John

2014-03-31

The team of Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI) and Thar Energy LLC (Thar) applied technology engineering and economic analysis to evaluate two advanced oxy-combustion power cycles, the Cryogenic Pressurized Oxy-combustion Cycle (CPOC), and the Supercritical Oxy-combustion Cycle. This assessment evaluated the performance and economic cost of the two proposed cycles with carbon capture, and included a technology gap analysis of the proposed technologies to determine the technology readiness level of the cycle and the cycle components. The results of the engineering and economic analysis and the technology gap analysis were used to identify the next steps along the technology development roadmap for the selected cycle. The project objectives, as outlined in the FOA, were 90% CO{sub 2} removal at no more than a 35% increase in cost of electricity (COE) as compared to a Supercritical Pulverized Coal Plant without CO{sub 2} capture. The supercritical oxy-combustion power cycle with 99% carbon capture achieves a COE of $121/MWe. This revised COE represents a 21% reduction in cost as compared to supercritical steam with 90% carbon capture ($137/MWe). However, this represents a 49% increase in the COE over supercritical steam without carbon capture ($80.95/MWe), exceeding the 35% target. The supercritical oxy-combustion cycle with 99% carbon capture achieved a 37.9% HHV plant efficiency (39.3% LHV plant efficiency), when coupling a supercritical oxy-combustion thermal loop to an indirect supercritical CO{sub 2} (sCO{sub 2}) power block. In this configuration, the power block achieved 48% thermal efficiency for turbine inlet conditions of 650°C and 290 atm. Power block efficiencies near 60% are feasible with higher turbine inlet temperatures, however a design tradeoff to limit firing temperature to 650°C was made in order to use austenitic stainless steels for the high temperature pressure vessels and piping and to minimize the need for advanced turbomachinery features

Method for operating a steam turbine of the nuclear type with electronic reheat control of a cycle steam reheater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luongo, M.C.

1975-01-01

An electronic system is provided for operating a nuclear electric power plant with electronic steam reheating control applied to the nuclear turbine system in response to low pressure turbine temperatures, and the control is adapted to operate in a plurality of different automatic control modes to control reheating steam flow and other steam conditions. Each of the modes of control permit turbine temperature variations within predetermined constraints and according to predetermined functions of time. (Official Gazette)

Evaluation and Optimization of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Conversion Cycle for Nuclear Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harvego, Edwin A.; McKellar, Michael G.

2011-01-01

There have been a number of studies involving the use of gases operating in the supercritical mode for power production and process heat applications. Supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) is particularly attractive because it is capable of achieving relatively high power conversion cycle efficiencies in the temperature range between 550 C and 750 C. Therefore, it has the potential for use with any type of high-temperature nuclear reactor concept, assuming reactor core outlet temperatures of at least 550 C. The particular power cycle investigated in this paper is a supercritical CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle. The CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle can be used as either a direct or indirect power conversion cycle, depending on the reactor type and reactor outlet temperature. The advantage of this cycle when compared to the helium Brayton Cycle is the lower required operating temperature; 550 C versus 850 C. However, the supercritical CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle requires an operating pressure in the range of 20 MPa, which is considerably higher than the required helium Brayton cycle operating pressure of 8 MPa. This paper presents results of analyses performed using the UniSim process analyses software to evaluate the performance of the supercritical CO2 Brayton Recompression Cycle for different reactor outlet temperatures. The UniSim model assumed a 600 MWt reactor power source, which provides heat to the power cycle at a maximum temperature of between 550 C and 750 C. The UniSim model used realistic component parameters and operating conditions to model the complete power conversion system. CO2 properties were evaluated, and the operating range for the cycle was adjusted to take advantage of the rapidly changing conditions near the critical point. The UniSim model was then optimized to maximize the power cycle thermal efficiency at the different maximum power cycle operating temperatures. The results of the analyses showed that power cycle thermal efficiencies in

Supercritical-pressure, once-through cycle light water cooled reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Yoshiaki; Koshizuka, Seiichi

2001-01-01

The purpose of the study is to develop new reactor concepts for the innovation of light water reactors (LWR) and fast reactors. Concept of the once-through coolant cycle, supercritical-pressure light water cooled reactor was developed. Major aspects of reactor design and safety were analysed by the computer codes which were developed by ourselves. It includes core design of thermal and fast reactors, plant system, safety criteria, accident and transient analysis, LOCA, PSA, plant control, start up and stability. High enthalpy rise as supercritical boiler was achieved by evaluating the cladding temperature directly during transients. Fundamental safety principle of the reactor is monitoring coolant flow rate instead of water level of LWR. The reactor system is compact and simple because of high specific enthalpy of supercritical water and the once-through cycle. The major components are similar to those of LWR and supercritical thermal plant. Their temperature are within the experiences in spite of the high outlet coolant temperature. The reactor is compatible with tight fuel lattice fast reactor because of the high head pumps and low coolant flow rate. The power rating of the fast reactor is higher than the that of thermal reactor because of the high power density. (author)

Power and efficiency in a regenerative gas-turbine cycle with multiple reheating and intercooling stages

Science.gov (United States)

Calvo Hernández, A.; Roco, J. M. M.; Medina, A.

1996-06-01

Using an improved Brayton cycle as a model, a general analysis accounting for the efficiency and net power output of a gas-turbine power plant with multiple reheating and intercooling stages is presented. This analysis provides a general theoretical tool for the selection of the optimal operating conditions of the heat engine in terms of the compressor and turbine isentropic efficiencies and of the heat exchanger efficiency. Explicit results for the efficiency, net power output, optimized pressure ratios, maximum efficiency, maximum power, efficiency at maximum power, and power at maximum efficiency are given. Among others, the familiar results of the Brayton cycle (one compressor and one turbine) and of the corresponding Ericsson cycle (infinite compressors and infinite turbines) are obtained as particular cases.

On effect of some thermodeformation parameters of welding cycle on tendency of pearlitic heat-resisting steels to fracture in reheating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prokhorov, N.N.; Bardokin, E.V.

1979-01-01

Studied is the inclination of the 12Kh1MF, 15Kh3M1F and N18K9M5T steels subject to thermodeformation cycle imitating a welding one, to fracture in reheating. A hot-rolled metal then subject to the same thermal treatment was used. The imitation of thermodeformation cycle of the welding permitted to vary maximum heating temperatures, the period during which the metal is kept at temperatures higher than 1100 deg C, and the cooling rate of ajacent zone metal. It is shown that the curve of the dependence of deformation ability and the tendency to fracture at the reheating of adjacent zone metal on the rate of its cooling at welding is U-shaped. Deformation ability has its maximum value at the cooling rate of 30 deg c/s in the range 1300 to 1000 deg C

Parametric optimization design for supercritical CO2 power cycle using genetic algorithm and artificial neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Jiangfeng; Sun Zhixin; Dai Yiping; Ma Shaolin

2010-01-01

Supercritical CO 2 power cycle shows a high potential to recover low-grade waste heat due to its better temperature glide matching between heat source and working fluid in the heat recovery vapor generator (HRVG). Parametric analysis and exergy analysis are conducted to examine the effects of thermodynamic parameters on the cycle performance and exergy destruction in each component. The thermodynamic parameters of the supercritical CO 2 power cycle is optimized with exergy efficiency as an objective function by means of genetic algorithm (GA) under the given waste heat condition. An artificial neural network (ANN) with the multi-layer feed-forward network type and back-propagation training is used to achieve parametric optimization design rapidly. It is shown that the key thermodynamic parameters, such as turbine inlet pressure, turbine inlet temperature and environment temperature have significant effects on the performance of the supercritical CO 2 power cycle and exergy destruction in each component. It is also shown that the optimum thermodynamic parameters of supercritical CO 2 power cycle can be predicted with good accuracy using artificial neural network under variable waste heat conditions.

Efficiency optimization potential in supercritical Organic Rankine Cycles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schuster, A.; Aumann, R. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen Institute of Energy Systems Boltzmannstr. 15, 85748 Garching (Germany); Karellas, S. [National Technical University of Athens Laboratory of Steam Boilers and Thermal Plants Heroon Polytechniou 9, 15780 Athens (Greece)

2010-02-15

Nowadays, the use of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) in decentralised applications is linked with the fact that this process allows the use of low temperature heat sources and offers an advantageous efficiency in small-scale concepts. Many state-of-the-art and innovative applications can successfully use the ORC process. In this process, according to the heat source level, special attention must be drawn to the choice of the appropriate working fluid, which is a factor that affects the thermal and exergetic efficiency of the cycle. The investigation of supercritical parameters of various working fluids in ORC applications seems to bring promising results concerning the efficiency of the application. This paper presents the results from a simulation of the ORC and the optimization potential of the process when using supercritical parameters. In order to optimize the process, various working fluids are considered and compared concerning their thermal efficiency and the usable percentage of heat. The reduction of exergy losses is discussed based on the need of surplus heat exchanger surface. (author)

Evaluation and optimization of a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion cycle for nuclear applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harvego, Edwin A.; McKellar, Michael G.

2011-01-01

There have been a number of studies involving the use of gases operating in the supercritical mode for power production and process heat applications. Supercritical carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is particularly attractive because it is capable of achieving relatively high power conversion cycle efficiencies in the temperature range between 550degC and 750degC. Therefore, it has the potential for use with any type of high-temperature nuclear reactor concept, assuming reactor core outlet temperatures of at least 550degC. The particular power cycle investigated in this paper is a supercritical CO 2 recompression Brayton Cycle. The CO 2 recompression Brayton Cycle can be used as either a direct or indirect power conversion cycle, depending on the reactor type and reactor outlet temperature. The advantage of this cycle when compared to the helium Brayton Cycle is the lower required operating temperature; 550degC versus 750degC. However, the supercritical CO 2 recompression Brayton Cycle requires a high end operating pressure in the range of 20 MPa, which is considerably higher than the required helium Brayton cycle high end operating pressure of 7 MPa. This paper presents results of analyses performed using the UniSim process analyses software to evaluate the performance of the supercritical CO 2 recompression Brayton cycle for different reactor coolant outlet temperatures and mass flow rates. The UniSim model assumed a 600 MWt reactor power source, which provides heat to the power cycle at a maximum temperature of between 550degC and 850degC. Sensitivity calculations were also performed to determine the affect of reactor coolant mass flow rates for a reference reactor coolant outlet temperature of 750degC. The UniSim model used realistic component parameters and operating conditions to model the complete power conversion system. CO 2 properties were evaluated, and the operating range for the cycle was adjusted to take advantage of the rapidly changing conditions near the

Reheating after inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kripfganz, Jochen; Karl-Marx-Universitaet, Leipzig; Ilgenfritz, E.M.

1986-01-01

A numerical analysis of reheating is performed for a classical scalar field with exponentially flat potential. An operational definition of the reheating time is given involving the gradient contribution to the inflation field energy. For the parameter range studied the product of reheating time and Hubble constant H is found to be of order one, being approximately independent of the value of H. (author)

Reheating after inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kripfganz, J.; Ilgenfritz, E.M.

1985-07-01

A numerical analysis of reheating is performed for a classical scalar field with exponentially flat potential. An operational definition of the reheating time is given involving the gradient contribution to the inflation field energy. For the parameter range studied the product of reheating time and Hubble constant H is found to be of order one, being approximately independent of the value of H. (author)

Assessment of gas cooled fast reactor with indirect supercritical CO2 cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hejzlar, P.; Driscoll, M. J.; Dostal, V.; Dumaz, P.; Poullennec, G.; Alpy, N.

2006-01-01

Various indirect power cycle options for a helium cooled Gas cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) with particular focus on a supercritical CO 2 (SCO 2 ) indirect cycle are investigated as an alternative to a helium cooled direct cycle GFR. The Balance Of Plant (BOP) options include helium-nitrogen Brayton cycle, supercritical water Rankine cycle, and SCO 2 recompression Brayton power cycle in three versions: (1) basic design with turbine inlet temperature of 550 .deg. C, (2) advanced design with turbine inlet temperature of 650 .deg. C and (3) advanced design with the same turbine inlet temperature and reduced compressor inlet temperature. The indirect SCO 2 recompression cycle is found attractive since in addition to easier BOP maintenance it allows significant reduction of core outlet temperature, making design of the primary system easier while achieving very attractive efficiencies comparable to or slightly lower than, the efficiency of the reference GFR direct cycle design. In addition, the indirect cycle arrangement allows significant reduction of the GFR 'proximate-containment' and the BOP for the SCO 2 cycle is very compact. Both these factors will lead to reduced capital cost

Constraining curvatonic reheating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hardwick, Robert J.; Vennin, Vincent; Koyama, Kazuya; Wands, David, E-mail: robert.hardwick@port.ac.uk, E-mail: vincent.vennin@port.ac.uk, E-mail: kazuya.koyama@port.ac.uk, E-mail: david.wands@port.ac.uk [Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Dennis Sciama Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX (United Kingdom)

2016-08-01

We derive the first systematic observational constraints on reheating in models of inflation where an additional light scalar field contributes to primordial density perturbations and affects the expansion history during reheating. This encompasses the original curvaton model but also covers a larger class of scenarios. We find that, compared to the single-field case, lower values of the energy density at the end of inflation and of the reheating temperature are preferred when an additional scalar field is introduced. For instance, if inflation is driven by a quartic potential, which is one of the most favoured models when a light scalar field is added, the upper bound T {sub reh} < 5 × 10{sup 4} GeV on the reheating temperature T {sub reh} is derived, and the implications of this value on post-inflationary physics are discussed. The information gained about reheating is also quantified and it is found that it remains modest in plateau inflation (though still larger than in the single-field version of the model) but can become substantial in quartic inflation. The role played by the vev of the additional scalar field at the end of inflation is highlighted, and opens interesting possibilities for exploring stochastic inflation effects that could determine its distribution.

Hybridisation of solar and geothermal energy in both subcritical and supercritical Organic Rankine Cycles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Cheng

2014-05-01

Highlights: • Hybrid solar and geothermal energy conversion system was modelled using subcritical and supercritical ORCs. • Solar thermal and geothermal energy can be effectively hybridised. • Greater thermodynamic advantages and economic benefits can be achieved using the supercritical hybrid plant. • Hybrid plants can produce up to 19% more annual electricity than the two stand-alone plants. • Solar-to-electricity cost in the supercritical hybrid plant is about 4–19% less than in the subcritical plant. - Abstract: A supercritical Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is renowned for higher conversion efficiency than the conventional ORC due to a better thermal match (i.e. reduced irreversibility) presented in the heat exchanger unit. This improved thermal match is a result of the obscured liquid-to-vapor boundary of the organic working fluid at supercritical states. Stand-alone solar thermal power generation and stand-alone geothermal power generation using a supercritical ORC have been widely investigated. However, the power generation capability of a single supercritical ORC using combined solar and geothermal energy has not been examined. This paper thus investigates the hybridisation of solar and geothermal energy in a supercritical ORC to explore the benefit from the potential synergies of such a hybrid platform. Its performances were also compared with those of a subcritical hybrid plant, stand-alone solar and geothermal plants. All simulations and modelling of the power cycles were carried out using process simulation package Aspen HYSYS. The performances of the hybrid plant were then assessed using technical analysis, economic analysis, and the figure of merit analysis. The results of the technical analysis show that thermodynamically, the hybrid plant using a supercritical ORC outperforms the hybrid plant using a subcritical ORC if at least 66% of its exergy input is met by solar energy (i.e. a solar exergy fraction of >66%), namely producing 4–17

Hybridisation of solar and geothermal energy in both subcritical and supercritical Organic Rankine Cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Cheng

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Hybrid solar and geothermal energy conversion system was modelled using subcritical and supercritical ORCs. • Solar thermal and geothermal energy can be effectively hybridised. • Greater thermodynamic advantages and economic benefits can be achieved using the supercritical hybrid plant. • Hybrid plants can produce up to 19% more annual electricity than the two stand-alone plants. • Solar-to-electricity cost in the supercritical hybrid plant is about 4–19% less than in the subcritical plant. - Abstract: A supercritical Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is renowned for higher conversion efficiency than the conventional ORC due to a better thermal match (i.e. reduced irreversibility) presented in the heat exchanger unit. This improved thermal match is a result of the obscured liquid-to-vapor boundary of the organic working fluid at supercritical states. Stand-alone solar thermal power generation and stand-alone geothermal power generation using a supercritical ORC have been widely investigated. However, the power generation capability of a single supercritical ORC using combined solar and geothermal energy has not been examined. This paper thus investigates the hybridisation of solar and geothermal energy in a supercritical ORC to explore the benefit from the potential synergies of such a hybrid platform. Its performances were also compared with those of a subcritical hybrid plant, stand-alone solar and geothermal plants. All simulations and modelling of the power cycles were carried out using process simulation package Aspen HYSYS. The performances of the hybrid plant were then assessed using technical analysis, economic analysis, and the figure of merit analysis. The results of the technical analysis show that thermodynamically, the hybrid plant using a supercritical ORC outperforms the hybrid plant using a subcritical ORC if at least 66% of its exergy input is met by solar energy (i.e. a solar exergy fraction of >66%), namely producing 4–17

Improvement of supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle using binary gas mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Woo Seok

2011-02-01

A Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is one of the strongest candidates for the next generation nuclear reactor. However, the conventional design of a SFR concept with an indirect Rankine cycle is inevitably subjected to a sodium-water reaction. To prevent hazardous situation caused by sodium-water reaction, the SFR with Brayton cycle using Supercritical Carbon dioxide (S-CO 2 cycle) as a working fluid can be an alternative approach. The S-CO 2 Brayton cycle is more sensitive to the critical point of working fluids than other Brayton cycles. This is because compressor work significantly decreases at slightly above the critical point due to high density near the boundary between the supercritical state and the subcritical state. For this reason, the minimum temperature and pressure of cycle are just above the CO 2 critical point. The critical point acts as a limitation of the lowest operating condition of the cycle. In general, lowering the rejection temperature of a thermodynamic cycle increases the efficiency and thus, changing the critical point of CO 2 can result in an improvement of the total cycle efficiency with the same cycle layout. Modifying the critical point of the working fluid can be done by adding other gases to CO 2 . The direction and range of the CO 2 critical point variation depends on the mixed component and its amount. In particular, chemical reactivity of the gas mixture itself and the gas mixture with sodium at high temperatures are of interest. To modify the critical point of the working fluid, several gases were chosen as candidates by which chemical stability with sodium within the interested range of cycle operating condition was assured: CO 2 was mixed with N 2 , O 2 , He, Ar and Xe. To evaluate the effect of shifting the critical point and changes in the properties of the S-CO 2 Brayton cycle, a supercritical Brayton cycle analysis code connected with the REFPROP program from the NIST was developed. The developed code is for evaluating

Reheating for closed string inflation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cicoli, Michele [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Mazumdar, Anupam [Lancaster Univ. (United Kingdom). Physics Dept.; Copenhagen Univ. (Denmark). Niels Bohr Institute

2010-05-15

We point out some of the outstanding challenges for embedding inflationary cosmology within string theory studying the process of reheating for models where the inflaton is a closed string mode parameterising the size of an internal cycle of the compactification manifold. A realistic model of inflation must explain the tiny perturbations in the cosmic microwave background radiation and also how to excite the ordinary matter degrees of freedom after inflation, required for the success of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We study these issues focusing on two promising inflationary models embedded in LARGE volume type IIB flux compactifications. We show that phenomenological requirements and consistency of the effective field theory treatment imply the presence at low energies of a hidden sector together with a visible sector, where the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model fields are residing. A detailed calculation of the inflaton coupling to the fields of the hidden sector, visible sector, and moduli sector, reveals that the inflaton fails to excite primarily the visible sector fields, instead hidden sector fields are excited copiously after the end of inflation. This sets severe constraints on hidden sector model building where the most promising scenario emerges as a pure N=1 SYM theory, forbidding the kinematical decay of the inflaton to the hidden sector. In this case it is possible to reheat the Universe with the visible degrees of freedom even though in some cases we discover a new tension between TeV scale SUSY and reheating on top of the well-known tension between TeV scale SUSY and inflation. (orig.)

Reheating for closed string inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cicoli, Michele; Mazumdar, Anupam; Copenhagen Univ.

2010-05-01

We point out some of the outstanding challenges for embedding inflationary cosmology within string theory studying the process of reheating for models where the inflaton is a closed string mode parameterising the size of an internal cycle of the compactification manifold. A realistic model of inflation must explain the tiny perturbations in the cosmic microwave background radiation and also how to excite the ordinary matter degrees of freedom after inflation, required for the success of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We study these issues focusing on two promising inflationary models embedded in LARGE volume type IIB flux compactifications. We show that phenomenological requirements and consistency of the effective field theory treatment imply the presence at low energies of a hidden sector together with a visible sector, where the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model fields are residing. A detailed calculation of the inflaton coupling to the fields of the hidden sector, visible sector, and moduli sector, reveals that the inflaton fails to excite primarily the visible sector fields, instead hidden sector fields are excited copiously after the end of inflation. This sets severe constraints on hidden sector model building where the most promising scenario emerges as a pure N=1 SYM theory, forbidding the kinematical decay of the inflaton to the hidden sector. In this case it is possible to reheat the Universe with the visible degrees of freedom even though in some cases we discover a new tension between TeV scale SUSY and reheating on top of the well-known tension between TeV scale SUSY and inflation. (orig.)

Task Order 20: Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle Energy Conversion Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murray, Paul [AREVA Federal Services, LLC, Charlotte, NC (United States); Lindsay, Edward [AREVA Federal Services, LLC, Charlotte, NC (United States); McDowell, Michael [AREVA Federal Services, LLC, Charlotte, NC (United States); Huang, Megan [AREVA Federal Services, LLC, Charlotte, NC (United States)

2015-04-23

AREVA Inc. developed this study for the US Department of Energy (DOE) office of Nuclear Energy (NE) in accordance with Task Order 20 Statement of Work (SOW) covering research and development activities for the Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (sCO2) Brayton Cycle energy conversion. The study addresses the conversion of sCO2 heat energy to electrical output by use of a Brayton Cycle system and focuses on the potential of a net efficiency increase via cycle recuperation and recompression stages. The study also addresses issues and study needed to advance development and implementation of a 10 MWe sCO2 demonstration project.

Thermodynamic performance simulation and concise formulas for triple-pressure reheat HRSG of gas–steam combined cycle under off-design condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Guoqiang; Zheng, Jiongzhi; Yang, Yongping; Liu, Wenyi

2016-01-01

Highlights: • An off-design performance simulation of triple-pressure reheat HRSG is executed. • The bottoming cycle characteristics of energy transfer/conversion are analyzed. • Concise formulas for the off-design performance of bottoming cycle are proposed. • The accuracy of the formulas is verified under different load control strategies. • The errors of the formulas are generally within 1% at a load of 100–50%. - Abstract: Concise semi-theoretical, semi-empirical formulas are developed in this study to predict the off-design performance of the bottoming cycle of the gas–steam turbine combined cycle. The formulas merely refer to the key thermodynamic design parameters (full load parameters) of the bottoming cycle and off-design gas turbine exhaust temperature and flow, which are convenient in determining the overall performance of the bottoming cycle. First, a triple-pressure reheat heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is modeled, and thermodynamic analysis is performed. Second, concise semi-theoretical, semi-empirical performance prediction formulas for the bottoming cycle are proposed through a comprehensive analysis of the heat transfer characteristics of the HRSG and the energy conversion characteristics of the steam turbine under the off-design condition. The concise formulas are found to be effective, i.e., fast, simple, and precise in obtaining the thermodynamic parameters for bottoming cycle efficiency, HRSG heat transfer capacity, HRSG efficiency, steam turbine power output, and steam turbine efficiency under the off-design condition. Accuracy is verified by comparing the concise formulas’ calculation results with the simulation results and practical operation data under different load control strategies. The calculation errors are within 1.5% (mainly less than 1% for both simulation and actual operation data) under combined cycle load (gas turbine load) ranging from 50% to 100%. However, accuracy declines sharply when the turbine

Replacement of low pressure reheater and performance evaluation on domestic NPP moisture separator reheater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Y. S.; Jeong, W. T.; Shon, S. Y.; Kim, M. H.

2003-01-01

Moisture Separator Reheater is one of the most important equipment for the integrity of low pressure turbine and the total efficiency of the nuclear power plant, It supplies the dry steam to low pressure turbine after separation of moisture and reheating the wet steam out of high pressure turbine. This equipment is always operated under severe conditions, therefore it should be carefully maintained for safe operation and operating confidence. After replacement low pressure reheater of moister separator reheater on domestic nuclear power plant, there was MSR performance degradation and vibration of condensate drain line. So I found out root cause and commented a solution, site people modified the equipment. Finally I concluded the performanc of MSR was good condition, after I inspected the equipment and evaluated the performance of MSR

Systems design of direct-cycle supercritical-water-cooled fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Yoshiaki; Koshizuka, Seiichi; Jevremovic, Tatjana; Okano, Yashushi

1995-01-01

The system design of a direct-cycle supercritical-water-cooled fast reactor is presented. The supercritical water does not exhibit a change of phase. the recirculation system, steam separator, and dryer of a boiling water reactor (BWR) are unnecessary. Roughly speaking, the reactor pressure vessel and control rods are similar to those of a pressurized water reactor, the containment and emergency core cooling system are similar to a BWR, and the balance of plant is similar to a supercritical-pressure fossil-fired power plant (FPP). the electric power of the fast converter is 1,508 MW(electric). The number of coolant loops is only two because of the high coolant enthalpy. Containment volume is much reduced. The thermal efficiency is improved 24% over a BWR. The coolant void reactivity is negative by placing thin zirconium-hydride layers between seeds and blankets. The power costs would be much reduced compared with those of a light water reactor (LWR) and a liquid-metal fast breeder reactor. The concept is based on the huge amount of experience with the water coolant technology of LWRs and FPPs. The oxidation of stainless steel cladding is avoided by adopting a much lower coolant temperature than that of the FPP

FY-05 Second Quarter Report On Development of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle: Improving PBR Efficiency and Testing Material Compatibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang Oh

2005-01-01

The objective of this research is to improve a helium Brayton cycle and to develop a supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle for the Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) that can also be applied to the Fast Gas-Cooled Reactor (FGR) and the Very-High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (VHTR). The proposed supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle will be used to improve the PBR, FGR, and VHTR net plant efficiency. Another objective of this research is to test materials to be used in the power conversion side at supercritical carbon dioxide conditions. Generally, the optimized Brayton cycle and balance of plant (BOP) to be developed from this study can be applied to Generation-IV reactor concepts. Particularly, we are interested in VHTR because it has a good chance of being built in the near future

RANS simulation of a radial compressor for supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Seong Gu; Cho, Seong Kuk; Lee, Jekyoung; Lee, Jeong Ik [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cha, Jae Eun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Si Woo [Jinsol Turbo, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

S-CO{sub 2} cycle has a small footprint due to the compact turbomachine and heat exchanger. It was found that the S-CO{sub 2} compressor consumes small compression work if the operating conditions approach to the critical point (7.38MPa, 31.1℃). Therefore, this reduced compression work contributes to high cycle efficiency. Due to the above mentioned advantages, the S-CO{sub 2} cycle can be applied to various heat sources such as coal power, bottoming cycle of fuel cells, and the next generation nuclear systems. To demonstrate the S-CO{sub 2} cycle performance, an integral test facility is necessary. Therefore, the joint research team of KAERI, KAIST, POSTECH designed a supercritical CO{sub 2} integral experiment loop (SCIEL). The experimental data from this loop are accumulating in various conditions, rotational speed. The design of a S-CO{sub 2} compressor operating near the critical point is one of the major technical challenges in the development of cycle components. A radial compressor geometry designed for supercritical CO{sub 2} loop was utilized for CFD analysis. The preliminary results were compared to the experimental data. In this study, the authors present a CFD approach with accurate CSV type property table. Compared results showed reasonable difference between CFD and experiment except for efficiency curve at 35,000rpm. In future works, the loss models used for the design of S-CO{sub 2} compressor will be validated, and established with CFD results.

Enhanced arrangement for recuperators in supercritical CO2 Brayton power cycle for energy conversion in fusion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serrano, I.P.; Linares, J.I.; Cantizano, A.; Moratilla, B.Y.

2014-01-01

Highlights: •We propose an enhanced power conversion system layout for a Model C fusion reactor. •Proposed layout is based on a modified recompression supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycle. •New arrangement in recuperators regards to classical cycle is used. •High efficiency is achieved, comparable with the best obtained in complex solutions. -- Abstract: A domestic research program called TECNO F US was launched in Spain in 2009 to support technological developments related to a dual coolant breeding blanket concept for fusion reactors. This concept of blanket uses Helium (300 °C/400 °C) to cool part of it and a liquid metal (480 °C/700 °C) to cool the rest; it also includes high temperature (700 °C/800 °C) and medium temperature (566 °C/700 °C) Helium cooling circuits for divertor. This paper proposes a new layout of the classical recompression supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycle which replaces one of the recuperators (the one with the highest temperature) by another which by-passes the low temperature blanket source. This arrangement allows reaching high turbine inlet temperatures (around 600 °C) with medium pressures (around 225 bar) and achieving high cycle efficiencies (close to 46.5%). So, the proposed cycle reveals as a promising design because it integrates all the available thermal sources in a compact layout achieving high efficiencies with the usual parameters prescribed in classical recompression supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycles

Dry Air Cooler Modeling for Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moisseytsev, A. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Sienicki, J. J. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Lv, Q. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2016-07-28

Modeling for commercially available and cost effective dry air coolers such as those manufactured by Harsco Industries has been implemented in the Argonne National Laboratory Plant Dynamics Code for system level dynamic analysis of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) Brayton cycles. The modeling can now be utilized to optimize and simulate sCO₂ Brayton cycles with dry air cooling whereby heat is rejected directly to the atmospheric heat sink without the need for cooling towers that require makeup water for evaporative losses. It has sometimes been stated that a benefit of the sCO₂ Brayton cycle is that it enables dry air cooling implying that the Rankine steam cycle does not. A preliminary and simple examination of a Rankine superheated steam cycle and an air-cooled condenser indicates that dry air cooling can be utilized with both cycles provided that the cycle conditions are selected appropriately

The Higgs boson can delay reheating after inflation

Science.gov (United States)

Freese, Katherine; Sfakianakis, Evangelos I.; Stengel, Patrick; Visinelli, Luca

2018-05-01

The Standard Model Higgs boson, which has previously been shown to develop an effective vacuum expectation value during inflation, can give rise to large particle masses during inflation and reheating, leading to temporary blocking of the reheating process and a lower reheat temperature after inflation. We study the effects on the multiple stages of reheating: resonant particle production (preheating) as well as perturbative decays from coherent oscillations of the inflaton field. Specifically, we study both the cases of the inflaton coupling to Standard Model fermions through Yukawa interactions as well as to Abelian gauge fields through a Chern-Simons term. We find that, in the case of perturbative inflaton decay to SM fermions, reheating can be delayed due to Higgs blocking and the reheat temperature can decrease by up to an order of magnitude. In the case of gauge-reheating, Higgs-generated masses of the gauge fields can suppress preheating even for large inflaton-gauge couplings. In extreme cases, preheating can be shut down completely and must be substituted by perturbative decay as the dominant reheating channel. Finally, we discuss the distribution of reheat temperatures in different Hubble patches, arising from the stochastic nature of the Higgs VEV during inflation and its implications for the generation of both adiabatic and isocurvature fluctuations.

Optimum gas turbine cycle for combined cycle power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polyzakis, A.L.; Koroneos, C.; Xydis, G.

2008-01-01

The gas turbine based power plant is characterized by its relatively low capital cost compared with the steam power plant. It has environmental advantages and short construction lead time. However, conventional industrial engines have lower efficiencies, especially at part load. One of the technologies adopted nowadays for efficiency improvement is the 'combined cycle'. The combined cycle technology is now well established and offers superior efficiency to any of the competing gas turbine based systems that are likely to be available in the medium term for large scale power generation applications. This paper has as objective the optimization of a combined cycle power plant describing and comparing four different gas turbine cycles: simple cycle, intercooled cycle, reheated cycle and intercooled and reheated cycle. The proposed combined cycle plant would produce 300 MW of power (200 MW from the gas turbine and 100 MW from the steam turbine). The results showed that the reheated gas turbine is the most desirable overall, mainly because of its high turbine exhaust gas temperature and resulting high thermal efficiency of the bottoming steam cycle. The optimal gas turbine (GT) cycle will lead to a more efficient combined cycle power plant (CCPP), and this will result in great savings. The initial approach adopted is to investigate independently the four theoretically possible configurations of the gas plant. On the basis of combining these with a single pressure Rankine cycle, the optimum gas scheme is found. Once the gas turbine is selected, the next step is to investigate the impact of the steam cycle design and parameters on the overall performance of the plant, in order to choose the combined cycle offering the best fit with the objectives of the work as depicted above. Each alterative cycle was studied, aiming to find the best option from the standpoint of overall efficiency, installation and operational costs, maintainability and reliability for a combined power

Thermoeconomic Analysis and Optimization of a New Combined Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Recompression Brayton/Kalina Cycle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Mohammad S. Mahmoudi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available A new combined supercritical CO2 recompression Brayton/Kalina cycle (SCRB/KC is proposed. In the proposed system, waste heat from a supercritical CO2 recompression Brayton cycle (SCRBC is recovered by a Kalina cycle (KC to generate additional electrical power. The performances of the two cycles are simulated and compared using mass, energy and exergy balances of the overall systems and their components. Using the SPECO (Specific Exergy Costing approach and employing selected cost balance equations for the components of each system, the total product unit costs of the cycles are obtained. Parametric studies are performed to investigate the effects on the SCRB/KC and SCRBC thermodynamic and thermoeconomic performances of key decision parameters. In addition, considering the exergy efficiency and total product unit cost as criteria, optimization is performed for the SCRBC and SCRB/KC using Engineering Equation Solver software. The results indicate that the maximum exergy efficiency of the SCRB/KC is higher than that of the SCRBC by up to 10%, and that the minimum total product unit cost of the SCRB/KC is lower than that of the SCRBC by up to 4.9%.

Performance optimization of low-temperature power generation by supercritical ORCs (organic Rankine cycles) using low GWP (global warming potential) working fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le, Van Long; Feidt, Michel; Kheiri, Abdelhamid; Pelloux-Prayer, Sandrine

2014-01-01

This paper presents the system efficiency optimization scenarios of basic and regenerative supercritical ORCs (organic Rankine cycles) using low-GWP (global warming potential) organic compounds as working fluid. A more common refrigerant, i.e. R134a, was also employed to make the comparison. A 150-°C, 5-bar-pressurized hot water is used to simulate the heat source medium. Power optimization was equally performed for the basic configuration of supercritical ORC. Thermodynamic performance comparison of supercritical ORCs using different working fluids was achieved by ranking method and exergy analysis method. The highest optimal efficiency of the system (η sys ) is always obtained with R152a in both basic (11.6%) and regenerative (13.1%) configurations. The highest value of optimum electrical power output (4.1 kW) is found with R1234ze. By using ranking method and considering low-GWP criterion, the best working fluids for system efficiency optimization of basic and regenerative cycles are R32 and R152a, respectively. The best working fluid for net electrical power optimization of basic cycle is R1234ze. Although CO 2 has many desirable environmental and safety properties (e.g. zero ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential), ultra low-GWP, non toxicity, non flammability, etc.), the worst thermodynamic performance is always found with the cycle using this compound as working fluid. - Highlights: • Performance optimizations were carried out for the supercritical ORCs using low-GWP working fluids. • Heat regeneration was used to improve the system efficiency of the supercritical ORC. • Thermodynamic performances of supercritical ORCs at the optima were evaluated by ranking method and exergy analysis

Selected aspects of operation of supercritical (transcritical organic Rankine cycle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mocarsk Szymon

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a literature review on the topic of vapour power plants working according to the two-phase thermodynamic cycle with supercritical parameters. The main attention was focused on a review of articles and papers on the vapour power plants working using organic circulation fluids powered with low- and medium-temperature heat sources. Power plants with water-steam cycle supplied with a high-temperature sources have also been shown, however, it has been done mainly to show fundamental differences in the efficiency of the power plant and applications of organic and water-steam cycles. Based on a review of available literature references a comparative analysis of the parameters generated by power plants was conducted, depending on the working fluid used, the type and parameters of the heat source, with particular attention to the needs of power plant internal load.

Potential Improvements of Supercritical Recompression CO2 Brayton Cycle Coupled with KALIMER-600 by Modifying Critical Point of CO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Woo Seok; Lee, Jeong Ik; Jeong, Yong Hoon; No, Hee Cheon

2010-01-01

Most of the existing designs of a Sodium cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) have a Rankine cycle as an electric power generation cycle. This has the risk of a sodium water reaction. To prevent any hazards from a sodium water reaction, an indirect Brayton cycle using Supercritical Carbon dioxide (S-CO 2 ) as the working fluids for a SFR is an alternative approach to improve the current SFR design. The supercritical Brayton cycle is defined as a cycle with operating conditions above the critical point and the main compressor inlet condition located slightly above the critical point of working fluid. This is because the main advantage of the cycle comes from significantly decreased compressor work just above the critical point due to high density near boundary between supercritical state and subcritical state. For this reason, the minimum temperature and pressure of cycle are just above the CO 2 critical point. In other words, the critical point acts as a limitation of the lowest operating condition of the cycle. In general, lowering the minimum temperature of a thermodynamic cycle can increase the efficiency and the minimum temperature can be decreased by shifting the critical point of CO 2 as mixed with other gases. In this paper, potential enhancement of S-CO 2 cycle coupled with KALIMER-600, which has been developed at KAERI, was investigated using a developed cycle code with a gas mixture property program

Metal corrosion in a supercritical carbon dioxide - liquid sodium power cycle.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moore, Robert Charles; Conboy, Thomas M.

2012-02-01

A liquid sodium cooled fast reactor coupled to a supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton power cycle is a promising combination for the next generation nuclear power production process. For optimum efficiency, a microchannel heat exchanger, constructed by diffusion bonding, can be used for heat transfer from the liquid sodium reactor coolant to the supercritical carbon dioxide. In this work, we have reviewed the literature on corrosion of metals in liquid sodium and carbon dioxide. The main conclusions are (1) pure, dry CO{sub 2} is virtually inert but can be highly corrosive in the presence of even ppm concentrations of water, (2) carburization and decarburization are very significant mechanism for corrosion in liquid sodium especially at high temperature and the mechanism is not well understood, and (3) very little information could be located on corrosion of diffusion bonded metals. Significantly more research is needed in all of these areas.

Enhanced arrangement for recuperators in supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton power cycle for energy conversion in fusion reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Serrano, I.P.; Linares, J.I., E-mail: linares@dim.icai.upcomillas.es; Cantizano, A.; Moratilla, B.Y.

2014-10-15

Highlights: •We propose an enhanced power conversion system layout for a Model C fusion reactor. •Proposed layout is based on a modified recompression supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle. •New arrangement in recuperators regards to classical cycle is used. •High efficiency is achieved, comparable with the best obtained in complex solutions. -- Abstract: A domestic research program called TECNO{sub F}US was launched in Spain in 2009 to support technological developments related to a dual coolant breeding blanket concept for fusion reactors. This concept of blanket uses Helium (300 °C/400 °C) to cool part of it and a liquid metal (480 °C/700 °C) to cool the rest; it also includes high temperature (700 °C/800 °C) and medium temperature (566 °C/700 °C) Helium cooling circuits for divertor. This paper proposes a new layout of the classical recompression supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle which replaces one of the recuperators (the one with the highest temperature) by another which by-passes the low temperature blanket source. This arrangement allows reaching high turbine inlet temperatures (around 600 °C) with medium pressures (around 225 bar) and achieving high cycle efficiencies (close to 46.5%). So, the proposed cycle reveals as a promising design because it integrates all the available thermal sources in a compact layout achieving high efficiencies with the usual parameters prescribed in classical recompression supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycles.

Magnetic reheating

Science.gov (United States)

Saga, Shohei; Tashiro, Hiroyuki; Yokoyama, Shuichiro

2018-02-01

We provide a new bound on the amplitude of primordial magnetic fields (PMFs) by using a novel mechanism, magnetic reheating. The damping of the magnetohydrodynamics fluid motions in a primordial plasma brings the dissipation of the PMFs. In the early Universe with z ≳ 2 × 106, cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons are quickly thermalized with the dissipated energy and shift to a different Planck distribution with a new temperature. In other words, the PMF dissipation changes the baryon-to-photon number ratio, and we name such a process magnetic reheating. From the current baryon-to-photon number ratio obtained from the big bang nucleosynthesis and CMB observations, we put the strongest constraint on the PMFs on small scales which CMB observations cannot access, B0 ≲ 1.0 μG at the scales 104 generation mechanisms of PMFs in the early Universe.

Supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle compression and control near the critical point

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, S. A.; Fuller, R.; Noall, J.; Radel, R.; Vernon, M. E.; Pickard, P. S.

2008-01-01

This report describes the supercritical compression and control issues, the analysis, and the measured test results of a small-scale supercritical CO 2 (S-CO 2 ) compression test-loop. The test loop was developed by Sandia and is described in a companion paper in this conference. The results of these experiments will for the first time evaluate and experimentally demonstrate supercritical compression and the required compressor inlet control approaches on an appropriate scale in a series of test loops at Sandia National Laboratories. The Sandia effort is focused on the main compressor of a supercritical Brayton loop while a separate DOE Gen lV program focus is on studying similar behavior in re-compression Brayton cycles that have dual compressors. One of the main goals of this program is to develop and demonstrate the ability to design, operate, and control the supercritical compression process near the critical point due to highly non-linear behavior near this point. This Sandia supercritical test-loop uses a 50 kW radial compressor to pump supercritical CO 2 (S-CO 2 ) through an orifice and through a water-cooled gas-chiller. At the design point the compressor flow rate is 3.5 kg/s, the inlet pressure is 7, 690 kPa, the pressure ratio is 1.8, the inlet temperature is 305 K, and the shaft speed is 75, 000 rpm. The purpose of the loop is to study the compression and control issues near the critical point. To study compression we intend to compare the design code predictions for efficiency and change in enthalpy (or pressure ratio / head) of the radial compressor with the measured results from actual tests. In the tests the inlet flow, temperature, and pressure, will be varied around the critical point of CO 2 (Tc=304.2 K, and Pc=7.377 MPa). To study control, the test loop will use a variety of methods including inventory control, shaft speed control, and cooling water flow rate, and cooling water temperature control methods to set the compressor inlet temperature

NERI Quarterly Progress Report -- April 1 - June 30, 2005 -- Development of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle: Improving PBR Efficiency and Testing Material Compatibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang Oh

2005-01-01

The objective of this research is to improve a helium Brayton cycle and to develop a supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle for the Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) that can also be applied to the Fast Gas-Cooled Reactor (FGR) and the Very-High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (VHTR). The proposed supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle will be used to improve the PBR, FGR, and VHTR net plant efficiency. Another objective of this research is to test materials to be used in the power conversion side at supercritical carbon dioxide conditions. Generally, the optimized Brayton cycle and balance of plant (BOP) to be developed from this study can be applied to Generation-IV reactor concepts. Particularly, we are interested in VHTR because it has a good chance of being built in the near future

Reheating of the Universe as holographic thermalization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kawai, Shinsuke, E-mail: shinsuke.kawai@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of); Nakayama, Yu [California Institute of Technology, 452-48, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan)

2016-08-10

Assuming gauge/gravity correspondence we study reheating of the Universe using its holographic dual. Inflaton decay and thermalisation of the decay products correspond to collapse of a spherical shell and formation of a blackhole in the dual anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime. The reheating temperature is computed as the Hawking temperature of the developed blackhole probed by a dynamical boundary, and is determined by the inflaton energy density and the AdS radius, with corrections from the dynamics of the shell collapse. For given initial energy density of the inflaton field the holographic model typically gives lower reheating temperature than the instant reheating scenario, while it is shown to be safely within phenomenological bounds.

Reheating of the Universe as holographic thermalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shinsuke Kawai

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Assuming gauge/gravity correspondence we study reheating of the Universe using its holographic dual. Inflaton decay and thermalisation of the decay products correspond to collapse of a spherical shell and formation of a blackhole in the dual anti-de Sitter (AdS spacetime. The reheating temperature is computed as the Hawking temperature of the developed blackhole probed by a dynamical boundary, and is determined by the inflaton energy density and the AdS radius, with corrections from the dynamics of the shell collapse. For given initial energy density of the inflaton field the holographic model typically gives lower reheating temperature than the instant reheating scenario, while it is shown to be safely within phenomenological bounds.

Advanced cycle efficiency: Generating 40% more power from the nuclear fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duffey, Romney B.; Leung, Laurence

2010-09-15

The introduction of supercritical water (SCW) nuclear power plants (NPPs) would improve the overall plant efficiency significantly compared to currently deployed systems. This improvement is attributed to the increase in plant operating conditions. In addition, the implementation of the reheat-channel option into the CANDU SCW NPPs would further enhance the efficiency. Overall, the combination of higher operating conditions and reheat-channel option would lead to overall plant efficiency of about 50% for the CANDU SCW NPPs, compared to 33--35% for currently deployed systems. This represents a whopping 40% improvement in efficiency.

CFD aided approach to design printed circuit heat exchangers for supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seong Gu; Lee, Youho; Ahn, Yoonhan; Lee, Jeong Ik

2016-01-01

Highlights: • CFD analyses were performed to find performance of PCHE for supercritical CO 2 power cycle. • CFD results were obtained beyond the limits of existing correlations. • Designs of different PCHEs with different correlations were compared. • A new CFD-aided correlation covering a wider Reynolds number range was proposed. - Abstract: While most conventional PCHE designs for working fluid of supercritical CO 2 require an extension of valid Reynolds number limits of experimentally obtained correlations, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS CFX was used to explore validity of existing correlations beyond their tested Reynolds number ranges. For heat transfer coefficient correlations, an appropriate piece-wising with Ishizuka’s and Hesselgreaves’s correlation is found to enable an extension of Reynolds numbers. For friction factors, no single existing correlation is found to capture different temperature and angular dependencies for a wide Reynolds number range. Based on the comparison of CFD results with the experimentally obtained correlations, a new CFD-aided correlation covering an extended range of Reynolds number 2000–58,000 for Nusselt number and friction factor is proposed to facilitate PCHE designs for the supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycle application.

Viability study for application of combined reheater cycle (CRC) to fluidized bed combustion plants; Estudio de Viabilidad para la Aplicacion del Ciclo de Recalentamiento Combinado (CRC) a Plantas de Combustion de Lecho Fuido Atmosferico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-12-01

Basically, the project try to analyze the application viability of a first reheating in steam cycles of little power plants, useful mainly for biomass and wastes, in our case with coal blends; and a second reheating of the steam in conventional and fluidized bed combustion plants. Using in both cases the thermic energy of the exhaust gases from one gas turbine. The advantages of the CRC cycle are: (1) Reduction of the moisture in the turbine, increasing the energy efficiency and blade protection. (2) To take advantage of the waste gas energy from the gas turbine in optimum way. (3) Great operation flexibility under good efficiency results. In general, the system can use the synergy between gas, coal and waste energies with the highest global efficiency. (Author)

Reheating the D-brane universe via instant preheating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panda, Sudhakar; Sami, M.; Thongkool, I.

2010-01-01

We investigate a possibility of reheating in a scenario of D-brane inflation in a warped deformed conifold background which includes perturbative corrections to throat geometry sourced by a chiral operator of dimension 3/2 in the conformal field theory. The effective D-brane potential, in this case, belongs to the class of nonoscillatory models of inflation for which the conventional reheating mechanism does not work. We find that gravitational particle production is inefficient and leads to reheating temperature of the order of 10 8 GeV. We show that instant preheating is quite suitable to the present scenario and can easily reheat the universe to a temperature which is higher by about 3 orders of magnitude than its counterpart associated with gravitational particle production. The reheating temperature is shown to be insensitive to a particular choice of inflationary parameters suitable to observations.

Toward an effective field theory approach to reheating

Science.gov (United States)

Özsoy, Ogan; Giblin, John T.; Nesbit, Eva; Şengör, Gizem; Watson, Scott

2017-12-01

We investigate whether effective field theory (EFT) approaches, which have been useful in examining inflation and dark energy, can also be used to establish a systematic approach to inflationary reheating. We consider two methods. First, we extend Weinberg's background EFT to the end of inflation and reheating. We establish when parametric resonance and decay of the inflaton occurs, but also find intrinsic theoretical limitations, which make it difficult to capture some reheating models. This motivates us to next consider Cheung et al.'s EFT approach, which instead focuses on perturbations and the symmetry breaking induced by the cosmological background. Adapting the latter approach to reheating implies some new and important differences compared to the EFT of inflation. In particular, there are new hierarchical scales, and we must account for inflaton oscillations during reheating, which lead to discrete symmetry breaking. Guided by the fundamental symmetries, we construct the EFT of reheating, and as an example of its usefulness we establish a new class of reheating models and the corresponding predictions for gravity wave observations. In this paper we primarily focus on the first stages of preheating. We conclude by discussing challenges for the approach and future directions. This paper builds on ideas first proposed in the paper [O. Ozsoy, G. Sengor, K. Sinha, and S. Watson, arXiv:1507.06651.].

Moisture separator reheaters for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyoshi, Michizo; Yonemura, Katsutoshi

1974-01-01

In the light water reactor plants using BWRS or PWRS, the pressure and temperature of steam at the inlet of turbines are low, and the steam is moist, as compared with the case of thermal power plants. Therefore, moisture separator/reheaters are used between high and low pressure turbines. The steam from a high pressure turbine enters a manifold, and goes zigzag through vertical plate separator elements, its moisture is removed from the steam. Then, after being reheated with the steam bled from the high pressure turbine and directly from a reactor, the steam is fed into a low pressure turbine. The development and test made on the components of a moisture separaotr/reheater and the overall model experiment are described together with the mechanism of moisture separation and reheating. (Mori, K.)

Advanced Thermal Storage for Central Receivers with Supercritical Coolants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelly, Bruce D.

2010-06-15

The principal objective of the study is to determine if supercritical heat transport fluids in a central receiver power plant, in combination with ceramic thermocline storage systems, offer a reduction in levelized energy cost over a baseline nitrate salt concept. The baseline concept uses a nitrate salt receiver, two-tank (hot and cold) nitrate salt thermal storage, and a subcritical Rankine cycle. A total of 6 plant designs were analyzed, as follows: Plant Designation Receiver Fluid Thermal Storage Rankine Cycle Subcritical nitrate salt Nitrate salt Two tank nitrate salt Subcritical Supercritical nitrate salt Nitrate salt Two tank nitrate salt Supercritical Low temperature H2O Supercritical H2O Two tank nitrate salt Supercritical High temperature H2O Supercritical H2O Packed bed thermocline Supercritical Low temperature CO2 Supercritical CO2 Two tank nitrate salt Supercritical High temperature CO2 Supercritical CO2 Packed bed thermocline Supercritical Several conclusions have been drawn from the results of the study, as follows: 1) The use of supercritical H2O as the heat transport fluid in a packed bed thermocline is likely not a practical approach. The specific heat of the fluid is a strong function of the temperatures at values near 400 °C, and the temperature profile in the bed during a charging cycle is markedly different than the profile during a discharging cycle. 2) The use of supercritical CO2 as the heat transport fluid in a packed bed thermocline is judged to be technically feasible. Nonetheless, the high operating pressures for the supercritical fluid require the use of pressure vessels to contain the storage inventory. The unit cost of the two-tank nitrate salt system is approximately $24/kWht, while the unit cost of the high pressure thermocline system is nominally 10 times as high. 3) For the supercritical fluids, the outer crown temperatures of the receiver tubes are in the range of 700 to 800 °C. At temperatures of 700 °C and above

Study on the supercritical CO2 power cycles for landfill gas firing gas turbine bottoming cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Min Seok; Ahn, Yoonhan; Kim, Beomjoo; Lee, Jeong Ik

2016-01-01

In this paper, a comparison of nine supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO 2 ) bottoming power cycles in conjunction with a topping cycle of landfill gas (LFG) fired 5MWe gas turbine is presented. For the comparison purpose, a sensitivity study of the cycle design parameters for nine different cycles was conducted and each cycle thermodynamic performance is evaluated. In addition, the cycle performance evaluation dependency on the compressor inlet temperature variation is performed to investigate how S-CO 2 cycles sensitive to the heat sink temperature variation. Furthermore, the development of new S-CO 2 cycle layouts is reported and the suggested cycles' performances are compared to the existing cycle layouts. It was found that a recompression cycle is not suitable for the bottoming cycle application, but a partial heating cycle has relatively higher net produced work with a simple layout and small number of components. Although a dual heated and flow split cycle has the highest net produced work, it has disadvantages of having numerous components and complex process which requires more sophisticated operational strategies. This study identified that the recuperation process is much more important than the intercooling process to the S-CO 2 cycle design for increasing the thermal efficiency and the net produced work point of view. - Highlights: • Study of nine S-CO 2 power cycle layouts for a small scale landfill gas power generation application. • Development of new S-CO 2 cycle layouts. • Sensitivity analysis of S-CO 2 cycles to evaluate and compare nine cycles' performances.

Integration between direct steam generation in linear solar collectors and supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton power cycles

OpenAIRE

Coco Enríquez, Luis; Muñoz Antón, Javier; Martínez-Val Peñalosa, José María

2015-01-01

Direct Steam Generation in Parabolic Troughs or Linear Fresnel solar collectors is a technology under development since beginning of nineties (1990's) for replacing thermal oils and molten salts as heat transfer fluids in concentrated solar power plants, avoiding environmental impacts. In parallel to the direct steam generation technology development, supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton power cycles are maturing as an alternative to traditional Rankine cycles for increasing net plant efficie...

Low reheating temperatures in monomial and binomial inflationary models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehagen, Thomas; Gelmini, Graciela B.

2015-01-01

We investigate the allowed range of reheating temperature values in light of the Planck 2015 results and the recent joint analysis of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data from the BICEP2/Keck Array and Planck experiments, using monomial and binomial inflationary potentials. While the well studied ϕ 2 inflationary potential is no longer favored by current CMB data, as well as ϕ p with p>2, a ϕ 1 potential and canonical reheating (w re =0) provide a good fit to the CMB measurements. In this last case, we find that the Planck 2015 68% confidence limit upper bound on the spectral index, n s , implies an upper bound on the reheating temperature of T re ≲6×10 10 GeV, and excludes instantaneous reheating. The low reheating temperatures allowed by this model open the possibility that dark matter could be produced during the reheating period instead of when the Universe is radiation dominated, which could lead to very different predictions for the relic density and momentum distribution of WIMPs, sterile neutrinos, and axions. We also study binomial inflationary potentials and show the effects of a small departure from a ϕ 1 potential. We find that as a subdominant ϕ 2 term in the potential increases, first instantaneous reheating becomes allowed, and then the lowest possible reheating temperature of T re =4 MeV is excluded by the Planck 2015 68% confidence limit

Reheating, multifield inflation and the fate of the primordial observables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leung, Godfrey; Tarrant, Ewan R.M.; Copeland, Edmund J.; Byrnes, Christian T.

2012-01-01

We study the effects of perturbative reheating on the evolution of the curvature perturbation ζ, in two-field inflation models. We use numerical methods to explore the sensitivity of f NL , n ζ and r to the reheating process, and present simple qualitative arguments to explain our results. In general, if a large non-Gaussian signal exists at the start of reheating, it will remain non-zero at the end of reheating. Unless all isocurvature modes have completely decayed before the start of reheating, we find that the non-linearity parameter, f NL , can be sensitive to the reheating timescale, and that this dependence is most appreciable for 'runaway' inflationary potentials that only have a minimum in one direction. For potentials with a minimum in both directions, f NL can also be sensitive to reheating if a mild hierarchy exists between the decay rates of each field. Within the class of models studied, we find that the spectral index n ζ , is fairly insensitive to large changes in the field decay rates, indicating that n ζ is a more robust inflationary observable, unlike the non-linearity parameter f NL . Our results imply that the statistics of ζ, especially f NL , can only be reliably used to discriminate between models of two-field inflation if the physics of reheating are properly accounted for

Experimental thermal behavior of a power plant reheater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonzalez, M. Manuela Prieto; Garcia, F. Javier Fernandez; Ramon, Ines Suarez [Departamento de Energia, Universidad de Oviedo, Campus de Viesques, 33204 Gijon, Asturias (Spain); Roces, Hilario Sanchez [Central Termica de Soto de Ribera, Soto de Ribera, Asturias (Spain)

2006-04-15

The process conditions of power plant components subjected to high pressures and temperatures are essential to determine their remaining life, availability and efficiency. It is, therefore, expedient to pay special attention to critical components, such as superheater and reheater heat exchangers, headers, and main and reheated steam lines. In this paper, on-line and off-line variables of a power plant reheater that has presented problems of thickness losses and repetitive tube fissures are studied. The fissures are associated with the effect of a thermal-mechanical mechanism. Off-line measurements were taken of the following variables: pressure, temperature, velocity and composition of the gases. On-line instrumentation was completed by the installation of specific thermocouples to ascertain the temperatures in the tubes outlet. Various angles for the fuel inlet of the burners and variations in the number and location of the working burners were also assayed. As a consequence of this analysis, it can be deduced that there are important differences in the outlet temperature of the reheater tubes that decrease for lower powers. Finally, it is pointed that a non-uniform distribution of the steam flow in the reheater might be the cause of the problem. (author)

Development of Next Generation Heating System for Scale Free Steel Reheating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dr. Arvind C. Thekdi

2011-01-27

The work carried out under this project includes development and design of components, controls, and economic modeling tools that would enable the steel industry to reduce energy intensity through reduction of scale formation during the steel reheating process. Application of scale free reheating offers savings in energy used for production of steel that is lost as scale, and increase in product yield for the global steel industry. The technology can be applied to a new furnace application as well as retrofit design for conversion of existing steel reheating furnaces. The development work has resulted in the knowledge base that will enable the steel industry and steel forging industry us to reheat steel with 75% to 95% reduction in scale formation and associated energy savings during the reheating process. Scale reduction also results in additional energy savings associated with higher yield from reheat furnaces. Energy used for steel production ranges from 9 MM Btu/ton to 16.6 MM Btu/ton or the industry average of approximately 13 MM Btu/ton. Hence, reduction in scale at reheating stage would represent a substantial energy reduction for the steel industry. Potential energy savings for the US steel industry could be in excess of 25 Trillion Btu/year when the technology is applied to all reheating processes. The development work has resulted in new design of reheating process and the required burners and control systems that would allow use of this technology for steel reheating in steel as well as steel forging industries.

Moisture separators and reheaters for wet steam turbines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbins, J.

1979-01-01

Moisture separator reheater (M.S.R.) units are now a well established feature of the wet steam cycle as associated with the various types of water cooled reactor. This paper describes the development of M.S.Rs. as supplied by GEC for turbine generators of up to 1200 MW ratings covering the design procedures used and the features required to ensure efficient and reliable operation. In addition to details of the M.S.R. design, the desirable features of the steam supply, venting and drain control systems are also discussed. The recent developments, as provided on current projects, are described. (author)

Hemispherical power asymmetry from scale-dependent modulated reheating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, John

2013-01-01

We propose a new model for the hemispherical power asymmetry of the CMB based on modulated reheating. Non-Gaussianity from modulated reheating can be small enough to satisfy the bound from Planck if the dominant modulation of the inflaton decay rate is linear in the modulating field σ. σ must then acquire a spatially-modulated power spectrum with a red scale-dependence. This can be achieved if the primordial perturbation of σ is generated via tachyonic growth of a complex scalar field. Modulated reheating due to σ then produces a spatially modulated and scale-dependent sub-dominant contribution to the adiabatic density perturbation. We show that it is possible to account for the observed asymmetry while remaining consistent with bounds from quasar number counts, non-Gaussianity and the CMB temperature quadupole. The model predicts that the adiabatic perturbation spectral index and its running will be modified by the modulated reheating component

Potential improvements of supercritical recompression CO2 Brayton cycle by mixing other gases for power conversion system of a SFR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Woo Seok; Lee, Jeong Ik; Jeong, Yong Hoon

2011-01-01

Highlights: → S-CO 2 cycle could be enhanced by shifting the critical point of working fluids using gas mixture. → In-house cycle code was developed to analyze supercritical Brayton cycles with gas mixture. → Gas mixture candidates were selected through a screening process: CO 2 mixing with N 2 , O 2 , He, and Ar. → CO 2 -He binary mixture shows the highest cycle efficiency increase. → Lowering the critical temperature and critical pressure of the coolant has a positive effect on the total cycle efficiency. - Abstract: A sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) is one of the strongest candidates for the next generation nuclear reactor. However, the conventional design of a SFR concept with an indirect Rankine cycle is subjected to a possible sodium-water reaction. To prevent any hazards from sodium-water reaction, a SFR with the Brayton cycle using Supercritical Carbon dioxide (S-CO 2 ) as the working fluid can be an alternative approach to improve the current SFR design. However, the S-CO 2 Brayton cycle is more sensitive to the critical point of working fluids than other Brayton cycles. This is because compressor work is significantly decreased slightly above the critical point due to high density of CO 2 near the boundary between the supercritical state and the subcritical state. For this reason, the minimum temperature and pressure of cycle are just above the CO 2 critical point. In other words, the critical point acts as a limitation of the lowest operating condition of the cycle. In general, lowering the rejection temperature of a thermodynamic cycle can increase the efficiency. Therefore, changing the critical point of CO 2 can result in an improvement of the total cycle efficiency with the same cycle layout. A small amount of other gases can be added in order to change the critical point of CO 2 . The direction and range of the critical point variation of CO 2 depends on the mixed component and its amount. Several gases that show chemical stability with

Reheat cracking susceptibility of P23 (7CrWVMoNb9-6) steel welds made using matching and mis-matching filler metals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nevasmaa, Pekka; Salonen, Jorma; Auerkari, Pertti; Rantala, Juhani; Holmstroem, Stefan [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo (Finland)

2010-07-01

Reheat cracking sensitivity of 7CrWVMoNb9-6 (P23) thick-section multipass welds has been investigated by Gleeble simulation, mechanical testing, fractography and metallography. The results demonstrate that the experimental weld metal made using a high-Nb-W-Ti-B type filler metal was sensitive to reheat cracking, with a reduction of area no more than 2-3% in the BWI reheat cracking (RC) test. Welds made using a high-W -low-Ti type filler metal with Nb content similar to the parent steel, as well as welds make using a Ni-Nb-Ti-free-(W-free) type filler metal with the chemical composition closer to P24 grade material, were more ductile and crack-resistant, though with reduced cross-weld creep strength. Fractography of RC test specimens showed evidence of pronounced localisation of damage at the prior austenite grain boundaries of the thermally reheated, experimental P23 weld metal. The reheat cracking susceptibility of the less ductile weld metal was apparently related both to the chemical composition (higher B, Nb and Ti content) and sub-structural features of the coarse-grained reheated weld metal microstructure. Appropriate single- and multi-cycle thermal Gleeble simulations to produce representative HAY and reheated weld metal microstructures (as function of peak temperature), in conjunction with the BWI RC test were successfully applied to characterise the reheat cracking sensitivity of the candidate weld metals and parent steel HAZ. (orig.)

Thermodynamic evaluation of supercritical oxy-type power plant with high-temperature three-end membrane for air separation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kotowicz Janusz

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Among the technologies which allow to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mainly of carbon dioxide, special attention deserves the idea of ‘zero-emission’ technology based on boilers working in oxy-combustion technology. In the paper a thermodynamic analysis of supercritical power plant fed by lignite was made. Power plant consists of: 600 MW steam power unit with live steam parameters of 650 °C/30 MPa and reheated steam parameters of 670 °C/6 MPa; circulating fluidized bed boiler working in oxy-combustion technology; air separation unit and installation of the carbon dioxide compression. Air separation unit is based on high temperature membrane working in three-end technology. Models of steam cycle, circulation fluidized bed boiler, air separation unit and carbon capture installation were made using commercial software. After integration of these models the net electricity generation efficiency as a function of the degree of oxygen recovery in high temperature membrane was analyzed.

Review of supercritical CO{sub 2} power cycle technology and current status of research and development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahn, Yoon Han; Bae, Seong Jun; Kim, Min Seok; Cho, Seong Kuk; Baik, Seung Joon; Lee, Jeong Ik [Dept. of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cha, Jae Eun [Fast Reactor Technology Development Division, Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

The supercritical CO{sub 2} (S-CO{sub 2}) Brayton cycle has recently been gaining a lot of attention for application to next generation nuclear reactors. The advantages of the S-CO-2 cycle are high efficiency in the mild turbine inlet temperature region and a small physical footprint with a simple layout, compact turbomachinery, and heat exchangers. Several heat sources including nuclear, fossil fuel, waste heat, and renewable heat sources such as solar thermal or fuel cells are potential application areas of the S-CO-2 cycle. In this paper, the current development progress of the S-CO-2 cycle is introduced. Moreover, a quick comparison of various S-CO{sub 2} layouts is presented in terms of cycle performance.

Recuperative supercritical carbon dioxide cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Sonwane, Chandrashekhar; Sprouse, Kenneth M; Subbaraman, Ganesan; O'Connor, George M; Johnson, Gregory A

2014-11-18

A power plant includes a closed loop, supercritical carbon dioxide system (CLS-CO.sub.2 system). The CLS-CO.sub.2 system includes a turbine-generator and a high temperature recuperator (HTR) that is arranged to receive expanded carbon dioxide from the turbine-generator. The HTR includes a plurality of heat exchangers that define respective heat exchange areas. At least two of the heat exchangers have different heat exchange areas.

Performance analysis of solar parabolic trough collectors driven combined supercritical CO2 and organic Rankine cycle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harwinder Singh

2018-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, attempts have been made on the detailed energy and exergy analysis of solar parabolic trough collectors (SPTCs driven combined power plant. The combination of supercritical CO2 (SCO2 cycle and organic Rankine cycle (ORC integrated with SPTCs has been used to produce power, in which SCO2 cycle and ORC are arranged as a topping and bottoming cycle. Five organic working fluids like R134a, R1234yf, R407c, R1234ze, and R245fa were selected for a low temperature bottoming ORC. Five key exergetic parameters such as exergetic efficiency, exergy destruction rate, fuel depletion ratio, irreversibility ratio, and improvement potential were also examined. It was revealed that exergetic and thermal efficiency of all the combined cycles enhances as the direct normal irradiance increases from 0.5 kW/m2 to 0.95 kW/m2. As can be seen, R407c combined cycle has the maximum exergetic as well as thermal efficiency which is around 78.07% at 0.95 kW/m2 and 43.49% at 0.95 kW/m2, respectively. Alternatively, the R134a and R245fa combined cycle yields less promising results with the marginal difference in their performance. As inferred from the study that SCO2 turbine and evaporator has a certain amount of exergy destruction which is around 9.72% and 8.54% of the inlet exergy, and almost 38.10% of the total exergy destruction in case of R407c combined cycle. Moreover, the maximum amount of exergy destructed by the solar collector field which is more than 25% of the solar inlet exergy and around 54% of the total destructed exergy. Finally, this study concludes that R407c combined cycle has a minimum fuel depletion ratio of 0.2583 for a solar collector and possess the highest power output of 3740 kW. Keywords: Supercritical CO2cycle, Organic Rankine cycle, Exergetic performance, SPTCs, Organic fluids

Fuzzy Nonlinear Dynamic Evaporator Model in Supercritical Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jahedul Islam Chowdhury

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The organic Rankine cycle (ORC-based waste heat recovery (WHR system operating under a supercritical condition has a higher potential of thermal efficiency and work output than a traditional subcritical cycle. However, the operation of supercritical cycles is more challenging due to the high pressure in the system and transient behavior of waste heat sources from industrial and automotive engines that affect the performance of the system and the evaporator, which is the most crucial component of the ORC. To take the transient behavior into account, the dynamic model of the evaporator using renowned finite volume (FV technique is developed in this paper. Although the FV model can capture the transient effects accurately, the model has a limitation for real-time control applications due to its time-intensive computation. To capture the transient effects and reduce the simulation time, a novel fuzzy-based nonlinear dynamic evaporator model is also developed and presented in this paper. The results show that the fuzzy-based model was able to capture the transient effects at a data fitness of over 90%, while it has potential to complete the simulation 700 times faster than the FV model. By integrating with other subcomponent models of the system, such as pump, expander, and condenser, the predicted system output and pressure have a mean average percentage error of 3.11% and 0.001%, respectively. These results suggest that the developed fuzzy-based evaporator and the overall ORC-WHR system can be used for transient simulations and to develop control strategies for real-time applications.

Life cycle assessment of hydrogen and power production by supercritical water reforming of glycerol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galera, S.; Gutiérrez Ortiz, F.J.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The environmental performance of the supercritical water reforming (SCWR) of glycerol was assessed. • Biogenic CO 2 emissions allowed quantifying a realistic GHG inventory of 3.8 kg CO 2 -eq/kg H 2 . • The environmental profile of SCWR process was compared to those of other technologies. • A good environmental performance of H 2 and power production by SCWR of glycerol was obtained. - Abstract: The environmental performance of hydrogen and electricity production by supercritical water reforming (SCWR) of glycerol was evaluated following a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. The heat-integrated process was designed to be energy self-sufficient. Mass and energy balances needed for the study were performed using Aspen Plus 8.4, and the environmental assessment was carried out through SimaPro 8.0. CML 2000 was selected as the life cycle impact assessment method, considering as impact categories the global warming, ozone layer depletion, abiotic depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, eutrophication, acidification, and cumulative energy demand. A distinction between biogenic and fossil CO 2 emissions was done to quantify a more realistic GHG inventory of 3.77 kg CO 2 -eq per kg H 2 produced. Additionally, the environmental profile of SCWR process was compared to other H 2 production technologies such as steam methane reforming, carbon gasification, water electrolysis and dark fermentation among others. This way, it is shown that SCWR of glycerol allows reducing greenhouse gas emissions and obtaining a favorable positive life cycle energy balance, achieving a good environmental performance of H 2 and power production by SCWR of glycerol

Preheating of fluid in a supercritical Brayton cycle power generation system at cold startup

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Steven A.; Fuller, Robert L.

2016-07-12

Various technologies pertaining to causing fluid in a supercritical Brayton cycle power generation system to flow in a desired direction at cold startup of the system are described herein. A sensor is positioned at an inlet of a turbine, wherein the sensor is configured to output sensed temperatures of fluid at the inlet of the turbine. If the sensed temperature surpasses a predefined threshold, at least one operating parameter of the power generation system is altered.

Effect of reheating on predictions following multiple-field inflation

Science.gov (United States)

Hotinli, Selim C.; Frazer, Jonathan; Jaffe, Andrew H.; Meyers, Joel; Price, Layne C.; Tarrant, Ewan R. M.

2018-01-01

We study the sensitivity of cosmological observables to the reheating phase following inflation driven by many scalar fields. We describe a method which allows semianalytic treatment of the impact of perturbative reheating on cosmological perturbations using the sudden decay approximation. Focusing on N -quadratic inflation, we show how the scalar spectral index and tensor-to-scalar ratio are affected by the rates at which the scalar fields decay into radiation. We find that for certain choices of decay rates, reheating following multiple-field inflation can have a significant impact on the prediction of cosmological observables.

A study on different thermodynamic cycle schemes coupled with a high temperature gas-cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qu, Xinhe; Yang, Xiaoyong; Wang, Jie

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The features of three different power generation schemes, including closed Brayton cycle, non-reheating combined cycle and reheating combined cycle, coupled with high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) were investigated and compared. • The effects and mechanism of reactor core outlet temperature, compression ratio and other key parameters over cycle characteristics were analyzed by the thermodynamic models.. • It is found that reheated combined cycle has the highest efficiency. Reactor outlet temperature and main steam parameters are key factors to improve the cycle’s performance. - Abstract: With gradual increase in reactor outlet temperature, the efficient power conversion technology has become one of developing trends of (very) high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs). In this paper, different cycle power generation schemes for HTGRs were systematically studied. Physical and mathematical models were established for these three cycle schemes: closed Brayton cycle, simple combined cycle, and reheated combined cycle. The effects and mechanism of key parameters such as reactor core outlet temperature, reactor core inlet temperature and compression ratio on the features of these cycles were analyzed. Then, optimization results were given with engineering restrictive conditions, including pinch point temperature differences. Results revealed that within the temperature range of HTGRs (700–900 °C), the reheated combined cycle had the highest efficiency, while the simple combined cycle had the lowest efficiency (900 °C). The efficiencies of the closed Brayton cycle, simple combined cycle and reheated combined cycle are 49.5%, 46.6% and 50.1%, respectively. These results provide insights on the different schemes of these cycles, and reveal the effects of key parameters on performance of these cycles. It could be helpful to understand and develop a combined cycle coupled with a high temperature reactor in the future.

On ultraviolet freeze-in dark matter during reheating

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shao-Long; Kang, Zhaofeng

2018-05-01

The absence of any confirmative signals from extensive DM searching motivates us to go beyond the conventional WIMPs scenario. The feebly interacting massive particles (FIMPs) paradigm provides a good alternative which, despite of its feebly interaction with the thermal particles, still could correctly produce relic abundance without conventional DM signals. The Infrared-FIMP based on the renormalizable operators is usually suffering the very tiny coupling drawback, which can be overcome in the UltraViolet-FIMP scenario based on high dimensional effective operators. However, it is sensitive to the history of the very early Universe. The previous works terminates this sensitivity at the reheating temperature TRH. We, motivated by its UV-sensitivity, investigate the effects from the even earlier Universe, reheating era. We find that in the usual case with TRHgg mDM, the production rate during reheating is very small as long as the effective operators dimension d study the situation when TRH is even lower than mDM and DM can be directly produced during reheating if its mass does not exceed TMAX.

The Application of Supercritical CO{sub 2} Power Cycle to Various Nuclear Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jeong Ik [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

The main reason why the S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle has these advantages is that the compressor operates near the critical point of CO{sub 2} (30.98 .deg. C, 7.38MPa) to reduce the compression work significantly compared to the other Brayton cycles. In this paper, various applications of supercritical CO{sub 2} power cycle to nuclear systems will be presented and summarized. The S-CO{sub 2} cycle can achieve relatively high efficiency within the mild turbine inlet temperature range (450 - 850 .deg. C) compared with other power conversion systems. The main benefit of the S-CO{sub 2} cycle is the small size of the overall system and its application includes not only the next generation nuclear reactors but also conventional water-cooled reactors too. Various layouts were compared and the recompression cycle shows the best efficiency. The layout is suitable for application to advanced nuclear reactor systems. To evaluate the S-CO{sub 2} cycle performance, various countries constructed and demonstrated S-CO{sub 2} integral system test loops and similar research works are ongoing in Korea as well. However, to evaluate the commercial S-CO{sub 2} power systems, development of a large scale (> 10 MW) prototype S-CO{sub 2} system is necessary.

Quintessential inflation at low reheating temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salo, Llibert Areste [Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Departament de Matematiques, Barcelona (Spain); Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet, Fakultaet fuer Physik, Munich (Germany); Haro, Jaume de [Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Departament de Matematiques, Terrassa (Spain)

2017-11-15

We have tested some simple quintessential inflation models, imposing the requirement that they match with the recent observational data provided by the BICEP and Planck team and leading to a reheating temperature, which is obtained via gravitational particle production after inflation, supporting the nucleosynthesis success. Moreover, for the models coming from supergravity one needs to demand low temperatures in order to avoid problems such as the gravitino overproduction or the gravitational production of moduli fields, which are obtained only when the reheating temperature is due to the production of massless particles with a coupling constant very close to its conformal value. (orig.)

ULTRA SCWR+: Practical advanced water reactor concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duffey, Romney; Khartabil, Hussam; Kuran, Sermet; Zhou, Tracy; Pioro, Igor

2008-01-01

Modern thermal power plants now utilize supercritical steam cycles with thermal efficiencies of over 45%. Recent developments have lead to Ultra-SuperCritical (USC) systems, which adopt reheat turbines that can attain efficiencies of over 50%. Because these turbines are already developed, demonstrated and deployed worldwide, and use existing and traditional steam cycle technology, the simplest nuclear advance is to utilize these proven thermal cycle conditions by coupling this turbine type to a reactor. This development direction is fundamentally counter to the usual approach of adopting high-temperature gas-cooled (helium-cooled) reactor cycles, for which turbines have yet to be demonstrated on commercial scale unlike the supercritical steam turbines. The ULTRA (Ultra-supercritical Light water Thermal ReActor) SCWR+ concept adopts the fundamental design approach of matching a water and steam-cooled reactor to the ultra-supercritical steam cycle, adopting the existing and planned thermal power plant turbines. The HP and IP sections are fed with conditions of 25 MPa/625degC and 7 MPa/700degC, respectively, to achieve operating plant thermal efficiencies in excess of 50%, with a direct turbine cycle. By using such low-pressure reheated steam, this concept also adopts technology that was explored and used many years ago in existing water reactors, with the potential to produce large quantities of low cost heat, which can be used for other industrial and district processes. Pressure-Tube (PT) reactors are suitable for adoption of this design approach and, in addition, have other advantages that will significantly improve water-cooled reactor technology. These additional advantages include enhanced safety and improved resource utilization and proliferation resistance. This paper describes the PT-SCWR+ concept and its potential enhancements. (author)

Optimizing an advanced hybrid of solar-assisted supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle: A vital transition for low-carbon power generation industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milani, Dia; Luu, Minh Tri; McNaughton, Robbie; Abbas, Ali

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The layout of 14 demonstrative supercritical CO 2 closed Brayton cycles are analysed. • The key parameters of the “combined” cycle are sensitized and optimized. • The effect of thermal efficiency vs HX area on techno-economic nexus is highlighted. • The design of a matching solar heliostat field in direct configuration is revealed. • The water demand for hybrid vs water-only cooling scenarios are assessed. - Abstract: Current worldwide infrastructure of electrical power generation would mostly continue to rely on fossil-fuel but require a modest transition for the ultimate goal of decarbonizing power generation industry. By relying on those already established and carefully managed centrepiece power plants (PPs), we aim at filling the deficits of the current electrical networks with smaller, cleaner, and also more efficient PPs. In this context, we present a unique model for a small-scale decentralized solar-assisted supercritical CO 2 closed Brayton cycle (sCO 2 -CBC). Our model is based on the optimized values of three key performance indicators (KPIs); thermal efficiency, concentrated solar power (CSP) compatibility, and water demand for cooling. For a case-study of 10 MW e CSP-assisted sCO 2 -CBC power plant, our dynamic model shows a 52.7% thermal efficiency and 25.9% solar penetration and up to 80% of water saving in heat-rejection units. These KPIs show significant promise of the solar-assisted supercritical CO 2 power cycle for an imperative transformation in the power industry towards future sustainable electricity generation.

Thermal analysis of supercritical CO2 power cycles: Assessment of their suitability to the forthcoming sodium fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pérez-Pichel, G.D.; Linares, J.I.; Herranz, L.E.; Moratilla, B.Y.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► This paper investigates the potential use of S-CO 2 cycles in SFRs. ► A wide range of configurations have been explored. ► It is feasible to reach a thermal efficiency as high as 43.5%. ► A sensitivity analysis together with an exergy study have been done. ► Potential use in SFRs of recompression S-CO 2 cycles for their balance of plant. - Abstract: Sodium fast reactors (SFRs) potential to meet Gen. IV requirements is broadly acknowledged worldwide. The scientific and technological experience accumulated by operating test reactors and, even, by running commercial reactors, makes them be considered as the closest Gen. IV option in the near future. In the past their balance of plant has been always based on Rankine cycles. This paper investigates the potential use of supercritical recompression CO 2 cycles (S-CO 2 ) in SFRs on the basis of the working parameters foreseen within the European Sodium Fast Reactor (ESFR) project. A wide range of configurations have been explored, from the simplest one to combined cycles (with organic Rankine cycles, ORC), and a comparison has been set in terms of thermal efficiency. As a result, it has been found out that the most basic configuration could reach a thermal efficiency as high as 43.31%, which is comparable to that obtained through super-critical Rankine cycles proposed elsewhere. A sensitivity analysis together with an exergy study of this configuration, pointed the pre-cooler and IHX Na–CO 2 as key components in the cycle performance. These results highlight a main conclusion: the potential use in SFRs of recompression S-CO 2 cycles for their balance of plant, whenever a sound and extensive database is built-up on S-CO 2 turbo-machinery and IHX performance.

Extension of the supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle for application to the Very High Temperature Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moisseytsev, A.; Sienicki, J. J.

2010-01-01

An investigation has been carried out of the feasibility of applying the supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO 2 ) Brayton cycle to the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR). Direct application of the standard S-CO 2 recompression cycle to the VHTR was found to be challenging because of the mismatch in the inherent temperature drops across the He and CO 2 sides of the reactor heat exchanger resulting in a relatively low cycle efficiency of 45 % compared to 48 % for a direct helium cycle. Two approaches consisting of either a cascaded cycle arrangement with three separate cascaded S-CO 2 cycles or, alternately, operation of a single S-CO 2 cycle with the minimum pressure below the critical pressure and the minimum temperature above the critical temperature have been identified and shown to successfully enable the S-CO 2 Brayton cycle to be adapted to the VHTR such that the benefits of the higher S-CO 2 cycle efficiency can be realized. For both approaches, S-CO 2 cycle efficiencies in excess of 49 % are calculated. (authors)

Reheating mechanism of the curvaton with nonminimal derivative coupling to gravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiu, Taotao [Central China Normal University, Institute of Astrophysics, Wuhan (China); Central China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Quark and Lepton Physics (MOE) and College of Physical Science and Technology, Wuhan (China); Feng, Kaixi [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Beijing (China)

2017-10-15

In this paper, we continue our study of the curvaton model with nonminimal derivative coupling (NDC) to Einstein gravity proposed in our previous work (Feng in Phys Lett B 729:99, 2014; Feng and Qiu in Phys Rev D 90(12):123508, 2014), focusing on the reheating mechanism. We found that according to whether the curvaton has or has not dominated the background after the end of inflation, it will have two different behaviors of evolution, which should be the general property of the curvaton with nonminimal couplings. This will cause two different parts of reheating, which goes on via the parametric resonance process. The reheating temperature is estimated for both cases in which reheating completes before and after curvaton domination, and the constraints are quite loose compared to that of overproduction of gravitinos. Finally we investigated the evolution of curvature perturbation during reheating. We have shown both analytically and numerically that the curvature perturbation will not blow up during the resonance process. (orig.)

Reheating mechanism of the curvaton with nonminimal derivative coupling to gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu, Taotao; Feng, Kaixi

2017-01-01

In this paper, we continue our study of the curvaton model with nonminimal derivative coupling (NDC) to Einstein gravity proposed in our previous work (Feng in Phys Lett B 729:99, 2014; Feng and Qiu in Phys Rev D 90(12):123508, 2014), focusing on the reheating mechanism. We found that according to whether the curvaton has or has not dominated the background after the end of inflation, it will have two different behaviors of evolution, which should be the general property of the curvaton with nonminimal couplings. This will cause two different parts of reheating, which goes on via the parametric resonance process. The reheating temperature is estimated for both cases in which reheating completes before and after curvaton domination, and the constraints are quite loose compared to that of overproduction of gravitinos. Finally we investigated the evolution of curvature perturbation during reheating. We have shown both analytically and numerically that the curvature perturbation will not blow up during the resonance process. (orig.)

Thermodynamic and economic analysis of a partially-underground tower-type boiler design for advanced double reheat power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Gang; Xu, Cheng; Yang, Yongping; Fang, Yaxiong; Zhou, Luyao; Yang, Zhiping

2015-01-01

An increasing number of tower-type boilers have been selected for advanced double reheat power plants, due to the uniform flue gas profile and the smooth steam temperature increase. The tall height and long steam pipelines lengths will however, result in dramatic increases in the difficulty of construction, as well as increased power plant investment cost. Given these factors, a novel partially-underground tower-type boiler design has been proposed in this study, which has nearly half of the boiler embedded underground, thereby significantly reducing the boiler height and steam pipeline lengths. Thermodynamic and economic analyses were quantitatively conducted on a 1000 MW advanced double reheat steam cycle. Results showed that compared to the reference power plant, the power plant with the proposed tower-type boiler design could reduce the net heat rate by 18.3 kJ/kWh and could reduce the cost of electricity (COE) by $0.60/MWh. The study also investigated the effects of price fluctuations on the cost-effectiveness of the reference power plant, for both the conventional and the proposed tower-type boilers designs, and found that the double reheat power plant with the proposed tower-type boiler design would be even more competitive and price-effective when the coal price and the investment costs increase. The research of this paper may provide a promising tower-type boiler design for advanced double reheat power plants with lower construction complexity and better cost-effectiveness. - Highlights: • A partially-underground tower-type boiler in double reheat power plants is proposed. for double reheat power plants is proposed. • Thermodynamic and economic analyses are quantitatively conducted. • Better energetic efficiency and greater economic benefits are achieved. • The impacts of price fluctuations on the economic feasibility are discussed

Performance Analysis and Working Fluid Selection of a Supercritical Organic Rankine Cycle for Low Grade Waste Heat Recovery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yourong Li

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The performance analysis of a supercritical organic Rankine cycle system driven by exhaust heat using 18 organic working fluids is presented. Several parameters, such as the net power output, exergy efficiency, expander size parameter (SP, and heat exchanger requirement of evaporator and the condenser, were used to evaluate the performance of this recovery cycle and screen the working fluids. The results reveal that in most cases, raising the expander inlet temperature is helpful to improve the net power output and the exergy efficiency. However, the effect of the expander inlet pressure on those parameters is related to the expander inlet temperature and working fluid used. Either lower expander inlet temperature and pressure, or higher expander inlet temperature and pressure, generally makes the net power output more. Lower expander inlet temperature results in larger total heat transfer requirement and expander size. According to the screening criteria of both the higher output and the lower investment, the following working fluids for the supercritical ORC system are recommended: R152a and R143a.

Advanced Concepts for Pressure-Channel Reactors: Modularity, Performance and Safety

Science.gov (United States)

Duffey, Romney B.; Pioro, Igor L.; Kuran, Sermet

Based on an analysis of the development of advanced concepts for pressure-tube reactor technology, we adapt and adopt the pressure-tube reactor advantage of modularity, so that the subdivided core has the potential for optimization of the core, safety, fuel cycle and thermal performance independently, while retaining passive safety features. In addition, by adopting supercritical water-cooling, the logical developments from existing supercritical turbine technology and “steam” systems can be utilized. Supercritical and ultra-supercritical boilers and turbines have been operating for some time in coal-fired power plants. Using coolant outlet temperatures of about 625°C achieves operating plant thermal efficiencies in the order of 45-48%, using a direct turbine cycle. In addition, by using reheat channels, the plant has the potential to produce low-cost process heat, in amounts that are customer and market dependent. The use of reheat systems further increases the overall thermal efficiency to 55% and beyond. With the flexibility of a range of plant sizes suitable for both small (400 MWe) and large (1400 MWe) electric grids, and the ability for co-generation of electric power, process heat, and hydrogen, the concept is competitive. The choice of core power, reheat channel number and exit temperature are all set by customer and materials requirements. The pressure channel is a key technology that is needed to make use of supercritical water (SCW) in CANDU®1 reactors feasible. By optimizing the fuel bundle and fuel channel, convection and conduction assure heat removal using passive-moderator cooling. Potential for severe core damage can be almost eliminated, even without the necessity of activating the emergency-cooling systems. The small size of containment structure lends itself to a small footprint, impacts economics and building techniques. Design features related to Canadian concepts are discussed in this paper. The main conclusion is that development of

HTGR power plant hot reheat steam pressure control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braytenbah, A.S.; Jaegtnes, K.O.

1975-01-01

A control system for a high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) power plant is disclosed wherein such plant includes a plurality of steam generators. Dual turbine-generators are connected to the common steam headers, a high pressure element of each turbine receiving steam from the main steam header, and an intermediate-low pressure element of each turbine receiving steam from the hot reheat header. Associated with each high pressure element is a bypass line connected between the main steam header and a cold reheat header, which is commonly connected to the high pressure element exhausts. A control system governs the flow of steam through the first and second bypass lines to provide for a desired minimum steam flow through the steam generator reheater sections at times when the total steam flow through the turbines is less than such minimum, and to regulate the hot reheat header steam pressure to improve control of the auxiliary steam turbines and thereby improve control of the reactor coolant gas flow, particularly following a turbine trip. (U.S.)

Novel partial-subsidence tower-type boiler design in an ultra-supercritical power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Gang; Xu, Cheng; Yang, Yongping; Fang, Yaxiong; Zhou, Luyao; Zhang, Kai

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The two-pass type and tower-type boilers were compared. • A novel partial-subsidence tower-type boiler design was proposed. • Thermodynamic and economic analyses were quantitatively conducted. • The application of the partial-subsidence boiler to a 700 °C stage unit was further analyzed. - Abstract: An increasing number of tower-type boilers have been applied to ultra-supercritical power plants because of the simple design of the membrane walls and the smooth increase in temperature of such boilers. Nevertheless, the significant height and long steam pipelines of this boiler type will expand the power plant investment cost and increase steam-side pressure losses, especially for higher parameters units requiring high costs of nickel-based alloy materials. Thus, a novel partial-subsidence tower-type boiler design was proposed. In this boiler type, nearly 1/2–2/3 of the boiler height was embedded underground to reduce the height of the boiler and the length of the steam pipelines significantly. Thermodynamic and economic analyses were conducted on a state-of-the-art 1000 MW ultra-supercritical power plant and a prospective 700 °C-stage double reheat power plant. Results showed that the proposed tower-type boiler design could result in a 0.1% point increase in net efficiency and a $0.56/MW h reduction in the cost of electricity in a 1000 MW power plant. This economic benefit was enhanced for power plants with higher steam parameters and larger capacity. The concept of the proposed boiler design may provide a promising method for tower-type boiler applications, especially in new-generation double reheat plants with higher parameters

Design of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Compressor Testing Loop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Seong Gu; Lee, Jeong Ik; Ahn, Yoon Han; Lee, Je Kyoung [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Ho Joon; Addad, Yacine [KUSTAR, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

2012-05-15

For small and medium-sized reactors and Generation IV reactors such as sodium-cooled fast reactor are recently under development actively. The supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle is considered as an attractive cycle for the above mentioned nuclear systems. This is because the supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle (S-CO{sub 2} cycle) is especially effective to reduce the volume of power generation system, which occupies 1.5{approx}2 times more space than the primary nuclear system in general. Comparing to traditional water-vapor cycle and helium cycle, the S-CO{sub 2} system has relatively much less volume and component size. Therefore, S-CO{sub 2} cycle can be used for many purposes such as nuclear ship propulsion where volume requirement is strict, or a small nuclear reactor when it is constructed on geographically limited area

A Conceptual Study of Using an Isothermal Compressor on a Supercritical CO_2 Brayton Cycle for SMART Application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heo, Jin Young; Lee, Jeong Ik; Ahn, Yoonhan

2016-01-01

To maximize the benefits of modularization, the supercritical CO_2 (S-CO_2) power cycle can replace the conventional steam Rankine cycle to increase the cycle efficiency and reduce its system size. Previous works have been conducted to evaluate potential advantages of applying the S-CO_2 cycle to SMRs, specifically to SMART (System-integrated Modular Advanced Reactor) which is an integral SMR developed by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Institute). One of the optimized S-CO_2 cycle layouts is the recompressing Brayton cycle. This paper attempts to improve the cycle layout by replacing the conventional compressor with an isothermal compressor, of which its potential in the S-CO_2 power cycle is conceptually being evaluated. The SMR applications, for which SMART reactor has been represented, can take advantage of the currently developing S-CO_2 cycle greatly by the reduction of size. By introducing the isothermal compressor, the cycle layout considered in has been further improved by increasing the cycle net efficiency by around 0.5%

Brown Boveri moves to fourth generation MSRs [moisture separator reheaters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boeckh, P. von

1987-01-01

The fourth, space saving, generation of moisture separator reheaters from Brown Boveri and Cie (BBC) consists of two types of high velocity moisture separators, 'Mops' and 'Scrups', and the small size reheater, 'Road' . The design of the unit is described, together with operational experience. (author)

US-UK Phase 3 Task 1 Oxidation in Supercritical Fluids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holcomb, Gordon R. [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Albany, OR (United States)

2017-03-20

A presentation of the US-UK Phase 3 Task 1 Oxidation in Supercritical Fluids. Includes slides on Supercritical Steam, sCO₂ Power Cycles – Indirect, sCO₂ Power Cycles – Direct, Experimental Exposures, Alloys, Why Si, Results—Ni-xCr Alloys (5-24Cr), Fatigue Crack Growth$-$Experiment, and Alloys and Samples, Fatigue Crack Growth—Results (H282).

Performance of supercritical Brayton cycle using CO2-based binary mixture at varying critical points for SFR applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Woo Seok; Jeong, Yong Hoon

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Supercritical CO 2 -based gas mixture Brayton cycles were investigated for a SFR. • The critical point of CO 2 is the lowest cycle operating limit of the S-CO 2 cycles. • Mixing additives with CO 2 changes the CO 2 critical point. • CO 2 –Xe and CO 2 –Kr cycles achieve higher cycle efficiencies than the S-CO 2 cycles. • CO 2 –H 2 S and CO 2 –cyclohexane cycles perform better at higher heat sink temperatures. -- Abstract: The supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle (S-CO 2 cycle) has attracted much attention as an alternative to the Rankine cycle for sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). The higher cycle efficiency of the S-CO 2 cycle results from the considerably decreased compressor work because the compressor behaves as a pump in the proximity of the CO 2 vapor–liquid critical point. In order to fully utilize this feature, the main compressor inlet condition should be controlled to be close to the critical point of CO 2 . This indicates that the critical point of CO 2 is a constraint on the minimum cycle condition for S-CO 2 cycles. Modifying the CO 2 critical point by mixing additive gases could be considered as a method of enhancing the performance and broadening the applicability of the S-CO 2 cycle. Due to the drastic fluctuations of the thermo-physical properties of fluids near the critical point, an in-house cycle analysis code using the NIST REFPROP database was implemented. Several gases were selected as potential additives considering their thermal stability and chemical interaction with sodium in the temperature range of interest and the availability of the mixture property database: xenon, krypton, hydrogen sulfide, and cyclohexane. The performances of the optimized CO 2 -containing binary mixture cycles with simple recuperated and recompression layouts were compared with the reference S-CO 2 , CO 2 –Ar, CO 2 –N 2 , and CO 2 –O 2 cycles. For the decreased critical temperatures, the CO 2 –Xe and CO 2 �

Computational Analysis of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Gas Turbine for Liquid Metal Cooled Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeong, Wi S.; Suh, Kune Y. [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2008-10-15

Energy demands at a remote site are increased as the world energy requirement diversifies so that they should generate power on their own site. A Small Modular Reactor (SMR) becomes a viable option for these sites. Generally, the economic feasibility of a high power reactor is greater than that for SMR. As a result the supercritical fluid driven Brayton cycle is being considered for a power conversion system to increase economic competitiveness of SMR. The Brayton cycle efficiency is much higher than that for the Rankine cycle. Moreover, the components of the Brayton cycle are smaller than Rankine cycle's due to high heat capacity when a supercritical fluid is adopted. A lead (Pb) cooled SMR, BORIS, and a supercritical fluid driven Brayton cycle, MOBIS, are being developed at the Seoul National University (SNU). Dostal et al. have compared some advanced power cycles and proposed the use of a supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO{sub 2}) driven Brayton cycle. According to their suggestion SCO{sub 2} is adopted as a working fluid for MOBIS. The turbo machineries are most important components for the Brayton cycle. The turbo machineries of Brayton cycle consists of a turbine to convert kinetic energy of the fluid into mechanical energy of the shaft, and a compressor to recompress and recover the driving force of the working fluid. Therefore, turbine performance is one of the pivotal factors in increasing the cycle efficiency. In MOBIS a supercritical gas turbine is designed in the Gas Advanced Turbine Operation (GATO) and analyzed in the Turbine Integrated Numerical Analysis (TINA). A three-dimensional (3D) numerical analysis is employed for more detailed design to account for the partial flow which the one-dimensional (1D) analysis cannot consider.

Computational Analysis of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Gas Turbine for Liquid Metal Cooled Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Wi S.; Suh, Kune Y.

2008-01-01

Energy demands at a remote site are increased as the world energy requirement diversifies so that they should generate power on their own site. A Small Modular Reactor (SMR) becomes a viable option for these sites. Generally, the economic feasibility of a high power reactor is greater than that for SMR. As a result the supercritical fluid driven Brayton cycle is being considered for a power conversion system to increase economic competitiveness of SMR. The Brayton cycle efficiency is much higher than that for the Rankine cycle. Moreover, the components of the Brayton cycle are smaller than Rankine cycle's due to high heat capacity when a supercritical fluid is adopted. A lead (Pb) cooled SMR, BORIS, and a supercritical fluid driven Brayton cycle, MOBIS, are being developed at the Seoul National University (SNU). Dostal et al. have compared some advanced power cycles and proposed the use of a supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO 2 ) driven Brayton cycle. According to their suggestion SCO 2 is adopted as a working fluid for MOBIS. The turbo machineries are most important components for the Brayton cycle. The turbo machineries of Brayton cycle consists of a turbine to convert kinetic energy of the fluid into mechanical energy of the shaft, and a compressor to recompress and recover the driving force of the working fluid. Therefore, turbine performance is one of the pivotal factors in increasing the cycle efficiency. In MOBIS a supercritical gas turbine is designed in the Gas Advanced Turbine Operation (GATO) and analyzed in the Turbine Integrated Numerical Analysis (TINA). A three-dimensional (3D) numerical analysis is employed for more detailed design to account for the partial flow which the one-dimensional (1D) analysis cannot consider

Parametric Amplification of Gravitational Fluctuations during Reheating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finelli, F.; Brandenberger, R.; Finelli, F.

1999-01-01

Cosmological perturbations can undergo amplification by parametric resonance during preheating even on scales larger than the Hubble radius, without violating causality. A unified description of gravitational and matter fluctuations is crucial to determine the strength of the instability. To extract specific signatures of the oscillating inflaton field during reheating, it is essential to focus on a variable describing metric fluctuations which is constant in the standard analyses of inflation. For a massive inflaton without self-coupling, we find no additional growth of superhorizon modes during reheating beyond the usual predictions. For a massless self-coupled inflaton, there is a sub-Hubble scale resonance. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

Experimental investigation of a low-temperature organic Rankine cycle (ORC) engine under variable heat input operating at both subcritical and supercritical conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosmadakis, George; Manolakos, Dimitris; Papadakis, George

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Small-scale ORC engine with converted scroll expander is installed at laboratory. • Design suitable for supercritical operation. • ORC engine tested at temperature equal to 95 °C. • Focus is given on expansion and thermal efficiency. • Supercritical operation showed some promising performance. - Abstract: The detailed experimental investigation of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is presented, which is designed to operate at supercritical conditions. The net capacity of this engine is almost 3 kW and the laboratory testing of the engine includes the variation of the heat input and of the hot water temperature. The maximum heat input is 48 kW_t_h, while the hot water temperature ranges from 65 up to 100°C. The tests are conducted at the laboratory and the heat source is a controllable electric heater, which can keep the hot water temperature constant, by switching on/off its electrical resistances. The expansion machine is a modified scroll compressor with major conversions, in order to be able to operate with safety at high pressure (or even supercritical at some conditions). The ORC engine is equipped with a dedicated heat exchanger of helical coil design, suitable for such applications. The speeds of the expander and ORC pump are regulated with frequency inverters, in order to control the cycle top pressure and heat input. The performance of all components is evaluated, while special attention is given on the supercritical heat exchanger and the scroll expander. The performance tests examined here concern the variation of the heat input, while the hot water temperature is equal to 95 °C. The aim is to examine the engine performance at the design conditions, as well as at off-design ones. Especially the latter ones are very important, since this engine will be coupled with solar collectors at the final configuration, where the available heat is varied to a great extent. The engine has been measured at the laboratory, where a thermal

Numerical analysis method for reheater performance of moisture separator reheater for Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oda, Tsuyoshi; Fujisawa, Kyosuke; Akamatsu, Hiroshi

2014-01-01

Nuclear power generation uses saturated steam of 6 MPa and 275degC level due to the restrictions imposed by the materials used in the nuclear reactor, and its efficiency, approximately 33-35%, is not high compared with fossil fuel power generation. Therefore, thermal engineers working on nuclear power generation have the important responsibility toward society of achieving the highest efficiency under the given restrictions. The use of a moisture separator reheater (MSR) is one of the measures we can take to achieve higher efficiency. Because the bottom of the MSR tube bundle making contact with the cycle steam at its lowest temperature is subcooled and inadequate drainage of the condensate inside the tubes causes cyclic flooding and temperature oscillations in some cases, it is necessary to have a minimum flow rate of excess heating steam slightly beyond the demand of/what is required for the heat transfer, and the consequent subcooling must be kept below a certain level. This report describes the numerical analysis method developed for the design of heat transfer performance and evaluation of the tube bundle integrity of MSRs. (author)

A review of temperature measurement in the steel reheat furnace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martocci, A.P.; Mihalow, F.A.

1985-01-01

The incentive for conducting research and development on reheat furnaces is substantial; the domestic steel industry spent approximately one billion dollars on fuel in reheat furnaces in 1981. Bethlehem Steel Corp. spent /145 million of that total, and neither figure includes fuel consumed in soaking pits or annealing furnaces. If the authors set a goal to save 10% of these annual fuel costs, that translates into /100 million for the domestic steel industry and /14.5 million for Bethlehem Steel. These large sums of money are significant incentives. The purpose of this paper is to review the historical heating practices and equipment at steel reheat furnaces along with current practices and instrumentation

Supercritical CO2 Compressor with Active Magnetic Bearing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cha, Jae Eun; Cho, Seong Kuk; Lee, JeKyoung; Lee, Jeong Ik

2016-01-01

For the stable operation of the sCO 2 integral test facility SCIEL, KAERI prepared Active Magnetic Bearing sCO 2 compressor for the 70,000RPM operation. Power generation test with AMB compressor will be finished within first half year of 2016 under supercritical state. The principal advantages of the sCO 2 Cycle are high efficiency at moderate temperature range, compact components size, simple cycle configuration, and compatibility with various heat sources. The Supercritical CO 2 Brayton Cycle Integral Experiment Loop (SCIEL) has been installed in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to develop the base technologies for the sCO 2 cycle power generation system. The operation of the SCIEL has mainly focused on sCO 2 compressor development and establishing sCO 2 system control logic

What can the CMB tell about the microphysics of cosmic reheating?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drewes, Marco

2016-01-01

In inflationary cosmology, cosmic reheating after inflation sets the initial conditions for the hot big bang. We investigate how CMB data can be used to study the effective potential and couplings of the inflaton during reheating to constrain the underlying microphysics. If there is a phase of preheating that is driven by a parametric resonance or other instability, then the thermal history and expansion history during the reheating era depend on a large number of microphysical parameters in a complicated way. In this case the connection between CMB observables and microphysical parameters can only established with intense numerical studies. Such studies can help to improve CMB constraints on the effective inflaton potential in specific models, but parameter degeneracies usually make it impossible to extract meaningful best-fit values for individual microphysical parameters. If, on the other hand, reheating is driven by perturbative processes, then it can be possible to constrain the inflaton couplings and the reheating temperature from CMB data. This provides an indirect probe of fundamental microphysical parameters that most likely can never be measured directly in the laboratory, but have an immense impact on the evolution of the cosmos by setting the stage for the hot big bang

Pressure drop and friction factor correlations of supercritical flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang Xiande; Xu Yu; Su Xianghui; Shi Rongrong

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Survey and evaluation of friction factor models for supercritical flow. ► Survey of experimental study of supercritical flow. ► New correlation of friction factor for supercritical flow. - Abstract: The determination of the in-tube friction pressure drop under supercritical conditions is important to the design, analysis and simulation of transcritical cycles of air conditioning and heat pump systems, nuclear reactor cooling systems and some other systems. A number of correlations for supercritical friction factors have been proposed. Their accuracy and applicability should be examined. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of experimental investigations into the pressure drop of supercritical flow in the past decade and a comparative study of supercritical friction factor correlations. Our analysis shows that none of the existing correlations is completely satisfactory, that there are contradictions between the existing experimental results and thus more elaborate experiments are needed, and that the tube roughness should be considered. A new friction factor correlation for supercritical tube flow is proposed based on 390 experimental data from the available literature, including 263 data of supercritical R410A cooling, 45 data of supercritical R404A cooling, 64 data of supercritical carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) cooling and 18 data of supercritical R22 heating. Compared with the best existing model, the new correlation increases the accuracy by more than 10%.

Supercritical heat transfer phenomena in nuclear system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, Kyoung Woo; Kim, Moo Hwan; Anderson, Mark H.; Corradini, Michael L.

2005-01-01

A supercritical water (SCW) power cycle has been considered as one of the viable candidates for advanced fission reactor designs. However, the dramatic variation of thermo-physical properties with a modest change of temperature near the pseudo-critical point make existing heat transfer correlations such as the Dittus-Boelter correlation not suitably accurate to calculate the heat transfer in supercritical fluid. Several other correlations have also been suggested but none of them are able to predict the heat transfer over a parameter range, needed for reactor thermal-hydraulics simulation and design. This has prompted additional research to understand the characteristic of supercritical fluid heat transfer

Thermal analysis of supercritical CO{sub 2} power cycles: Assessment of their suitability to the forthcoming sodium fast reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perez-Pichel, G.D., E-mail: gdp@icai.es [Rafael Marino Chair on New Energy Technologies, Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid (Spain); Linares, J.I. [Rafael Marino Chair on New Energy Technologies, Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid (Spain); Herranz, L.E.; Moratilla, B.Y. [Unit of Nuclear Safety Research, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain)

2012-09-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This paper investigates the potential use of S-CO{sub 2} cycles in SFRs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A wide range of configurations have been explored. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer It is feasible to reach a thermal efficiency as high as 43.5%. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A sensitivity analysis together with an exergy study have been done. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Potential use in SFRs of recompression S-CO{sub 2} cycles for their balance of plant. - Abstract: Sodium fast reactors (SFRs) potential to meet Gen. IV requirements is broadly acknowledged worldwide. The scientific and technological experience accumulated by operating test reactors and, even, by running commercial reactors, makes them be considered as the closest Gen. IV option in the near future. In the past their balance of plant has been always based on Rankine cycles. This paper investigates the potential use of supercritical recompression CO{sub 2} cycles (S-CO{sub 2}) in SFRs on the basis of the working parameters foreseen within the European Sodium Fast Reactor (ESFR) project. A wide range of configurations have been explored, from the simplest one to combined cycles (with organic Rankine cycles, ORC), and a comparison has been set in terms of thermal efficiency. As a result, it has been found out that the most basic configuration could reach a thermal efficiency as high as 43.31%, which is comparable to that obtained through super-critical Rankine cycles proposed elsewhere. A sensitivity analysis together with an exergy study of this configuration, pointed the pre-cooler and IHX{sub Na-CO{sub 2}} as key components in the cycle performance. These results highlight a main conclusion: the potential use in SFRs of recompression S-CO{sub 2} cycles for their balance of plant, whenever a sound and extensive database is built-up on S-CO{sub 2} turbo-machinery and IHX performance.

Performance Evaluation of a Helical Coil Heat Exchanger Working under Supercritical Conditions in a Solar Organic Rankine Cycle Installation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marija Lazova

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Worldwide interest in low grade heat valorization using organic Rankine cycle (ORC technologies has increased significantly. A new small-scale ORC with a net capacity of 3 kW was efficiently integrated with a concentrated solar power technology for electricity generation. The excess heat source from Photovoltaic (PV collectors with a maximum temperature of 100 °C was utilized through a supercritical heat exchanger that uses R-404A as working medium. By ensuring supercritical heat transfer leads to a better thermal match in the heat exchanger and improved overall cycle efficiency. A helical coil heat exchanger was designed by using heat transfer correlations from the literature. These heat transfer correlations were derived for different conditions than ORCs and their estimated uncertainty is ~20%. In order to account for the heat transfer correlation uncertainties this component was oversized by 20%. Next, a prototype was built and installed in an integrated concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T/Rankine system. The results from the measurements show that for better estimation of the sizing of the heat exchanger a more accurate correlation is required in order to design an optimal configuration and thus employ cheaper components.

Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycle Energy Conversion System Coupled with SFR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cha, Jae Eun; Kim, S. O.; Seong, S. H.; Eoh, J. H.; Lee, T. H.; Choi, S. K.; Han, J. W.; Bae, S. W.

2008-12-01

This report contains the description of the S-CO 2 Brayton cycle coupled to KALIMER-600 as an alternative energy conversion system. For a system development, a computer code was developed to calculate heat balance of normal operation condition. Based on the computer code, the S-CO 2 Brayton cycle energy conversion system was constructed for the KALIMER-600. Computer codes were developed to analysis for the S-CO 2 turbomachinery. Based on the design codes, the design parameters were prepared to configure the KALIMER-600 S-CO 2 turbomachinery models. A one-dimensional analysis computer code was developed to evaluate the performance of the previous PCHE heat exchangers and a design data for the typical type PCHE was produced. In parallel with the PCHE-type heat exchanger design, an airfoil shape fin PCHE heat exchanger was newly designed. The new design concept was evaluated by three-dimensional CFD analyses. Possible control schemes for power control in the KALIMER-600 S-CO 2 Brayton cycle were investigated by using the MARS code. The MMS-LMR code was also developed to analyze the transient phenomena in a SFR with a supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycle to develop the control logic. Simple power reduction and recovery event was selected and analyzed for the transient calculation. For the evaluation of Na-CO 2 boundary failure event, a computer was developed to simulate the complex thermodynamic behaviors coupled with the chemical reaction between liquid sodium and CO 2 gas. The long term behavior of a Na-CO 2 boundary failure event and its consequences which lead to a system pressure transient were evaluated

Dark matter from gravitational particle production at reheating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Markkanen, Tommi [Department of Physics, King' s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS (United Kingdom); Nurmi, Sami, E-mail: tommi.markkanen@kcl.ac.uk, E-mail: sami.t.nurmi@jyu.fi [Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä (Finland)

2017-02-01

We show that curvature induced particle production at reheating generates adiabatic dark matter if there are non-minimally coupled spectator scalars weakly coupled to visible matter. The observed dark matter abundance implies an upper bound on spectator masses m and non-minimal coupling values ξ. For example, assuming quadratic inflation, instant reheating and a single spectator scalar with only gravitational couplings, the observed dark matter abundance is obtained for m ∼ 0.1 GeV and ξ ∼ 1. Larger mass and coupling values of the spectator are excluded as they would lead to overproduction of dark matter.

Dark matter from gravitational particle production at reheating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markkanen, Tommi; Nurmi, Sami

2017-01-01

We show that curvature induced particle production at reheating generates adiabatic dark matter if there are non-minimally coupled spectator scalars weakly coupled to visible matter. The observed dark matter abundance implies an upper bound on spectator masses m and non-minimal coupling values ξ. For example, assuming quadratic inflation, instant reheating and a single spectator scalar with only gravitational couplings, the observed dark matter abundance is obtained for m ∼ 0.1 GeV and ξ ∼ 1. Larger mass and coupling values of the spectator are excluded as they would lead to overproduction of dark matter.

High Materials Performance in Supercritical CO2 in Comparison with Atmospheric Pressure CO2 and Supercritical Steam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holcomb, Gordon [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States); Tylczak, Joseph [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States); Carney, Casey [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States); Dogan, Omer N. [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States)

2017-02-26

This presentation covers environments (including advanced ultra-supercritical (A-USC) steam boiler/turbine and sCO2 indirect power cycle), effects of pressure, exposure tests, oxidation results, and mechanical behavior after exposure.

Coupling a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle to a Helium-Cooled Reactor.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Middleton, Bobby [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Pasch, James Jay [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Kruizenga, Alan Michael [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Walker, Matthew [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

2016-01-01

This report outlines the thermodynamics of a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) recompression closed Brayton cycle (RCBC) coupled to a Helium-cooled nuclear reactor. The baseline reactor design for the study is the AREVA High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR). Using the AREVA HTGR nominal operating parameters, an initial thermodynamic study was performed using Sandia's deterministic RCBC analysis program. Utilizing the output of the RCBC thermodynamic analysis, preliminary values of reactor power and of Helium flow rate through the reactor were calculated in Sandia's HelCO₂ code. Some research regarding materials requirements was then conducted to determine aspects of corrosion related to both Helium and to sCO₂ , as well as some mechanical considerations for pressures and temperatures that will be seen by the piping and other components. This analysis resulted in a list of materials-related research items that need to be conducted in the future. A short assessment of dry heat rejection advantages of sCO₂> Brayton cycles was also included. This assessment lists some items that should be investigated in the future to better understand how sCO₂ Brayton cycles and nuclear can maximally contribute to optimizing the water efficiency of carbon free power generation

A Conceptual Study of Using an Isothermal Compressor on a Supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle for SMART Application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heo, Jin Young; Lee, Jeong Ik [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, Yoonhan [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

To maximize the benefits of modularization, the supercritical CO{sub 2} (S-CO{sub 2}) power cycle can replace the conventional steam Rankine cycle to increase the cycle efficiency and reduce its system size. Previous works have been conducted to evaluate potential advantages of applying the S-CO{sub 2} cycle to SMRs, specifically to SMART (System-integrated Modular Advanced Reactor) which is an integral SMR developed by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Institute). One of the optimized S-CO{sub 2} cycle layouts is the recompressing Brayton cycle. This paper attempts to improve the cycle layout by replacing the conventional compressor with an isothermal compressor, of which its potential in the S-CO{sub 2} power cycle is conceptually being evaluated. The SMR applications, for which SMART reactor has been represented, can take advantage of the currently developing S-CO{sub 2} cycle greatly by the reduction of size. By introducing the isothermal compressor, the cycle layout considered in has been further improved by increasing the cycle net efficiency by around 0.5%.

Reheating effects in the matter power spectrum and implications for substructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erickcek, Adrienne L.; Sigurdson, Kris

2011-01-01

The thermal and expansion history of the Universe before big bang nucleosynthesis is unknown. We investigate the evolution of cosmological perturbations through the transition from an early matter era to radiation domination. We treat reheating as the perturbative decay of an oscillating scalar field into relativistic plasma and cold dark matter. After reheating, we find that subhorizon perturbations in the decay-produced dark matter density are significantly enhanced, while subhorizon radiation perturbations are instead suppressed. If dark matter originates in the radiation bath after reheating, this suppression may be the primary cutoff in the matter power spectrum. Conversely, for dark matter produced nonthermally from scalar decay, enhanced perturbations can drive structure formation during the cosmic dark ages and dramatically increase the abundance of compact substructures. For low reheat temperatures, we find that as much as 50% of all dark matter is in microhalos with M > or approx. 0.1M + at z≅100, compared to a fraction of ∼10 -10 in the standard case. In this scenario, ultradense substructures may constitute a large fraction of dark matter in galaxies today.

Thermodynamic evaluation of the Kalina split-cycle concepts for waste heat recovery applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Tuong-Van; Knudsen, Thomas; Larsen, Ulrik; Haglind, Fredrik

2014-01-01

The Kalina split-cycle is a thermodynamic process for converting thermal energy into electrical power. It uses an ammonia–water mixture as a working fluid (like a conventional Kalina cycle) and has a varying ammonia concentration during the pre-heating and evaporation steps. This second feature results in an improved match between the heat source and working fluid temperature profiles, decreasing the entropy generation in the heat recovery system. The present work compares the thermodynamic performance of this power cycle with the conventional Kalina process, and investigates the impact of varying boundary conditions by conducting an exergy analysis. The design parameters of each configuration were determined by performing a multi-variable optimisation. The results indicate that the Kalina split-cycle with reheat presents an exergetic efficiency by 2.8% points higher than a reference Kalina cycle with reheat, and by 4.3% points without reheat. The cycle efficiency varies by 14% points for a variation of the exhaust gas temperature of 100 °C, and by 1% point for a cold water temperature variation of 30 °C. This analysis also pinpoints the large irreversibilities in the low-pressure turbine and condenser, and indicates a reduction of the exergy destruction by about 23% in the heat recovery system compared to the baseline cycle. - Highlights: • The thermodynamic performance of the Kalina split-cycle is assessed. • The Kalina split-cycle is compared to the Kalina cycle, with and without reheat. • An exergy analysis is performed to evaluate its thermodynamic performance. • The impact of varying boundary conditions is investigated. • The Kalina split-cycle displays high exergetic efficiency for low- and medium-temperature applications

Standard test method for determination of "microwave safe for reheating" for ceramicware

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2006-01-01

1.1 This test method determines the suitability of ceramicware for use in microwave re-heating applications. Microwave ovens are mainly used for reheating and defrosting frozen foods. Severe thermal conditions can occur while reheating foods. Typical reheating of foods requires one to five min. in the microwave at the highest power settings. Longer periods than five minutes are considered cooking. Cooking test methods and standards are not addressed in this test method. Most ceramicware is minimally absorbing of the microwave energy and will not heat up significantly. Unfortunately there are some products that absorb microwave energy to a greater extent and can become very hot in the microwave and pose a serious hazard. Additionally, the nature of microwave heating introduces radiation in a non-uniform manner producing temperature differentials in the food being cooked as well as the ceramic container holding it. The differential may become great enough to thermal shock the ware and create dangerous condition...

Reheating signature in the gravitational wave spectrum from self-ordering scalar fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuroyanagi, Sachiko [Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 790-784 (Korea, Republic of); Hiramatsu, Takashi [Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502 Japan (Japan); Yokoyama, Jun' ichi, E-mail: skuro@nagoya-u.jp, E-mail: hiramatz@yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp, E-mail: yokoyama@resceu.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Research Center for the Early Universe (RESCEU), School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan (Japan)

2016-02-01

We investigate the imprint of reheating on the gravitational wave spectrum produced by self-ordering of multi-component scalar fields after a global phase transition. The equation of state of the Universe during reheating, which usually has different behaviour from that of a radiation-dominated Universe, affects the evolution of gravitational waves through the Hubble expansion term in the equations of motion. This gives rise to a different power-law behavior of frequency in the gravitational wave spectrum. The reheating history is therefore imprinted in the shape of the spectrum. We perform 512{sup 3} lattice simulations to investigate how the ordering scalar field reacts to the change of the Hubble expansion and how the reheating effect arises in the spectrum. We also compare the result with inflation-produced gravitational waves, which has a similar spectral shape, and discuss whether it is possible to distinguish the origin between inflation and global phase transition by detecting the shape with future direct detection gravitational wave experiments such as DECIGO.

Exergy and exergoeconomic analyses of a supercritical CO_2 cycle for a cogeneration application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Xurong; Yang, Yi; Zheng, Ya; Dai, Yiping

2017-01-01

Detailed exergy and exergoeconomic analyses are performed for a combined cogeneration cycle in which the waste heat from a recompression supercritical CO_2 Brayton cycle (sCO_2) is recovered by a transcritical CO_2 cycle (tCO_2) for generating electricity. Thermodynamic and exergoeconomic models are developed on the basis of mass and energy conservations, exergy balance and exergy cost equations. Parametric investigations are then conducted to evaluate the influence of key decision variables on the sCO_2/tCO_2 performance. Finally, the combined cycle is optimized from the viewpoint of exergoeconomics. It is found that, combining the sCO_2 with a tCO_2 cycle not only enhances the energy and exergy efficiencies of the sCO_2, but also improves the cycle exergoeconomic performance. The results show that the most exergy destruction rate takes place in the reactor, and the components of the tCO_2 bottoming cycle have less exergy destruction. When the optimization is conducted based on the exergoeconomics, the overall exergoeconomic factor, the total cost rate and the exergy destruction cost rate are 53.52%, 11243.15 $/h and 5225.17 $/h, respectively. The optimization study reveals that an increase in reactor outlet temperature leads to a decrease in total cost rate and total exergy destruction cost rate of the system. - Highlights: • Exergy and exergoeconomic analyses of a combined sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle were performed. • Exergoeconomic optimization of the sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle was presented. • The reactor had the highest exergy loss among sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle components. • The overall exergoeconomic factor was up to 53.5% for the optimum case.

Supercritical CO{sub 2} Compressor with Active Magnetic Bearing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cha, Jae Eun [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Seong Kuk; Lee, JeKyoung; Lee, Jeong Ik [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

For the stable operation of the sCO{sub 2} integral test facility SCIEL, KAERI prepared Active Magnetic Bearing sCO{sub 2} compressor for the 70,000RPM operation. Power generation test with AMB compressor will be finished within first half year of 2016 under supercritical state. The principal advantages of the sCO{sub 2} Cycle are high efficiency at moderate temperature range, compact components size, simple cycle configuration, and compatibility with various heat sources. The Supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle Integral Experiment Loop (SCIEL) has been installed in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to develop the base technologies for the sCO{sub 2} cycle power generation system. The operation of the SCIEL has mainly focused on sCO{sub 2} compressor development and establishing sCO{sub 2} system control logic.

Performance analysis of a potassium-steam two stage vapour cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitachi, Kohshi; Saito, Takeshi

1983-01-01

It is an important subject to raise the thermal efficiency in thermal power plants. In present thermal power plants which use steam cycle, the plant thermal efficiency has already reached 41 to 42 %, steam temperature being 839 K, and steam pressure being 24.2 MPa. That is, the thermal efficiency in a steam cycle is facing a limit. In this study, analysis was made on the performance of metal vapour/steam two-stage Rankine cycle obtained by combining a metal vapour cycle with a present steam cycle. Three different combinations using high temperature potassium regenerative cycle and low temperature steam regenerative cycle, potassium regenerative cycle and steam reheat and regenerative cycle, and potassium bleed cycle and steam reheat and regenerative cycle were systematically analyzed for the overall thermal efficiency, the output ratio and the flow rate ratio, when the inlet temperature of a potassium turbine, the temperature of a potassium condenser, and others were varied. Though the overall thermal efficiency was improved by lowering the condensing temperature of potassium vapour, it is limited by the construction because the specific volume of potassium in low pressure section increases greatly. In the combinatipn of potassium vapour regenerative cycle with steam regenerative cycle, the overall thermal efficiency can be 58.5 %, and also 60.2 % if steam reheat and regenerative cycle is employed. If a cycle to heat steam with the bled vapor out of a potassium vapour cycle is adopted, the overall thermal efficiency of 63.3 % is expected. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

Counter flow induced draft cooling tower option for supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pidaparti, Sandeep R., E-mail: sandeep.pidaparti@gmail.com [Georgia Institute of Technology, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Atlanta, GA 30332 (United States); Moisseytsev, Anton; Sienicki, James J. [Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Ranjan, Devesh, E-mail: devesh.ranjan@me.gatech.edu [Georgia Institute of Technology, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Atlanta, GA 30332 (United States)

2015-12-15

Highlights: • A code was developed to investigate the various aspects of using cooling tower for S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycles. • Cooling tower option to reject heat is quantitatively compared to the direct water cooling and dry air cooling options. • Optimum water conditions resulting in minimal plant capital cost per unit power consumption are calculated. - Abstract: A simplified qualitative analysis was performed to investigate the possibility of using counter flow induced draft cooling tower option to reject heat from the supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle for advanced fast reactor (AFR)-100 and advanced burner reactor (ABR)-1000 plants. A code was developed to estimate the tower dimensions, power and water consumption, and to perform economic analysis. The code developed was verified against a vendor provided quotation and is used to understand the effect of ambient air and water conditions on the design of cooling tower. The calculations indicated that there exists optimum water conditions for given ambient air conditions which will result in minimum power consumption, thereby increasing the cycle efficiency. A cost-based optimization technique is used to estimate the optimum water conditions which will improve the overall plant economics. A comparison of different cooling options for the S-CO{sub 2} cycle indicated that the cooling tower option is a much more practical and economical option compared to the dry air cooling or direct water cooling options.

Control system options and strategies for supercritical CO2 cycles.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moisseytsev, A.; Kulesza, K. P.; Sienicki, J. J.; Nuclear Engineering Division; Oregon State Univ.

2009-06-18

The Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (S-CO{sub 2}) Brayton Cycle is a promising alternative to Rankine steam cycle and recuperated gas Brayton cycle energy converters for use with Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs), Lead-Cooled Fast Reactors (LFRs), as well as other advanced reactor concepts. The S-CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle offers higher plant efficiencies than Rankine or recuperated gas Brayton cycles operating at the same liquid metal reactor core outlet temperatures as well as reduced costs or size of key components especially the turbomachinery. A new Plant Dynamics Computer Code has been developed at Argonne National Laboratory for simulation of a S-CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle energy converter coupled to an autonomous load following liquid metal-cooled fast reactor. The Plant Dynamics code has been applied to investigate the effectiveness of a control strategy for the S-CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle for the STAR-LM 181 MWe (400 MWt) Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor. The strategy, which involves a combination of control mechanisms, is found to be effective for controlling the S-CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle over the complete operating range from 0 to 100 % load for a representative set of transient load changes. While the system dynamic analysis of control strategy performance for STARLM is carried out for a S-CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle energy converter incorporating an axial flow turbine and compressors, investigations of the S-CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle have identified benefits from the use of centrifugal compressors which offer a wider operating range, greater stability near the critical point, and potentially further cost reductions due to fewer stages than axial flow compressors. Models have been developed at Argonne for the conceptual design and performance analysis of centrifugal compressors for use in the SCO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle. Steady state calculations demonstrate the wider operating range of centrifugal compressors versus axial compressors installed in a S-CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle as

Control system options and strategies for supercritical CO2 cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moisseytsev, A.; Kulesza, K.P.; Sienicki, J.J.

2009-01-01

The Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (S-CO 2 ) Brayton Cycle is a promising alternative to Rankine steam cycle and recuperated gas Brayton cycle energy converters for use with Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs), Lead-Cooled Fast Reactors (LFRs), as well as other advanced reactor concepts. The S-CO 2 Brayton Cycle offers higher plant efficiencies than Rankine or recuperated gas Brayton cycles operating at the same liquid metal reactor core outlet temperatures as well as reduced costs or size of key components especially the turbomachinery. A new Plant Dynamics Computer Code has been developed at Argonne National Laboratory for simulation of a S-CO 2 Brayton Cycle energy converter coupled to an autonomous load following liquid metal-cooled fast reactor. The Plant Dynamics code has been applied to investigate the effectiveness of a control strategy for the S-CO 2 Brayton Cycle for the STAR-LM 181 MWe (400 MWt) Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor. The strategy, which involves a combination of control mechanisms, is found to be effective for controlling the S-CO 2 Brayton Cycle over the complete operating range from 0 to 100 % load for a representative set of transient load changes. While the system dynamic analysis of control strategy performance for STARLM is carried out for a S-CO 2 Brayton Cycle energy converter incorporating an axial flow turbine and compressors, investigations of the S-CO 2 Brayton Cycle have identified benefits from the use of centrifugal compressors which offer a wider operating range, greater stability near the critical point, and potentially further cost reductions due to fewer stages than axial flow compressors. Models have been developed at Argonne for the conceptual design and performance analysis of centrifugal compressors for use in the SCO 2 Brayton Cycle. Steady state calculations demonstrate the wider operating range of centrifugal compressors versus axial compressors installed in a S-CO 2 Brayton Cycle as well as the benefits in expanding the range

An investigation of reheat cracking in the weld heat affected zone of type 347 stainless steel

Science.gov (United States)

Phung-On, Isaratat

2007-12-01

Reheat cracking has been a persistent problem for welding of many alloys such as the stabilized stainless steels: Types 321 and 347 as well as Cr-Mo-V steels. Similar problem occurs in Ni-base superalloys termed "strain-age cracking". Cracking occurs during the post weld heat treatment. The HAZ is the most susceptible area due to metallurgical reactions in solid state during both heating and cooling thermal cycle. Many investigations have been conducted to understand the RHC mechanism. There is still no comprehensive mechanism to explain its underlying mechanism. In this study, there were two proposed cracking mechanisms. The first is the formation of a PFZ resulting in local weakening and strain localization. The second is the creep-like grain boundary sliding that causes microvoid formation at the grain boundaries and the triple point junctions. Cracking occurs due to the coalescence of the microvoids that form. In this study, stabilized grade stainless steel, Type 347, was selected for investigation of reheat cracking mechanism due to the simplicity of its microstructure and understanding of its metallurgical behavior. The Gleeble(TM) 3800 system was employed due to its capability for precise control of both thermal and mechanical simulation. Cylindrical samples were subjected to thermal cycles for the HAZ simulation followed by PWHT as the reheat cracking test. "Susceptibility C-curves" were plotted as a function of PWHT temperatures and time to failure at applied stress levels of 70% and 80% yield strength. These C-curves show the possible relationship of the reheat cracking susceptibility and carbide precipitation behavior. To identify the mechanism, the sample shape was modified containing two flat surfaces at the center section. These flat surfaces were electro-polished and subjected to the HAZ simulation followed by the placement of the micro-indentation arrays. Then, the reheat cracking test was performed. The cracking mechanism was identified by tracing

Effect of inter-critically reheating temperature on microstructure and properties of simulated inter-critically reheated coarse grained heat affected zone in X70 steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Zhixiong; Kuzmikova, Lenka; Li, Huijun; Barbaro, Frank

2014-01-01

This study investigated the influence of the inter-critical reheating temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a coarse grained heat affected zone (CGHAZ) in an API 5L grade X70 pipeline steel seam weld. A Gleeble 3500 thermo-mechanical simulator was employed to duplicate particular weld thermal cycles in order to accurately assess specific regions of the weld HAZ. Detailed microstructural analysis, including investigation of the martensite–austenite (M–A) constituent, was performed using optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and selective etching techniques. It is shown that the fracture toughness of the CGHAZ is significantly reduced following exposure to a subsequent inter-critical thermal cycle. Fracture toughness gradually improves as the inter-critical temperature is increased, but does not return to the value of the original CGHAZ due to the presence of isolated large M–A particles and coarse microstructure. Significance of M–A particles to the HAZ fracture toughness is first related to the location of particles along prior austenite grain boundaries, followed by the size of individual M–A particles

Elements of Design Consideration of Once-Through Cycle, Supercritical-Pressure Light Water Cooled Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshiaki Oka; Sei-ichi Koshizuka; Yuki Ishiwatari; Akifumi Yamaji

2002-01-01

The paper describes elements of design consideration of supercritical-pressure, light water cooled reactors as well as the status and prospects of the research and development. It summarizes the results of the conceptual design study at the University of Tokyo from 1989. The research and development started in Japan, Europe and USA. The major advantages of the reactors are 1. Compact reactor and turbines due to high specific enthalpy of supercritical water 2.Simple plant system because of the once-through coolant cycle 3.Use of the experience of LWR and fossil-fired power plants. The temperatures of the major components such as reactor pressure vessel, coolant pipes, pumps and turbines are within the experience, in spite of the high outlet coolant temperature. 4.Similarity to LWR safety design and criteria, but no burnout phenomenon 5.Potential cost reduction due to smaller material expenditure and short construction period 6.The smallest reactor not in power rating, but in plant sizes. 7.High-thermal efficiency and low coolant flow rate because of high enthalpy rise. 8.Water cooled reactors potentially free from SCC (stress corrosion cracking) problems. 9.Compatibility of tight-fuel-lattice fast reactor core due to small coolant flow rate, potentially easy shift to fast breeder reactor without changing coolant technology. 10.Potential of producing energy products such as hydrogen and high quality hydro carbons. (authors)

Description of Supercritical CO{sub 2} Compressor Experiment Loop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Je Kyoung; Lee, Jeong Ik; Ahn, Yoonhan; Kim, Seong Gu [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cha, Je Eun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

The full scope of SCIEL project is to demonstrate high efficiency with simple recuperated cycle layout or recompressing layout, which the final cycle layout will be determined by the obtained compressor performance data. As a part of SCIEL project, S-CO{sub 2} compressor experiment facility has been constructed in KAERI. In this paper, current status of S-CO{sub 2} compressor experiment loop will be reviewed. With the growing interest in developing an advanced nuclear power plant, power conversion cycle innovation has been the part of this effort to secure high economics and enhanced safety. One of the main activities of power conversion cycle innovation is the development of Supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle technology. S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle concept was suggested in 1960s but the development and realization of the technology has been delayed up to now. In Korea, KAIST, KAERI and POSTECH are conducting research and development of Korean S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle technology by erecting the Supercritical CO{sub 2} Integral Experiment Loop (SCIEL)

Correlation Between Microstructure and Low-Temperature Impact Toughness of Simulated Reheated Zones in the Multi-pass Weld Metal of High-Strength Steel

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Yongjoon; Park, Gitae; Jeong, Seonghoon; Lee, Changhee

2018-01-01

A large fraction of reheated weld metal is formed during multi-pass welding, which significantly affects the mechanical properties (especially toughness) of welded structures. In this study, the low-temperature toughness of the simulated reheated zone in multi-pass weld metal was evaluated and compared to that of the as-deposited zone using microstructural analyses. Two kinds of high-strength steel welds with different hardenabilities were produced by single-pass, bead-in-groove welding, and both welds were thermally cycled to peak temperatures above Ac3 using a Gleeble simulator. When the weld metals were reheated, their toughness deteriorated in response to the increase in the fraction of detrimental microstructural components, i.e., grain boundary ferrite and coalesced bainite in the weld metals with low and high hardenabilities, respectively. In addition, toughness deterioration occurred in conjunction with an increase in the effective grain size, which was attributed to the decrease in nucleation probability of acicular ferrite; the main cause for this decrease changed depending on the hardenability of the weld metal.

Reheating experiment in the 35-ton pile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherot, J.; Girard, Y.

1957-01-01

When the 35-ton pile was started up it was necessary for us, in order to study certain effects (xenon for example), to know the anti reactivity value of the rods as a function of their dimensions. We have made use of the possibility, in the reheating experiment, of raising the temperature of the graphite-uranium block by simple heating, in order to determine the anti reactivity curves of the rods, and from that the overall temperature coefficient. For the latter we have considered two solutions: first, one in which the average temperature of the pile is defined as our arithmetical mean of the different values given by the 28 thermocouples distributed throughout the pile; a second in which the temperature in likened to a poisoning and is balanced by the square of the flux. The way in which the measurements have been made is indicated, and the different instruments used are described. The method of reheating does not permit the separation of the temperature coefficients of uranium and of graphite. The precision obtained is only moderate, and suffers from the changes of various parameters necessary to other manipulations carried out simultaneously (life time modulators for example), and finally it is a function of the comparatively restricted time allowed. It is evident of course that more careful stabilisation at the different plateaux chosen would have necessitated long periods of reheating. (author) [fr

Supercritical CO2 Brayton power cycles for DEMO fusion reactor based on Helium Cooled Lithium Lead blanket

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linares, José Ignacio; Herranz, Luis Enrique; Fernández, Iván; Cantizano, Alexis; Moratilla, Beatriz Yolanda

2015-01-01

Fusion energy is one of the most promising solutions to the world energy supply. This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the suitability of supercritical CO 2 Brayton power cycles (S-CO 2 ) for low-temperature divertor fusion reactors cooled by helium (as defined by EFDA). Integration of three thermal sources (i.e., blanket, divertor and vacuum vessel) has been studied through proposing and analyzing a number of alternative layouts, achieving an improvement on power production higher than 5% over the baseline case, which entails to a gross efficiency (before self-consumptions) higher than 42%. In spite of this achievement, the assessment of power consumption for the circulating heat transfer fluids results in a penalty of 20% in the electricity production. Once the most suitable layout has been selected an optimization process has been conducted to adjust the key parameters to balance performance and size, achieving an electrical efficiency (electricity without taking into account auxiliary consumptions due to operation of the fusion reactor) higher than 33% and a reduction in overall size of heat exchangers of 1/3. Some relevant conclusions can be drawn from the present work: the potential of S-CO 2 cycles as suitable converters of thermal energy to power in fusion reactors; the significance of a suitable integration of thermal sources to maximize power output; the high penalty of pumping power; and the convenience of identifying the key components of the layout as a way to optimize the whole cycle performance. - Highlights: • Supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycles have been proposed for BoP of HCLL fusion reactor. • Low temperature sources have been successfully integrated with high temperature ones. • Optimization of thermal sources integration improves 5% the electricity production. • Assessment of pumping power with sources and sink loops results on 20% of gross power. • Matching of key parameters has conducted to 1/3 of reduction in heat

Prospects for and problems of using light-water supercritical-pressure coolant in nuclear reactors in order to increase the efficiency of the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alekseev, P. N.; Semchenkov, Yu. M.; Sedov, A. A.; Subbotin, S. A.; Chibinyaev, A. V.

2011-01-01

Trends in the development of the power sector of the Russian and world power industries both at present time and in the near future are analyzed. Trends in the rise of prices for reserves of fossil and nuclear fuels used for electricity production are compared. An analysis of the competitiveness of electricity production at nuclear power plants as compared to the competitiveness of electricity produced at coal-fired and natural-gas-fired thermal power plants is performed. The efficiency of the open nuclear fuel cycle and various versions of the closed nuclear fuel cycle is discussed. The requirements on light-water reactors under the scenario of dynamic development of the nuclear power industry in Russia are determined. Results of analyzing the efficiency of fuel utilization for various versions of vessel-type light-water reactors with supercritical coolant are given. Advantages and problems of reactors with supercritical-pressure water are listed.

On the performance simulation of inter-stage turbine reheat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellegrini, Alvise; Nikolaidis, Theoklis; Pachidis, Vassilios; Köhler, Stephan

2017-01-01

Highlights: • An innovative gas turbine performance simulation methodology is proposed. • It allows to perform DP and OD performance calculations for complex engines layouts. • It is essential for inter-turbine reheat (ITR) engine performance calculation. • A detailed description is provided for fast and flexible implementation. • The methodology is successfully verified against a commercial closed-source software. - Abstract: Several authors have suggested the implementation of reheat in high By-Pass Ratio (BPR) aero engines, to improve engine performance. In contrast to military afterburning, civil aero engines would aim at reducing Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC) by introducing ‘Inter-stage Turbine Reheat’ (ITR). To maximise benefits, the second combustor should be placed at an early stage of the expansion process, e.g. between the first and second High-Pressure Turbine (HPT) stages. The aforementioned cycle design requires the accurate simulation of two or more turbine stages on the same shaft. The Design Point (DP) performance can be easily evaluated by defining a Turbine Work Split (TWS) ratio between the turbine stages. However, the performance simulation of Off-Design (OD) operating points requires the calculation of the TWS parameter for every OD step, by taking into account the thermodynamic behaviour of each turbine stage, represented by their respective maps. No analytical solution of the aforementioned problem is currently available in the public domain. This paper presents an analytical methodology by which ITR can be simulated at DP and OD. Results show excellent agreement with a commercial, closed-source performance code; discrepancies range from 0% to 3.48%, and are ascribed to the different gas models implemented in the codes.

Optimized, Competitive Supercritical-CO2 Cycle GFR for Gen IV Service

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

M.J. Driscoll; P. Hejzlar; G. Apostolakis

2008-01-01

An overall plant design was developed for a gas-cooled fast reactor employing a direct supercritical Brayton power conversion system. The most important findings were that (1) the concept could be capital-cost competitive, but startup fuel cycle costs are penalized by the low core power density, specified in large part to satisfy the goal of significant post-accident passive natural convection cooling; (2) active decay heat removal is preferable as the first line of defense, with passive performance in a backup role; (3) an innovative tube-in-duct fuel assembly, vented to the primary coolant, appears to be practicable; and (4) use of the S-Co2 GFR to support hydrogen production is a synergistic application, since sufficient energy can be recuperated from the product H2 and 02 to allow the electrolysis cell to run 250 C hotter than the reactor coolant, and the water boilers can be used for reactor decay heat removal. Increasing core power density is identified as the top priority for future work on GFRs of this type

Experimental and CFD Analysis of Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger for Supercritical CO{sub 2} Power Cycle Application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baik, Seungjoon; Kim, Hyeon Tae; Kim, Seong Gu; Lee, Jekyoung; Lee, Jeong Ik [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

The supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO{sub 2}) power cycle has been suggested as an alternative for the SFR power generation system. First of all, relatively mild sodium-CO{sub 2} interaction can reduce the accident probability. Also the S-CO{sub 2} power conversion cycle can achieve high efficiency with SFR core thermal condition. Moreover, the S-CO{sub 2} power cycle can reduce cycle footprint due to high density of the working fluid. Recently, various compact heat exchangers have been studied for developing an optimal heat exchanger. In this paper, the printed circuit heat exchanger was selected for S-CO{sub 2} power cycle applications and was closely investigated experimentally and analytically. Recently, design and performance prediction of PCHE received attention due to its importance in high pressure power systems such as S-CO{sub 2} cycle. To evaluate a PCHE performance with CO{sub 2} to water, KAIST research team designed and tested a lab-scale PCHE. From the experimental data and CFD analysis, pressure drop and heat transfer correlations are obtained. For the CFD analysis, Ansys-CFX commercial code was utilized with RGP table implementation. In near future, the turbulence model sensitivity study will be followed.

Life cycle analysis of geothermal power generation with supercritical carbon dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frank, Edward D; Sullivan, John L; Wang, Michael Q

2012-01-01

Life cycle analysis methods were employed to model the greenhouse gas emissions and fossil energy consumption associated with geothermal power production when supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) is used instead of saline geofluids to recover heat from below ground. Since a significant amount of scCO 2 is sequestered below ground in the process, a constant supply is required. We therefore combined the scCO 2 geothermal power plant with an upstream coal power plant that captured a portion of its CO 2 emissions, compressed it to scCO 2 , and transported the scCO 2 by pipeline to the geothermal power plant. Emissions and energy consumption from all operations spanning coal mining and plant construction through power production were considered, including increases in coal use to meet steam demand for the carbon capture. The results indicated that the electricity produced by the geothermal plant more than balanced the increase in energy use resulting from carbon capture at the coal power plant. The effective heat rate (BTU coal per total kW h of electricity generated, coal plus geothermal) was comparable to that of traditional coal, but the ratio of life cycle emissions from the combined system to that of traditional coal was 15% when 90% carbon capture efficiency was assumed and when leakage from the surface was neglected. Contributions from surface leakage were estimated with a simple model for several hypothetical surface leakage rates. (letter)

Transient Model of a 10 MW Supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle for Light Water Reactors by using MARS Code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Joo-Hyun; Park, Hyun Sun; Kim, Moo Hwan [POSTECH, Pohang (Korea, Republic of); Bae, Sung Won; Cha, Jae-Eun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

In this study, recuperation cycle was chosen as a reference loop design and the MARS code was chosen as the transient cycle analysis code. Cycle design condition is focus on operation point of the light-water reactor. Development of a transient model was performed for 10MW-electron SCO{sub 2} coupled with light water reactors. In order to perform transient analysis, cycle transient model was developed and steady-state run was performed and presented in the paper. In this study, the transient model of SCO{sub 2} recuperation Brayton cycle was developed and implemented in MARS to study the steady-state simulation. We performed nodalization of the transient model using MARS code and obtained steady-state results. This study is shown that the supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle can be used as a power conversion system for light water reactors. Future work will include transient analysis such as partial road operation, power swing, start-up, and shutdown. Cycle control strategy will be considered for various control method.

Optimization of a recompression supercritical carbon dioxide cycle for an innovative central receiver solar power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes-Belmonte, M.A.; Sebastián, A.; Romero, M.; González-Aguilar, J.

2016-01-01

Peculiar thermodynamic properties of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) when it is held at or above its critical condition (stated as supercritical CO 2 or sCO 2 ) have attracted the attention of many researchers. Its excellent thermophysical properties at medium-to-moderate temperature range have made it to be considered as the alternative working fluid for next power plant generation. Among those applications, future nuclear reactors, solar concentrated thermal energy or waste energy recovery have been shown as the most promising ones. In this paper, a recompression sCO 2 cycle for a solar central particles receiver application has been optimized, observing net cycle efficiency close to 50%. However, small changes on cycle parameters such as working temperatures, recuperators efficiencies or mass flow distribution between low and high temperature recuperators were found to drastically modify system overall efficiency. In order to mitigate these uncertainties, an optimization analysis based on recuperators effectiveness definition was performed observing that cycle efficiency could lie among 40%–50% for medium-to-moderate temperature range of the studied application (630 °C–680 °C). Due to the lack of maturity of current sCO 2 technologies and no power production scale demonstrators, cycle boundary conditions based on the solar application and a detailed literature review were chosen. - Highlights: • Mathematical modelling description for recompression sCO 2 cycle. • Split fraction and recuperators effectiveness effect into sCO 2 cycle performance. • Optimization methodology of sCO 2 cycle for an innovative solar central receiver. • Power generation using particles central receiver.

Thermodynamic performance evaluation of combustion gas turbine cogeneration system with reheat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khaliq, A.; Kaushik, S.C.

2004-01-01

This communication presents thermodynamic methodology for the performance evaluation of combustion gas turbine cogeneration system with reheat. The energetic and exergetic efficiencies have been defined. The effects of process steam pressure and pinch point temperature used in the design of heat recovery steam generator, and reheat on energetic and exergetic efficiencies have been investigated. From the results obtained in graphs it is observed that the power to heat ratio increases with an increase in pinch point, but the first-law efficiency and second-law efficiency decreases with an increase in pinch point. The power to heat ratio and second-law efficiency increases significantly with increase in process steam pressure, but the first-law efficiency decreases with the same. Results also show that inclusion of reheat, provide significant improvement in electrical power output, process heat production, fuel-utilization (energetic) efficiency and second-law (exergetic) efficiency. This methodology may be quite useful in the selection and comparison of combined energy production systems from thermodynamic performance point of view

Gravitational wave background from reheating after hybrid inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia-Bellido, Juan; Figueroa, Daniel G.; Sastre, Alfonso

2008-01-01

The reheating of the Universe after hybrid inflation proceeds through the nucleation and subsequent collision of large concentrations of energy density in the form of bubblelike structures moving at relativistic speeds. This generates a significant fraction of energy in the form of a stochastic background of gravitational waves, whose time evolution is determined by the successive stages of reheating: First, tachyonic preheating makes the amplitude of gravity waves grow exponentially fast. Second, bubble collisions add a new burst of gravitational radiation. Third, turbulent motions finally sets the end of gravitational waves production. From then on, these waves propagate unimpeded to us. We find that the fraction of energy density today in these primordial gravitational waves could be significant for grand unified theory (GUT)-scale models of inflation, although well beyond the frequency range sensitivity of gravitational wave observatories like LIGO, LISA, or BBO. However, low-scale models could still produce a detectable signal at frequencies accessible to BBO or DECIGO. For comparison, we have also computed the analogous gravitational wave background from some chaotic inflation models and obtained results similar to those found by other groups. The discovery of such a background would open a new observational window into the very early universe, where the details of the process of reheating, i.e. the big bang, could be explored. Moreover, it could also serve in the future as a new experimental tool for testing the inflationary paradigm

Theoretical development of a thermal model for the reheater of a power plant boiler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prieto, M.M. [Oviedo University, Energy Department, Campus de Viesques, 33204 GIJON. Asturias (Spain)]. E-mail: manuelap@uniovi.es; Suarez, I. [Oviedo University, Energy Department, Campus de Viesques, 33204 GIJON. Asturias (Spain); Fernandez, F.J. [Oviedo University, Energy Department, Campus de Viesques, 33204 GIJON. Asturias (Spain); Sanchez, H. [Central Termica de Soto de Ribera, Ribera de Arriba, Asturias (Spain); Mateos, M. [Central Termica de Soto de Ribera, Ribera de Arriba, Asturias (Spain)

2007-02-15

A three-dimensional numerical model for simulating flow and heat transfer in the reheater of a boiler is presented. The aim is to describe, as well as possible, the geometry of the reheater and to be able to perform different mass flows of steam along each of the tube serpentines. The model thus makes it possible to calculate the temperature of the tube surfaces along the reheater. The porosity concept is employed, along with empirical correlations for the convective heat transfer coefficient and the radiation heat transfer coefficients. The radiation equations consider most of the radiative effects of the gas: ash content, triatomic gases, type of fuel and temperatures, tube layout and distances and temperatures of other radiative surfaces. The model is proposed with a view to using the measured values of velocities, temperatures and gas composition in the reheater as boundary conditions. The equations are solved using a general purpose computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code in conjunction with specific calculations for the source terms.

Curvaton reheating in a logamediate inflationary model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campo, Sergio del; Herrera, Ramon; Saavedra, Joel; Campuzano, Cuauhtemoc; Rojas, Efrain

2009-01-01

In a logamediate inflationary universe model we introduce the curvaton field in order to bring this inflationary model to an end. In this approach we determine the reheating temperature. We also outline some interesting constraints on the parameters that describe our models. Thus, we give the parameter space in this scenario.

Performance Estimation of Supercritical CO2 Cycle for the PG-SFR application with Heat Sink Temperature Variation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, Yoonhan; Cho, Seong Kuk; Lee, Jeong Ik

2015-01-01

The heat sink temperature conditions are referred from the annual database of sea water temperature in East sea. When the heat sink temperature increases, the compressor inlet temperature can be influenced and the sudden power decrease can happen due to the large water pumping power. When designing the water pump, the pumping margin should be considered as well. As a part of Prototype Generation IV Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (PG-SFR) development, the Supercritical CO 2 cycle (S-CO 2 ) is considered as one of the promising candidate that can potentially replace the steam Rankine cycle. S-CO 2 cycle can achieve distinctively high efficiency compared to other Brayton cycles and even competitive performance to the steam Rankine cycle under the mild turbine inlet temperature region. Previous studies explored the optimum size of the S-CO 2 cycle considering component designs including turbomachinery, heat exchangers and pipes. Based on the preliminary design, the thermal efficiency is 31.5% when CO 2 is sufficiently cooled to the design temperature. However, the S-CO 2 compressor performance is highly influenced by the inlet temperature and the compressor inlet temperature can be changed when the heat sink temperature, in this case sea water temperature varies. To estimate the S-CO 2 cycle performance of PG-SFR in the various regions, a Quasi-static system analysis code for S-CO 2 cycle is developed by the KAIST research team. A S-CO 2 cycle for PG-SFR is designed and assessed for off-design performance with the heat sink temperature variation

Entropy, exergy, and cost analyses of solar driven cogeneration systems using supercritical CO_2 Brayton cycles and MEE-TVC desalination system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kouta, Amine; Al-Sulaiman, Fahad; Atif, Maimoon; Marshad, Saud Bin

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The entropy, exergy, and cost analyses for two solar cogeneration configurations are conducted. • The recompression cogeneration cycle achieves lower LCOE as compared to the regeneration cogeneration cycle. • The solar tower is the largest contributor to entropy generation in both configurations reaching almost 80%. • The specific entropy generation in the MEE-TVC decreases with decreasing the fraction. - Abstract: In this study, performance and cost analyses are conducted for a solar power tower integrated with supercritical CO_2 (sCO_2) Brayton cycles for power production and a multiple effect evaporation with a thermal vapor compression (MEE-TVC) desalination system for water production. The study is performed for two configurations based on two different supercritical cycles: the regeneration and recompression sCO_2 Brayton cycles. A two-tank molten salt storage is utilized to ensure a uniform operation throughout the day. From the entropy analysis, it was shown that the solar tower is the largest contributor to entropy generation in both configurations, reaching almost 80% from the total entropy generation, followed by the MEE-TVC desalination system, and the sCO_2 power cycle. The entropy generation in the two-tank thermal storage is negligible, around 0.3% from the total generation. In the MEE-TVC system the highest contributing component is the steam jet ejector, which is varying between 50% and 60% for different number of effects. The specific entropy generation in the MEE-TVC decreases as the fraction of the input heat to the desalination system decreases; while the specific entropy generation of the sCO_2 cycle remains constant. The cost analysis performed for different regions in Saudi Arabia and the findings reveal that the regions characterized by the highest average solar irradiation throughout the year have the lowest LCOE and LCOW values. The region achieving the lowest cost is Yanbu, followed by Khabt Al-Ghusn in the second

Supercritical CO2 Brayton power cycles for DEMO (demonstration power plant) fusion reactor based on dual coolant lithium lead blanket

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linares, José Ignacio; Cantizano, Alexis; Moratilla, Beatriz Yolanda; Martín-Palacios, Víctor; Batet, Lluis

2016-01-01

This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the suitability of supercritical CO 2 Brayton power cycles as alternative energy conversion systems for a future fusion reactor based on a DCLL (dual coolant lithium-lead) blanket, as prescribed by EUROfusion. The main issue dealt is the optimization of the integration of the different thermal sources with the power cycle in order to achieve the highest electricity production. The analysis includes the assessment of the pumping consumption in the heating and cooling loops, taking into account additional considerations as control issues and integration of thermal energy storage systems. An exergy analysis has been performed in order to understand the behavior of each layout. Up to ten scenarios have been analyzed assessing different locations for thermal sources heat exchangers. Neglecting the worst four scenarios, it is observed less than 2% of variation among the other six ones. One of the best six scenarios clearly stands out over the others due to the location of the thermal sources in a unique island, being this scenario compatible with the control criteria. In this proposal 34.6% of electric efficiency (before the self-consumptions of the reactor but including pumping consumptions and generator efficiency) is achieved. - Highlights: • Supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycles have been proposed for BoP of DCLL fusion reactor. • Integration of different available thermal sources has been analyzed considering ten scenarios. • Neglecting the four worst scenarios the electricity production varies less than 2%. • Control and energy storage integration issues have been considered in the analysis. • Discarding the vacuum vessel and joining the other sources in an island is proposed.

Delocalized organic pollutant destruction through a self-sustaining supercritical water oxidation process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lavric, E.D.; Weyten, H.; Ruyck, J. de; Plesu, V.; Lavric, V.

2005-01-01

Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) is a recent development aiming at the destruction of organic pollutants present with low concentrations in waste waters. The present paper focuses on the process simulation of SCWO with emphasis on the proper modelling of supercritical thermodynamic conditions and on the possibility to make the SCWO process self-sufficient from the energetic viewpoint. Self-sufficiency may be of interest to encourage more delocalization of waste water treatment. The process of SCWO for dilute waste water (no more than 5 wt.%) is modelled through the ASPEN Plus copyright process simulator. Studies were made to search for energetic self-sufficiency conditions using various technologies for power production from the heat of reaction, like supercritical water expansion in a turbine, use of a closed Brayton cycle (CBC) and use of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC). The results obtained showed that the process is energetically self-sufficient using either a small supercritical turbine, or an ORC. In less restrictive conditions regarding the component efficiencies, the CBC, in theory, also leads to self-sufficiency, but from the analysis, it appears that this solution is less realistic

Design and analysis of helium Brayton power cycles for HiPER reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sánchez, Consuelo, E-mail: csanchez@ind.uned.es [Dpto. Ingeniería Energética UNED, Madrid (Spain); Juárez, Rafael; Sanz, Javier [Dpto. Ingeniería Energética UNED, Madrid (Spain); Instituto de Fusión Nuclear/UPM, Madrid (Spain); Perlado, Manuel [Instituto de Fusión Nuclear/UPM, Madrid (Spain)

2013-10-15

Highlights: ► A helium Brayton cycle has been designed integrating the two energy sources of HiPER. ► The Brayton cycle has intercooling stages and a recovery process. ► The low temperature of HiPER heat sources results in low cycle efficiency (35.2%). ► Two inter-cooling stages and a reheating process increases efficiency to over 37%. ► Helium Brayton cycles are to be considered as candidates for HiPER power cycles. -- Abstract: Helium Brayton cycles have been studied as power cycles for both fission and fusion reactors obtaining high thermal efficiency. This paper studies several technological schemes of helium Brayton cycles applied for the HiPER reactor proposal. Since HiPER integrates technologies available at short term, its working conditions results in a very low maximum temperature of the energy sources, something that limits the thermal performance of the cycle. The aim of this work is to analyze the potential of the helium Brayton cycles as power cycles for HiPER. Several helium Brayton cycle configurations have been investigated with the purpose of raising the cycle thermal efficiency under the working conditions of HiPER. The effects of inter-cooling and reheating have specifically been studied. Sensitivity analyses of the key cycle parameters and component performances on the maximum thermal efficiency have also been carried out. The addition of several inter-cooling stages in a helium Brayton cycle has allowed obtaining a maximum thermal efficiency of over 36%, and the inclusion of a reheating process may also yield an added increase of nearly 1 percentage point to reach 37%. These results confirm that helium Brayton cycles are to be considered among the power cycle candidates for HiPER.

Design and analysis of helium Brayton power cycles for HiPER reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sánchez, Consuelo; Juárez, Rafael; Sanz, Javier; Perlado, Manuel

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A helium Brayton cycle has been designed integrating the two energy sources of HiPER. ► The Brayton cycle has intercooling stages and a recovery process. ► The low temperature of HiPER heat sources results in low cycle efficiency (35.2%). ► Two inter-cooling stages and a reheating process increases efficiency to over 37%. ► Helium Brayton cycles are to be considered as candidates for HiPER power cycles. -- Abstract: Helium Brayton cycles have been studied as power cycles for both fission and fusion reactors obtaining high thermal efficiency. This paper studies several technological schemes of helium Brayton cycles applied for the HiPER reactor proposal. Since HiPER integrates technologies available at short term, its working conditions results in a very low maximum temperature of the energy sources, something that limits the thermal performance of the cycle. The aim of this work is to analyze the potential of the helium Brayton cycles as power cycles for HiPER. Several helium Brayton cycle configurations have been investigated with the purpose of raising the cycle thermal efficiency under the working conditions of HiPER. The effects of inter-cooling and reheating have specifically been studied. Sensitivity analyses of the key cycle parameters and component performances on the maximum thermal efficiency have also been carried out. The addition of several inter-cooling stages in a helium Brayton cycle has allowed obtaining a maximum thermal efficiency of over 36%, and the inclusion of a reheating process may also yield an added increase of nearly 1 percentage point to reach 37%. These results confirm that helium Brayton cycles are to be considered among the power cycle candidates for HiPER

Development of a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle: Improving VHTR Efficiency and Testing Material Compatibility - Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang H. Oh

2006-01-01

Generation IV reactors will need to be intrinsically safe, having a proliferation-resistant fuel cycle and several advantages relative to existing light water reactor (LWR). They, however, must still overcome certain technical issues and the cost barrier before it can be built in the U.S. The establishment of a nuclear power cost goal of 3.3 cents/kWh is desirable in order to compete with fossil combined-cycle, gas turbine power generation. This goal requires approximately a 30 percent reduction in power cost for state-of-the-art nuclear plants. It has been demonstrated that this large cost differential can be overcome only by technology improvements that lead to a combination of better efficiency and more compatible reactor materials. The objectives of this research are (1) to develop a supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle in the secondary power conversion side that can be applied to the Very-High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (VHTR), (2) to improve the plant net efficiency by using the carbon dioxide Brayton cycle, and (3) to test material compatibility at high temperatures and pressures. The reduced volumetric flow rate of carbon dioxide due to higher density compared to helium will reduce compression work, which eventually increase plant net efficiency

Microstructural characteristics and gastro-small intestinal digestion in vitro of potato starch: Effects of refrigerated storage and reheating in microwave.

Science.gov (United States)

Colussi, Rosana; Singh, Jaspreet; Kaur, Lovedeep; Zavareze, Elessandra da Rosa; Dias, Alvaro Renato Guerra; Stewart, Robert B; Singh, Harjinder

2017-07-01

The objective of our study was to evaluate paste clarity, retrogradation (syneresis %), thermal characteristics and kinetics of glucose release during in vitro gastro-small intestinal digestion of freshly cooked and refrigerated potato starch. Freshly cooked starch pastes had a paste clarity of 71%, which decreased to 35.4% whereas syneresis (%) increased after 7days of refrigerated storage. The X-ray and thermal characteristics of native, retrograded and microwave reheated starch samples differed significantly from each other. For the freshly cooked starch pastes, ∼88% starch hydrolysis was observed at the end (150min) of digestion under simulated gastro-small intestinal conditions that decreased to ∼70% for the 7day stored pastes. The hydrolysis (%) of refrigerated pastes increased to 86% and 92% after one and two cycles of microwave reheating, respectively. These results contribute to the understanding of starch retrogradation in relation to starch digestion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Condensation front modelling in a moisture separator reheater by application of SICLE numerical model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grange, J.L.; Caremoli, C.; Eddi, M.

1988-01-01

This paper presents improvements performed on SICLE numerical model in order to analyse the condensation front that occurs in the moisture separator reheaters (MSR) of nuclear power plants. Modifications of SICLE numerical model architecture and a fine modelling of reheater have allowed to correctly simulate the MSR thermohydraulic behaviour during a severe transient (plant islanding) [fr

Microbial potential for carbon and nutrient cycling in a geogenic supercritical carbon dioxide reservoir.

Science.gov (United States)

Freedman, Adam J E; Tan, BoonFei; Thompson, Janelle R

2017-06-01

Microorganisms catalyze carbon cycling and biogeochemical reactions in the deep subsurface and thus may be expected to influence the fate of injected supercritical (sc) CO 2 following geological carbon sequestration (GCS). We hypothesized that natural subsurface scCO 2 reservoirs, which serve as analogs for the long-term fate of sequestered scCO 2 , harbor a 'deep carbonated biosphere' with carbon cycling potential. We sampled subsurface fluids from scCO 2 -water separators at a natural scCO 2 reservoir at McElmo Dome, Colorado for analysis of 16S rRNA gene diversity and metagenome content. Sequence annotations indicated dominance of Sulfurospirillum, Rhizobium, Desulfovibrio and four members of the Clostridiales family. Genomes extracted from metagenomes using homology and compositional approaches revealed diverse mechanisms for growth and nutrient cycling, including pathways for CO 2 and N 2 fixation, anaerobic respiration, sulfur oxidation, fermentation and potential for metabolic syntrophy. Differences in biogeochemical potential between two production well communities were consistent with differences in fluid chemical profiles, suggesting a potential link between microbial activity and geochemistry. The existence of a microbial ecosystem associated with the McElmo Dome scCO 2 reservoir indicates that potential impacts of the deep biosphere on CO 2 fate and transport should be taken into consideration as a component of GCS planning and modelling. © 2017 The Authors. Environmental Microbiology published by Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Conceptual Study of Using an Isothermal Compressor on a Supercritical CO2 Cycle for Various Nuclear Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heo, Jin Young; Lee, Jeong Ik

2017-01-01

In order to accelerate the deployment of cleaner and safer energy sources, further development of such advanced nuclear power systems is necessary. By aiming to have higher efficiency, lower costs, and reduced system size, next-generation nuclear reactors can have greater advantages which will justify their adoption. Many research efforts focus on these objectives to also propose new concepts and technologies to improve the present state of the art. To maximize the benefits of advanced reactor designs, the supercritical CO 2 (S-CO 2 ) power cycle can be adopted to enhance the performance of the power conversion systems. The potential of replacing the conventional power block with the S-CO 2 power cycle can increase the cycle efficiency and also reduce its overall system size. The potential of using the S-CO 2 power cycles in advanced nuclear reactors can be further improved by adopting an isothermal compressor to the cycle layout. This paper attempts to improve the cycle layout by replacing the conventional compressor with an isothermal compressor, of which its potential in the S-CO 2 power cycle is conceptually being evaluated. An isothermal compressor minimizes compression work and further reduces the system size by having smaller heat exchanger requirements. The study includes cycle optimization maximizing cycle efficiency with respect to different cycle design parameters. The S-CO 2 iso-Brayton cycle layouts have been effective in improving the cycle efficiencies of the next-generation nuclear reactors. By using the isothermal compressor, the net efficiency can be improved by 8% points for the simple recuperated cycle layout, and 5% points for the recompression cycle layout. It is also noted that the estimated UA values required for the iso-Brayton cycle layouts are almost the same or less compared to those of the reference cycle layouts.

System Design of a Supercritical CO_2 cooled Micro Modular Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seong Gu; Cho, Seongkuk; Yu, Hwanyeal; Kim, Yonghee; Jeong, Yong Hoon; Lee, Jeong Ik

2014-01-01

Small modular reactor (SMR) systems that have advantages of little initial capital cost and small restriction on construction site are being developed by many research organizations around the world. Existing SMR concepts have the same objective: to achieve compact size and a long life core. Most of small modular reactors have much smaller size than the large nuclear power plant. However, existing SMR concepts are not fully modularized. This paper suggests a complete modular reactor with an innovative concept for reactor cooling by using a supercritical carbon dioxide. The authors propose the supercritical CO_2 Brayton cycle (S-CO_2 cycle) as a power conversion system to achieve small volume of power conversion unit (PCU) and to contain the reactor core and PCU in one vessel. A conceptual design of the proposed small modular reactor was developed, which is named as KAIST Micro Modular Reactor (MMR). The supercritical CO_2 Brayton cycle for the S-CO_2 cooled reactor core was optimized and the size of turbomachinery and heat exchanger were estimated preliminary. The nuclear fuel composed with UN was proposed and the core lifetime was obtained from a burnup versus reactivity calculation. Furthermore, a system layout with fully passive safety systems for both normal operation and emergency operation was proposed. (author)

Solvation in supercritical water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cochran, H.D.; Cummings, P.T.; Karaborni, S.

1991-01-01

The aim of this work is to determine the solvation structure in supercritical water composed with that in ambient water and in simple supercritical solvents. Molecular dynamics studies have been undertaken of systems that model ionic sodium and chloride, atomic argon, and molecular methanol in supercritical aqueous solutions using the simple point charge model of Berendsen for water. Because of the strong interactions between water and ions, ionic solutes are strongly attractive in supercritical water, forming large clusters of water molecules around each ion. Methanol is found to be a weakly-attractive solute in supercritical water. The cluster of excess water molecules surrounding a dissolved ion or polar molecule in supercritical aqueous solutions is comparable to the solvent clusters surrounding attractive solutes in simple supercritical fluids. Likewise, the deficit of water molecules surrounding a dissolved argon atom in supercritical aqueous solutions is comparable to that surrounding repulsive solutes in simple supercritical fluids. The number of hydrogen bonds per water molecule in supercritical water was found to be about one third the number in ambient water. The number of hydrogen bonds per water molecule surrounding a central particle in supercritical water was only mildly affected by the identify of the central particle--atom, molecule, or ion. These results should be helpful in developing a qualitative understanding of important processes that occur in supercritical water. 29 refs., 6 figs

Proposal of a combined heat and power plant hybridized with regeneration organic Rankine cycle: Energy-Exergy evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anvari, Simin; Jafarmadar, Samad; Khalilarya, Shahram

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A new thermodynamic cogeneration system is proposed. • Energy and exergy analysis of the considered cycle were performed. • An enhancement of 2.6% in exergy efficiency compared to that of baseline cycle. - Abstract: Among Rankine cycles (simple, reheat and regeneration), regeneration organic Rankine cycle demonstrates higher efficiencies compared to other cases. Consequently, in the present work a regeneration organic Rankine cycle has been utilized to recuperate gas turbine’s heat using heat recovery steam generator. At first, this cogeneration system was subjected to energy and exergy analysis and the obtained results were compared with that of investigated cogeneration found in literature (a cogeneration system in which a reheat organic Rankine cycle for heat recuperation of gas turbine cycle was used with the aid of heat recovery steam generator). Results indicated that the first and second thermodynamic efficiencies in present cycle utilizing regeneration cycle instead of reheat cycle has increased 2.62% and 2.6%, respectively. In addition, the effect of thermodynamic parameters such as combustion chamber’s inlet temperature, gas turbine inlet temperature, evaporator and condenser temperature on the energetic and exergetic efficiencies of gas turbine-heat recovery steam generator cycle and gas turbine-heat recovery steam generator cycle with regeneration organic Rankine cycle was surveyed. Besides, parametric analysis shows that as gas turbine and combustion chamber inlet temperatures increase, energetic and exergetic efficiencies tend to increase. Moreover, once condenser and evaporator temperature raise, a slight decrement in energetic and exergetic efficiency is expected.

Corrosion of Structural Materials for Advanced Supercritical Carbon- Dioxide Brayton Cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sridharan, Kumar [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

2017-05-13

The supercritical carbon-dioxide (referred to as SC-CO₂ hereon) Brayton cycle is being considered for power conversion systems for a number of nuclear reactor concepts, including the sodium fast reactor (SFR), fluoride saltcooled high temperature reactor (FHR), and high temperature gas reactor (HTGR), and several types of small modular reactors (SMR). The SC-CO₂ direct cycle gas fast reactor has also been recently proposed. The SC-CO₂ Brayton cycle (discussed in Chapter 1) provides higher efficiencies compared to the Rankine steam cycle due to less compression work stemming from higher SC-CO₂ densities, and allows for smaller components size, fewer components, and simpler cycle layout. For example, in the case of a SFR using a SC-CO₂ Brayton cycle instead of a steam cycle would also eliminate the possibility of sodium-water interactions. The SC-CO₂ cycle has a higher efficiency than the helium Brayton cycle, with the additional advantage of being able to operate at lower temperatures and higher pressures. In general, the SC-CO₂ Brayton cycle is well-suited for any type of nuclear reactor (including SMR) with core outlet temperature above ~ 500°C in either direct or indirect versions. In all the above applications, materials corrosion in high temperature SC-CO₂ is an important consideration, given their expected lifetimes of 20 years or longer. Our discussions with National Laboratories and private industry early on in this project indicated materials corrosion to be one of the significant gaps in the implementation of SC-CO₂ Brayton cycle. Corrosion can lead to a loss of effective load-bearing wall thickness of a component and can potentially lead to the generation of oxide particulate debris which can lead to three-body wear in turbomachinery components. Another environmental degradation effect that is rather unique to CO₂ environment is the possibility

Effect of Dynamic Reheating Induced by Weaving on the Microstructure of GTAW Weld Metal of 25% Cr Super Duplex Stainless Steel Weld Metal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hee-Joon Sung

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The importance of the additional growth and/or transformation of the austenite phase that occurs in weld metals of super duplex stainless steel upon reheating is known. However, the effects have not been fully investigated, especially with respect to reheating induced by weaving during single-pass welding. In this work, bead-on-pipe gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW was conducted on super duplex stainless steel to understand the effect of weaving on the microstructure of weld metal. Microstructural analysis, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD, and focused ion beam transmission electron microscopy (FIB-TEM were carried out to investigate the relationship between weaving and microstructural change. The weaving of GTAW produced a dynamic reheated area just before the weld bead during welding. It was revealed that extensive reheated weld existed even after one welding pass, and that the content of the austenite phase in the reheated area was higher than that in the non-reheated area, indicating the existence of a large quantity of intragranular austenite phase. In addition, the Cr2N content in the reheated area was lower than that in the non-reheated area. This reduction of Cr2N was closely related to the reheating resulting from weaving. TEM analysis revealed that Cr2N in the non-reheated area was dispersed following heating and transformed to secondary austenite.

Influence of Fixed Temperature of Chilled Water Outlet Setting toward Performance of Chiller Absorbtion with Two Level Heating Cycle Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Gusti Agung Bagus Wirajati

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The study investigated the performance of re-heat two stage cycle. This paper presents the working principle and theexperimental results of the reheat two stage adsorption cycle. The performance of the cycle was evaluated under differentheat source temperature and mass recovery time. Coefficient of performance (COP and cooling capacity have beencalculated to analyze the influences of experimental conditions. The experimental results shown in both COP and coolingcapacity increased along with heat source temperature increased, and mass recovery time is very effective to improve theperformance without increasing heat source temperature.

Corrosion Behavior of Steels in Supercritical CO₂ for Power Cycle Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Repukaiti, Richard [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Albany, OR (United States); Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States); Teeter, Lucas [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Albany, OR (United States); Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States); Ziomek-Moroz, Margaret [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Albany, OR (United States); Dogan, Omer [National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Albany, OR (United States); Tucker, Julie [Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)

2017-07-07

In order to understand issues with corrosion of heat exchanger materials in direct supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) power cycles, a series of autoclave exposure experiments and electrochemical experiments have been conducted. Corrosion behaviors of 347H stainless steel and P91 martensitic-ferrtic steel in sCO₂ environment have been compared. In autoclave exposure tests performed at 50°C- 245°C and 80 bar. Mass change measurements, surface characterization, and corrosion product analysis have been conducted to understand the corrosion behavior of steels in sCO₂ containing H₂O and O₂. Electrochemical tests performed at room temperature and 50°C, a simulation environment of water condensation phase with dissolved CO₂ was prepared to evaluate the corrosion resistance of materials. From both types of experiments, generally 347H showed higher corrosion resistance than P91.

Updated heat transfer correlations for supercritical water-cooled reactor applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mokry, S.J.; Pioro, I.L.; Farah, A.; King, K.

2011-01-01

In support of the development of SuperCritical Water-cooled Reactors (SCWRs), research is currently being conducted for heat-transfer at supercritical conditions. Currently, there are no experimental datasets for heat transfer from power reactor fuel bundles to the fuel coolant (Water) available in open literature. Therefore, for preliminary calculations, heat-transfer correlations obtained with bare tube data can be used as a conservative approach. A large set of experimental data, for supercritical water was analyzed and an updated heat-transfer correlation for forced-convective heat-transfer, in the normal heat transfer regime, was developed. This experimental dataset was obtained within conditions similar to those for proposed SCWR concepts. Thus, this new correlation can be used for preliminary heat-transfer calculations in SCWR fuel channels. It has demonstrated a good fit for the analyzed dataset. Experiments with SuperCritical Water (SCW) are very expensive. Therefore, a number of experiments are performed in modeling fluids, such as carbon dioxide and refrigerants. However, there is no common opinion if SC modeling fluids' correlations can be applied to SCW and vice versa. Therefore, a correlation for supercritical carbon dioxide heat transfer was developed as a less expensive alternative to using supercritical water. The conducted analysis also meets the objective of improving our fundamental knowledge of the transport processes and handling of supercritical fluids. These correlations can be used for supercritical water heat exchangers linked to indirect-cycle concepts and the cogeneration of hydrogen, for future comparisons with other independent datasets, with bundle data, for the verification of computer codes for SCWR core thermalhydraulics and for the verification of scaling parameters between water and modeling fluids. (author)

Antilisterial properties of marinades during refrigerated storage and microwave oven reheating against post-cooking inoculated chicken breast meat.

Science.gov (United States)

Fouladkhah, Aliyar; Geornaras, Ifigenia; Nychas, George-John; Sofos, John N

2013-02-01

This study evaluated growth of Listeria monocytogenes inoculated on cooked chicken meat with different marinades and survival of the pathogen as affected by microwave oven reheating. During aerobic storage at 7 °C, on days 0, 1, 2, 4, and 7, samples were reheated by microwave oven (1100 W) for 45 or 90 s and analyzed microbiologically. L. monocytogenes counts on nonmarinated (control) samples increased (P 2.4 to 5.0 (90 s) log CFU/g. With similar trends across different marinates, the high levels of L. monocytogenes survivors found after microwave reheating, especially after storage for more than 2 d, indicate that length of storage and reheating time need to be considered for safe consumption of leftover cooked chicken. © 2013 Institute of Food Technologists®

Thermodynamic Analysis of a Steam Power Plant with Double Reheat and Feed Water Heaters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. Rashidi

2014-03-01

Full Text Available A steam cycle with double reheat and turbine extraction is presented. Six heaters are used, three of them at high pressure and the other three at low pressure with deaerator. The first and second law analysis for the cycle and optimization of the thermal and exergy efficiencies are investigated. An exergy analysis is performed to guide the thermodynamic improvement for this cycle. The exergy and irreversibility analyses of each component of the cycle are determined. Effects of turbine inlet pressure, boiler exit steam temperature, and condenser pressure on the first and second laws' efficiencies are investigated. Also the best turbine extraction pressure on the first law efficiency is obtained. The results show that the biggest exergy loss occurs in the boiler followed by the turbine. The results also show that the overall thermal efficiency and the second law efficiency decrease as the condenser pressure increases for any fixed outlet boiler temperature, however, they increase as the boiler temperature increases for any condenser pressure. Furthermore, the best values of extraction pressure from high, intermediate, and low pressure turbine which give the maximum first law efficiencies are obtained based on the required heat load corresponding to each exit boiler temperature.

Advanced steel reheat furnace

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moyeda, D.; Sheldon, M.; Koppang, R. [Energy and Environmental Research Corp., Irvine, CA (United States); Lanyi, M.; Li, X.; Eleazer, B. [Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Allentown, PA (United States)

1997-10-01

Energy and Environmental Research Corp. (EER) under a contract from the Department of Energy is pursuing the development and demonstration of an Advanced Steel Reheating Furnace. This paper reports the results of Phase 1, Research, which has evaluated an advanced furnace concept incorporating two proven and commercialized technologies previously applied to other high temperature combustion applications: EER`s gas reburn technology (GR) for post combustion NOx control; and Air Product`s oxy-fuel enrichment air (OEA) for improved flame heat transfer in the heating zones of the furnace. The combined technologies feature greater production throughput with associated furnace efficiency improvements; lowered NOx emissions; and better control over the furnace atmosphere, whether oxidizing or reducing, leading to better control over surface finish.

Supercritical carbon dioxide extract of Physalis peruviana induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human lung cancer H661 cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shu-Jing; Chang, Shun-Pang; Lin, Doung-Liang; Wang, Shyh-Shyan; Hou, Fwu-Feuu; Ng, Lean-Teik

2009-06-01

Physalis peruviana L. (PP) is a popular folk medicine used for treating cancer, leukemia, hepatitis, rheumatism and other diseases. In this study, our objectives were to examine the total flavonoid and phenol content of different PP extracts (aqueous: HWEPP; ethanolic: EEPP; supercritical carbon dioxide: SCEPP-0, SCEPP-4 and SCEPP-5) and their antiproliferative effects in human lung cancer H661 cells. Among all the extracts tested, results showed that SCEPP-5 possessed the highest total flavonoid (226.19 +/- 4.15 mg/g) and phenol (100.82 +/- 6.25 mg/g) contents. SCEPP-5 also demonstrated the most potent inhibitory effect on H661 cell proliferation. Using DNA ladder and flow cytometry analysis, SCEPP-5 effectively induced H661 cell apoptosis as demonstrated by the accumulation of Sub-G1 peak and fragmentation of DNA. SCEPP-5 not only induced cell cycle arrest at S phase, it also up-regulated the expression of pro-apoptotic protein (Bax) and down-regulated the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP). Furthermore, the apoptotic induction in H661 cells was found to associate with an elevated p53 protein expression, cytochrome c release, caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage. Taken together, these results conclude that SCEPP-5 induced cell cycle arrest at S phase, and its apoptotic induction could be mediated through the p53-dependent pathway and modification of Bax and XIAP proteins expression. The results have also provided important pharmacological backgrounds for the potential use of PP supercritical fluid extract as products for cancer prevention.

IMPROVEMENT OF SLAB REHEATING PROCESS AT USIMINAS THROUGH MATHEMATICAL SIMULATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antônio Adel dos Santos

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Basic characteristics and application examples of the mathematical simulator for reheating process in walking-beam type furnaces, that has been developed and applied to Usiminas plate mill line at Ipatinga, are shown in this paper. This is a bi-dimensional mathematical model solved by the finite volume method, validated by temperature measurements inside the slab during heating and coded as a visual tool. Among these applications, the following can be highlighted: (i determination of suitable furnace zone temperatures and residence times for processing steels by accelerated cooling technology; (ii determination of slab average temperature at discharging as well as at each zone exit, supplying data to be fed to the automation system at the comissioning stage; (iii analyses of slab thermal distribution through the reheating process, enabling operational optimization

Preliminary Study on the High Efficiency Supercritical Pressure Water-Cooled Reactor for Electricity Generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bae, Yoon Yeong; Park, Jong Kyun; Cho, Bong Hyun and others

2006-01-15

This research has been performed to introduce a concept of supercritical pressure water cooled reactor(SCWR) in Korea The area of research includes core conceptual design, evaluation of candidate fuel, fluid systems conceptual design with mechanical consideration, preparation of safety analysis code, and construction of supercritical pressure heat transfer test facility, SPHINX, and preliminary test. As a result of the research, a set of tools for the reactor core design has been developed and the conceptual core design with solid moderator was proposed. The direct thermodynamic cycle has been studied to find a optimum design. The safety analysis code has also been adapted to supercritical pressure condition. A supercritical pressure CO2 heat transfer test facility has been constructed and preliminary test proved the facility works as expected. The result of this project will be good basis for the participation in the international collaboration under GIF GEN-IV program and next 5-year mid and long term nuclear research program of MOST. The heat transfer test loop, SPHINX, completed as a result of this project may be used for the power cycle study as well as further heat transfer study for the various geometries.

Ultra-Supercritical Pressure CFB Boiler Conceptual Design Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhen Fan; Steve Goidich; Archie Robertson; Song Wu

2006-06-30

Electric utility interest in supercritical pressure steam cycles has revived in the United States after waning in the 1980s. Since supercritical cycles yield higher plant efficiencies than subcritical plants along with a proportional reduction in traditional stack gas pollutants and CO{sub 2} release rates, the interest is to pursue even more advanced steam conditions. The advantages of supercritical (SC) and ultra supercritical (USC) pressure steam conditions have been demonstrated in the high gas temperature, high heat flux environment of large pulverized coal-fired (PC) boilers. Interest in circulating fluidized bed (CFB) combustion, as an alternative to PC combustion, has been steadily increasing. Although CFB boilers as large as 300 MWe are now in operation, they are drum type, subcritical pressure units. With their sizes being much smaller than and their combustion temperatures much lower than those of PC boilers (300 MWe versus 1,000 MWe and 1600 F versus 3500 F), a conceptual design study was conducted herein to investigate the technical feasibility and economics of USC CFB boilers. The conceptual study was conducted at 400 MWe and 800 MWe nominal plant sizes with high sulfur Illinois No. 6 coal used as the fuel. The USC CFB plants had higher heating value efficiencies of 40.6 and 41.3 percent respectively and their CFB boilers, which reflect conventional design practices, can be built without the need for an R&D effort. Assuming construction at a generic Ohio River Valley site with union labor, total plant costs in January 2006 dollars were estimated to be $1,551/kW and $1,244/kW with costs of electricity of $52.21/MWhr and $44.08/MWhr, respectively. Based on the above, this study has shown that large USC CFB boilers are feasible and that they can operate with performance and costs that are competitive with comparable USC PC boilers.

Thermal performance of Brayton power cycles. A study based on high-temperature gas-cooled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herranz, Luis E.; Linares, Jose I.; Moratilla, Beatriz Y.

2005-01-01

Power cycles optimization has become an essential ingredient to achieve sustainability and improve economic competitiveness of forthcoming Generation IV designs. This paper investigates performance of several configurations of direct helium Brayton cycles. An optimum layout is proposed based on multiple intercooled compression stages and in-between turbines reheating: C(IC) 2 HTRTX. Under the hypotheses and approximations made, a 59% is estimated and it increases even further (67%) when the foreseen technological development is considered. A sensitive analysis identified key components and variables for cycle performance. Particular attention is paid to the effect of the extracted gas mass fraction for reheating. It is shown that the C(IC) 2 HTRTX cycle provides a feasible and simple way to operate the power plant the load-follow mode with a very little loss of efficiency. (author)

ANN-GA based optimization of a high ash coal-fired supercritical power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suresh, M.V.J.J.; Reddy, K.S.; Kolar, Ajit Kumar

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Neuro-genetic power plant optimization is found to be an efficient methodology. → Advantage of neuro-genetic algorithm is the possibility of on-line optimization. → Exergy loss in combustor indicates the effect of coal composition on efficiency. -- Abstract: The efficiency of coal-fired power plant depends on various operating parameters such as main steam/reheat steam pressures and temperatures, turbine extraction pressures, and excess air ratio for a given fuel. However, simultaneous optimization of all these operating parameters to achieve the maximum plant efficiency is a challenging task. This study deals with the coupled ANN and GA based (neuro-genetic) optimization of a high ash coal-fired supercritical power plant in Indian climatic condition to determine the maximum possible plant efficiency. The power plant simulation data obtained from a flow-sheet program, 'Cycle-Tempo' is used to train the artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the energy input through fuel (coal). The optimum set of various operating parameters that result in the minimum energy input to the power plant is then determined by coupling the trained ANN model as a fitness function with the genetic algorithm (GA). A unit size of 800 MWe currently under development in India is considered to carry out the thermodynamic analysis based on energy and exergy. Apart from optimizing the design parameters, the developed model can also be used for on-line optimization when quick response is required. Furthermore, the effect of various coals on the thermodynamic performance of the optimized power plant is also determined.

Materials processing using supercritical fluids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orlović Aleksandar M.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available One of the most interesting areas of supercritical fluids applications is the processing of novel materials. These new materials are designed to meet specific requirements and to make possible new applications in Pharmaceuticals design, heterogeneous catalysis, micro- and nano-particles with unique structures, special insulating materials, super capacitors and other special technical materials. Two distinct possibilities to apply supercritical fluids in processing of materials: synthesis of materials in supercritical fluid environment and/or further processing of already obtained materials with the help of supercritical fluids. By adjusting synthesis parameters the properties of supercritical fluids can be significantly altered which further results in the materials with different structures. Unique materials can be also obtained by conducting synthesis in quite specific environments like reversed micelles. This paper is mainly devoted to processing of previously synthesized materials which are further processed using supercritical fluids. Several new methods have been developed to produce micro- and nano-particles with the use of supercritical fluids. The following methods: rapid expansion of supercritical solutions (RESS supercritical anti-solvent (SAS, materials synthesis under supercritical conditions and encapsulation and coating using supercritical fluids were recently developed.

Thermodynamic analysis of a directly heated oxyfuel supercritical power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chowdhury, A.S.M. Arifur; Bugarin, Luz; Badhan, Antara; Choudhuri, Ahsan; Love, Norman

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A thermodynamic analysis of a supercritical power cycle is presented. • The supercritical power cycle is modeled using ASPEN HYSYS®. • A liquid methane and oxygen feed system is more efficient than a gaseous system. • CO_2 recirculated in gas form is 10.6% more efficient than when in liquid form. • Commercially available technologies permit liquid feed system delivery. - Abstract: Directly heated supercritical oxy-fuel gas turbines have potential to provide a higher thermal efficiency and lower pollutant emissions compared to current gas turbine systems. Motivated by the advantages of an oxyfuel-based directly heated supercritical power system, this paper presents an analysis of different operating conditions using ASPEN HYSYS®. This study first investigates the efficiency of gaseous or liquid methane and oxygen feed systems. T-s and P-v diagrams are generated and compared to each other to determine which is more efficient. The analysis revealed that the entropy generated during the combustion process for a liquid feed system is approximately three times higher than when methane and oxygen are compressed in gaseous form and delivered to the combustor and burned. To mitigate the high temperatures (3300 K) of the methane and oxygen combustion reaction, carbon dioxide is recirculated. For this portion of the system, the use of gaseous and liquid carbon dioxide recirculation loops and their corresponding efficiencies are determined. The investigation shows that the system yielded a higher net efficiency of 55.1% when gaseous carbon dioxide is recirculated as a diluent with liquid methane and oxygen delivery to the combustor.

Effect of Scale on Slab Heat Transfer in a Walking Beam Type Reheating Furnace

OpenAIRE

Man Young Kim

2013-01-01

In this work, the effects of scale on thermal behavior of the slab in a walking-beam type reheating furnace is studied by considering scale formation and growth in a furnace environment. Also, mathematical heat transfer model to predict the thermal radiation in a complex shaped reheating furnace with slab and skid buttons is developed with combined nongray WSGGM and blocked-off solution procedure. The model can attack the heat flux distribution within the furnace and the temperature distribut...

Exergoeconomic analysis of utilizing the transcritical CO_2 cycle and the ORC for a recompression supercritical CO_2 cycle waste heat recovery: A comparative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Xurong; Dai, Yiping

2016-01-01

Highlights: • An exergoeconomic analysis is performed for sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle. • Performance of the sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle and sCO_2/ORC cycle are presented and compared. • The sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle performs better than the sCO_2/ORC cycle at lower PRc. • The sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle has comparable total product unit cost with the sCO_2/ORC cycle. - Abstract: Two combined cogeneration cycles are examined in which the waste heat from a recompression supercritical CO_2 Brayton cycle (sCO_2) is recovered by either a transcritical CO_2 cycle (tCO_2) or an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) for generating electricity. An exergoeconomic analysis is performed for sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle performance and its comparison to the sCO_2/ORC cycle. The following organic fluids are considered as the working fluids in the ORC: R123, R245fa, toluene, isobutane, isopentane and cyclohexane. Thermodynamic and exergoeconomic models are developed for the cycles on the basis of mass and energy conservations, exergy balance and exergy cost equations. Parametric investigations are conducted to evaluate the influence of decision variables on the performance of sCO_2/tCO_2 and sCO_2/ORC cycles. The performance of these cycles is optimized and then compared. The results show that the sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle is preferable and performs better than the sCO_2/ORC cycle at lower PRc. When the sCO_2 cycle operates at a cycle maximum pressure of around 20 MPa (∼2.8 of PRc), the tCO_2 cycle is preferable to be integrated with the recompression sCO_2 cycle considering the off-design conditions. Moreover, contrary to the sCO_2/ORC system, a higher tCO_2 turbine inlet temperature improves exergoeconomic performance of the sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle. The thermodynamic optimization study reveals that the sCO_2/tCO_2 cycle has comparable second law efficiency with the sCO_2/ORC cycle. When the optimization is conducted based on the exergoeconomics, the total product unit cost of the sCO_2/ORC is slightly lower than that of the sCO_2/tCO_2

Higgs Inflation, Reheating and Gravitino Production in No-Scale Supersymmetric GUTs

CERN Document Server

Ellis, John; Xianyu, Zhong-Zhi

2016-08-30

We extend our previous study of supersymmetric Higgs inflation in the context of no-scale supergravity and grand unification, to include models based on the flipped SU(5) and the Pati-Salam group. Like the previous SU(5) GUT model, these yield a class of inflation models whose inflation predictions interpolate between those of the quadratic chaotic inflation and Starobinsky-like inflation, while also avoiding tension with proton decay limits. We further analyse the reheating process in these models, and derive the number of $e$-folds, which is independent of the reheating temperature. We derive the corresponding predictions for the scalar tilt and the tensor-to-scalar ratio in cosmic microwave background perturbations, and also discuss gravitino production following inflation.

Higgs inflation, reheating and gravitino production in no-scale Supersymmetric GUTs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ellis, John [Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology Group,Department of Physics, King’s College London,London WC2R 2LS (United Kingdom); Theoretical Physics Department, CERN,CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); He, Hong-Jian [Institute of Modern Physics and Center for High Energy Physics, Tsinghua University,Beijing 100084 (China); Center for High Energy Physics, Peking University,Beijing 100871 (China); Xianyu, Zhong-Zhi [Center of Mathematical Sciences and Applications andDepartment of Physics, Harvard University,Massachusetts 02138 (United States)

2016-08-30

We extend our previous study of supersymmetric Higgs inflation in the context of no-scale supergravity and grand unification, to include models based on the flipped SU(5) and the Pati-Salam group. Like the previous SU(5) GUT model, these yield a class of inflation models whose inflation predictions interpolate between those of the quadratic chaotic inflation and Starobinsky-like inflation, while avoiding tension with proton decay limits. We further analyse the reheating process in these models, and derive the number of e-folds, which is independent of the reheating temperature. We derive the corresponding predictions for the scalar tilt and the tensor-to-scalar ratio in cosmic microwave background perturbations, as well as discussing the gravitino production following inflation.

Supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extraction of actinides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, Ankita; Tomar, B.S.

2016-01-01

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is a process akin to liquid-liquid or solvent extraction where a Supercritical fluid (SCF) is contacted with a solid/ liquid matrix for the purpose of separating the component of interest from the original matrix. Carbon dioxide is a preferred choice as supercritical fluid (SCF) owing to its moderate critical parameter (P c = 7.38 MPa and T c = 304.1K) coupled with radiation and chemical stability, non toxic nature and low cost. Despite widespread applications for extraction of organic compounds and associated advantages especially liquid waste minimization, the SFE of metal ions was left unexplored for quite some time, as direct metal ion extraction is inefficient due charge neutralization requirement and weak solute-solvent interaction. Neutral SCF soluble metal-ligand complexation is imperative and SFE of actinides was reported only in 1994. Several studies have been carried out on SFE of uranium, thorium and plutonium from nitric acid medium employing different sets of ligands (organophosphorus, diketones, amides). Especially attractive is the possibility of direct dissolution and extraction of actinides employing ligand-acid adducts (like TBP.HNO 3 adduct) from solid matrices of different stages of nuclear fuel cycle viz. ores, spent nuclear fuels and radioactive wastes. Also, partitioning of actinides from fission products has been explored in spent nuclear fuel. These studies on supercritical fluid extraction of actinides indicate a more efficient and environmentally sustainable technology. (author)

Compressor Modeling for Transient Analysis of Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycle by using MARS code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Joo Hyun; Park, Hyun Sun; Kim, Tae Ho; Kwon, Jin Gyu [POSTECH, Pohang (Korea, Republic of); Bae, Sung Won; Cha, Jae Eun [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

In this study, SCIEL (Supercritical CO{sub 2} Integral Experimental Loop) was chosen as a reference loop and the MARS code was as the transient cycle analysis code. As a result, the compressor homologous curve was developed from the SCIEL experimental data and MARS analysis was performed and presented in the paper. The advantages attract SCO{sub 2}BC as a promising next generation power cycles. The high thermal efficiency comes from the operation of compressor near the critical point where the properties of SCO{sub 2}. The approaches to those of liquid phase, leading drastically lower the compression work loss. However, the advantage requires precise and smooth operation of the cycle near the critical point. However, it is one of the key technical challenges. The experimental data was steady state at compressor rotating speed of 25,000 rpm. The time, 3133 second, was starting point of steady state. Numerical solutions were well matched with the experimental data. The mass flow rate from the MARS analysis of approximately 0.7 kg/s was close to the experimental result of 0.9 kg/s. It is expected that the difference come from the measurement error in the experiment. In this study, the compressor model was developed and implemented in MARS to study the transient analysis of SCO{sub 2}BC in SCIEL. We obtained the homologous curves for the SCIEL compressor using experimental data and performed nodalization of the compressor model using MARS code. In conclusions, it was found that numerical solutions from the MARS model were well matched with experimental data.

Potential application of Rankine and He-Brayton cycles to sodium fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez-Pichel, G.D.; Linares, J.I.; Herranz, L.E.; Moratilla, B.Y.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → This paper has been focused on thermal efficiency of several Rankine and Brayton cycles for SFR. → A sub-critical Rankine configuration could reach a thermal efficiency higher than 43%. → It could be increased to almost 45% using super-critical configurations. → Brayton cycles thermal performance can be enhanced by adding a super-critical organic fluid Rankine cycle. → The moderate coolant temperature at the reactor makes Brayton configurations have poorer. - Abstract: Traditionally all the demos and/or prototypes of the sodium fast reactor (SFR) technology with power output, have used a steam sub-critical Rankine cycle. Sustainability requirement of Gen. IV reactors recommends exploring alternate power cycle configurations capable of reaching high thermal efficiency. By adopting the anticipated working parameters of next SFRs, this paper investigates the potential of some Rankine and He-Brayton layouts to reach thermal efficiencies as high as feasible, so that they could become alternates for SFR reactor balance of plant. The assessment has encompassed from sub-critical to super-critical Rankine cycles and combined cycles based on He-Brayton gas cycles of different complexity coupled to Organic Rankine Cycles. The sub-critical Rankine configuration reached at thermal efficiency higher than 43%, which has been shown to be a superior performance than any of the He-Brayton configurations analyzed. By adopting a super-critical Rankine arrangement, thermal efficiency would increase less than 1.5%. In short, according to the present study a sub-critical layout seems to be the most promising configuration for all those upcoming prototypes to be operated in the short term (10-15 years). The potential of super-critical CO 2 -Brayton cycles should be explored for future SFRs to be deployed in a longer run.

Chilly dark sectors and asymmetric reheating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adshead, Peter; Cui, Yanou; Shelton, Jessie

2016-01-01

In a broad class of theories, the relic abundance of dark matter is determined by interactions internal to a thermalized dark sector, with no direct involvement of the Standard Model (SM). We point out that these theories raise an immediate cosmological question: how was the dark sector initially populated in the early universe? Motivated in part by the difficulty of accommodating large amounts of entropy carried in dark radiation with cosmic microwave background measurements of the effective number of relativistic species at recombination, N eff , we aim to establish which admissible cosmological histories can populate a thermal dark sector that never reaches thermal equilibrium with the SM. The minimal cosmological origin for such a dark sector is asymmetric reheating, when the same mechanism that populates the SM in the early universe also populates the dark sector at a lower temperature. Here we demonstrate that the resulting inevitable inflaton-mediated scattering between the dark sector and the SM can wash out a would-be temperature asymmetry, and establish the regions of parameter space where temperature asymmetries can be generated in minimal reheating scenarios. Thus obtaining a temperature asymmetry of a given size either restricts possible inflaton masses and couplings or necessitates a non-minimal cosmology for one or both sectors. As a side benefit, we develop techniques for evaluating collision terms in the relativistic Boltzmann equation when the full dependence on Bose-Einstein or Fermi-Dirac phase space distributions must be retained, and present several new results on relativistic thermal averages in an appendix.

Chilly dark sectors and asymmetric reheating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adshead, Peter [Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Cui, Yanou [Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics,Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5 (Canada); Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics, University of Maryland,College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Shelton, Jessie [Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

2016-06-06

In a broad class of theories, the relic abundance of dark matter is determined by interactions internal to a thermalized dark sector, with no direct involvement of the Standard Model (SM). We point out that these theories raise an immediate cosmological question: how was the dark sector initially populated in the early universe? Motivated in part by the difficulty of accommodating large amounts of entropy carried in dark radiation with cosmic microwave background measurements of the effective number of relativistic species at recombination, N{sub eff}, we aim to establish which admissible cosmological histories can populate a thermal dark sector that never reaches thermal equilibrium with the SM. The minimal cosmological origin for such a dark sector is asymmetric reheating, when the same mechanism that populates the SM in the early universe also populates the dark sector at a lower temperature. Here we demonstrate that the resulting inevitable inflaton-mediated scattering between the dark sector and the SM can wash out a would-be temperature asymmetry, and establish the regions of parameter space where temperature asymmetries can be generated in minimal reheating scenarios. Thus obtaining a temperature asymmetry of a given size either restricts possible inflaton masses and couplings or necessitates a non-minimal cosmology for one or both sectors. As a side benefit, we develop techniques for evaluating collision terms in the relativistic Boltzmann equation when the full dependence on Bose-Einstein or Fermi-Dirac phase space distributions must be retained, and present several new results on relativistic thermal averages in an appendix.

Chilly dark sectors and asymmetric reheating

Science.gov (United States)

Adshead, Peter; Cui, Yanou; Shelton, Jessie

2016-06-01

In a broad class of theories, the relic abundance of dark matter is determined by interactions internal to a thermalized dark sector, with no direct involvement of the Standard Model (SM). We point out that these theories raise an immediate cosmological question: how was the dark sector initially populated in the early universe? Motivated in part by the difficulty of accommodating large amounts of entropy carried in dark radiation with cosmic microwave background measurements of the effective number of relativistic species at recombination, N eff , we aim to establish which admissible cosmological histories can populate a thermal dark sector that never reaches thermal equilibrium with the SM. The minimal cosmological origin for such a dark sector is asymmetric reheating, when the same mechanism that populates the SM in the early universe also populates the dark sector at a lower temperature. Here we demonstrate that the resulting inevitable inflaton-mediated scattering between the dark sector and the SM can wash out a would-be temperature asymmetry, and establish the regions of parameter space where temperature asymmetries can be generated in minimal reheating scenarios. Thus obtaining a temperature asymmetry of a given size either restricts possible inflaton masses and couplings or necessitates a non-minimal cosmology for one or both sectors. As a side benefit, we develop techniques for evaluating collision terms in the relativistic Boltzmann equation when the full dependence on Bose-Einstein or Fermi-Dirac phase space distributions must be retained, and present several new results on relativistic thermal averages in an appendix.

Reheat cracking in 1/2 CrMoV steel. Heat affected zones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batte, A.D.; Miller, R.C.; Murphy, M.C.

1976-01-01

Low alloy creep resisting steels are inherently susceptible to cracking during stress relief heat treatment (reheat cracking) though few welds give rise to problems in manufacture or service. Mechanical tests on simulated affected zone structures in CrMoV forgings have shown that cracking occurs when the high temperature ductility is inadequate to accommodate the residual welding strain. Differences in susceptibility result from differences in heat affected zone grain size if the purity level is sufficiently high; reheat cracking may then be avoided by ensuring complete grain refinement during welding. The susceptibility of a lower purity forging was insensitive to grain size; heat affected zone refinement is unlikely to eliminate cracking in such steel. (orig.) [de

Development and validation of models for simulation of supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycles and application to self-propelling heat removal systems in boiling water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venker, Jeanne

2015-01-01

The objective of the current work was to develop a model that is able to describe the transient behavior of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) Brayton cycles, to be applied to self-propelling residual heat removal systems in boiling water reactors. The developed model has been implemented into the thermohydraulic system code ATHLET. By means of this improved ATHLET version, novel residual heat removal systems, which are based on closed sCO 2 Brayton cycles, can be assessed as a retrofit measure for present light water reactors. Transient simulations are hereby of great importance. The heat removal system has to be modeled explicitly to account for the interaction between the system and the behavior of the plant during different accident conditions. As a first step, transport and thermodynamic fluid properties of supercritical carbon dioxide have been implemented in ATHLET to allow for the simulation of the new working fluid. Additionally, a heat transfer correlation has been selected to represent the specific heat transfer of supercritical carbon dioxide. For the calculation of pressure losses due to wall friction, an approach for turbulent single phase flow has been adopted that is already implemented in ATHLET. In a second step, a component model for radial compressors has been implemented in the system code. Furthermore, the available model for axial turbines has been adapted to simulate the transient behavior of radial turbines. All extensions have been validated against experimental data. In order to simulate the interaction between the self-propelling heat removal system and a generic boiling water reactor, the components of the sCO 2 Brayton cycle have been dimensioned with first principles. An available input deck of a generic BWR has then been extended by the residual heat removal system. The modeled application has shown that the extended version of ATHLET is suitable to simulate sCO 2 Brayton cycles and to evaluate the introduced heat removal system

Supersymmetric D-term inflation, reheating, and Affleck-Dine baryogenesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolda, C.; March-Russell, J.

1999-01-01

The phenomenology of supersymmetric models of inflation, where the inflationary vacuum energy is dominated by D terms of a U(1), is investigated. Particular attention is paid to the questions of how to arrange for sufficient e folds of inflation to occur, what kind of thermal history is expected after the end of inflation, and how to implement successful baryogenesis. Such models are argued to require a more restrictive symmetry structure than previously thought. In particular, it is nontrivial that the decays of the fields driving D inflation can reheat the Universe in such a way as to avoid the strong gravitino production constraints. We also show how the initial conditions for Affleck-Dine baryogenesis can arise in these models and that the simplest flat directions along which a baryon number is generated can often be ruled out by the constraints coming from a decoherence of the condensate in a hot environment. At the end, we find that successful reheating and baryogenesis can take place in a large subset of D-inflationary models. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

Energy conservation in reheating furnaces by reducing scrap and scale formation; Kuumamuokkauksen energiasaeaestoet romun maeaeraeae ja hilseilyae vaehentaemaellae

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kivivuori, S.; Savolainen, P.; Fredriksson, J.; Paavola, J. [Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Otaniemi (Finland). Lab. of Materials Processing and Powder Metallurgy

1996-12-31

The main objective of the project `Energy Savings in Reheating Furnaces by Reducing Scrap and Scale Formation` is to reduce energy consumption and environmental harms in reheating and rolling of steel. This was done by analysing the different atmospheres in reheating furnaces of the steel companies participating in this project. These atmospheres were then simulated in a laboratory furnace. Scale formation tests with different steel grades were then carried out in these atmospheres. Scale removal tests were done to some steel grades too. The results showed that lower oxygen content - as expected - decreases oxidation despite the even higher carbondioxide content in the atmosphere. Lower oxygen content may cause difficulties in scale removal. This however is highly dependent on the steel grade. Heat treatment tests showed the effect of increased temperature and furnace time on decarburization. Some energy savings was obtained in fuel consumption by optimising the operation parameters and the atmosphere steadier in different reheating furnaces. (orig.)

Energy conservation in reheating furnaces by reducing scrap and scale formation; Kuumamuokkauksen energiasaeaestoet romun maeaeraeae ja hilseilyae vaehentaemaellae

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kivivuori, S; Savolainen, P; Fredriksson, J; Paavola, J [Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Otaniemi (Finland). Lab. of Materials Processing and Powder Metallurgy

1997-12-31

The main objective of the project `Energy Savings in Reheating Furnaces by Reducing Scrap and Scale Formation` is to reduce energy consumption and environmental harms in reheating and rolling of steel. This was done by analysing the different atmospheres in reheating furnaces of the steel companies participating in this project. These atmospheres were then simulated in a laboratory furnace. Scale formation tests with different steel grades were then carried out in these atmospheres. Scale removal tests were done to some steel grades too. The results showed that lower oxygen content - as expected - decreases oxidation despite the even higher carbondioxide content in the atmosphere. Lower oxygen content may cause difficulties in scale removal. This however is highly dependent on the steel grade. Heat treatment tests showed the effect of increased temperature and furnace time on decarburization. Some energy savings was obtained in fuel consumption by optimising the operation parameters and the atmosphere steadier in different reheating furnaces. (orig.)

Corrosion in Supercritical carbon Dioxide: Materials, Environmental Purity, Surface Treatments, and Flow Issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sridharan, Kumar; Anderson, Mark

2013-12-10

The supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle is gaining importance for power conversion in the Generation IV fast reactor system because of its high conversion efficiencies. When used in conjunction with a sodium fast reactor, the supercritical CO{sub 2} cycle offers additional safety advantages by eliminating potential sodium-water interactions that may occur in a steam cycle. In power conversion systems for Generation IV fast reactors, supercritical CO{sub 2} temperatures could be in the range of 30°C to 650°C, depending on the specific component in the system. Materials corrosion primarily at high temperatures will be an important issue. Therefore, the corrosion performance limits for materials at various temperatures must be established. The proposed research will have four objectives centered on addressing corrosion issues in a high-temperature supercritical CO{sub 2} environment: Task 1: Evaluation of corrosion performance of candidate alloys in high-purity supercritical CO{sub 2}: The following alloys will be tested: Ferritic-martensitic Steels NF616 and HCM12A, austenitic alloys Incoloy 800H and 347 stainless steel, and two advanced concept alloys, AFA (alumina forming austenitic) steel and MA754. Supercritical CO{sub 2} testing will be performed at 450°C, 550°C, and 650°C at a pressure of 20 MPa, in a test facility that is already in place at the proposing university. High purity CO{sub 2} (99.9998%) will be used for these tests. Task 2: Investigation of the effects of CO, H{sub 2}O, and O{sub 2} impurities in supercritical CO{sub 2} on corrosion: Impurities that will inevitably present in the CO{sub 2} will play a critical role in dictating the extent of corrosion and corrosion mechanisms. These effects must be understood to identify the level of CO{sub 2} chemistry control needed to maintain sufficient levels of purity to manage corrosion. The individual effects of important impurities CO, H{sub 2}O, and O{sub 2} will be investigated by adding them

Supercritical Water Nuclear Steam Supply System: Innovations In Materials, Neutronics and Thermal-Hydraulics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, Mark; Corradini, M.L.; Sridharan, K.; Wilson, P.; Cho, D.; Kim, T.K.; Lomperski, S.

2004-01-01

In the 1990's supercritical light-water reactors were considered in conceptual designs. A nuclear reactor cooled by supercritical waster would have a much higher thermal efficiency with a once-through direct power cycle, and could be based on standardized water reactor components (light water or heavy water). The theoretical efficiency could be improved by more than 33% over that of other water reactors and could be simplified with higher reliability; e.g., a boiling water reactor without steam separators or dryers

Supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton power conversion cycle for battery optimized reactor integral system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, T. W.; Kim, N. H.; Suh, K. Y.

2007-01-01

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO 2 ) promises a high power conversion efficiency of the recompression Brayton cycle due to its excellent compressibility reducing the compression work at the bottom of the cycle and to a higher density than helium or steam decreasing the component size. The SCO 2 Brayton cycle efficiency as high as 45% furnishes small sized nuclear reactors with economical benefits on the plant construction and maintenance. A 23 MWth lead-cooled Battery Optimized Reactor Integral System (BORIS) is being developed as an ultra-long-life, versatile-purpose, fast-spectrum reactor. BORIS is coupled to the SCO 2 Brayton cycle needing less room relative to the Rankine steam cycle because of its smaller components. The SCO 2 Brayton cycle of BORIS consists of a 16 MW turbine, a 32 MW high temperature recuperator, a 14 MW low temperature recuperator, an 11 MW precooler and 2 and 2.8 MW compressors. Entering six heat exchangers between primary and secondary system at 19.9 MPa and 663 K, the SCO 2 leaves the heat exchangers at 19.9 MPa and 823 K. The promising secondary system efficiency of 45% was calculated by a theoretical method in which the main parameters include pressure, temperature, heater power, the turbine's, recuperators' and compressors' efficiencies, and the flow split ratio of SCO 2 going out from the low temperature recuperator. Development of Modular Optimized Brayton Integral System (MOBIS) is being devised as the SCO 2 Brayton cycle energy conversion cycle for BORIS. MOBIS consists of Loop Operating Brayton Optimization Study (LOBOS) for experimental Brayton cycle loop and Gas Advanced Turbine Operation Study (GATOS) for the SCO 2 turbine. Liquid-metal Energy Exchanger Integral System (LEXIS) serves to couple BORIS and MOBIS. LEXIS comprises Physical Aspect Thermal Operation System (PATOS) for SCO 2 thermal hydraulic characteristics, Shell-and-tube Overall Layout Optimization Study (SOLOS) for shell-and-tube heat exchanger, Printed

Thermodynamic performance assessment of an integrated geothermal powered supercritical regenerative organic Rankine cycle and parabolic trough solar collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cakici, Duygu Melek; Erdogan, Anil; Colpan, Can Ozgur

2017-01-01

In this study, the thermodynamic performance of an integrated geothermal powered supercritical regenerative organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and parabolic trough solar collectors (PTSC) is assessed. A thermal model based on the principles of thermodynamics (mass, energy, and exergy balances) and heat transfer is first developed for the components of this integrated system. This model gives the performance assessment parameters of the system such as the electrical and exergetic efficiencies, total exergy destruction and loss, productivity lack, fuel depletion ratio, and improvement potential rate. To validate this model, the data of an existing geothermal power plant based on a supercritical ORC and literature data for the PTSC are used. After validation, parametric studies are conducted to assess the effect of some of the important design and operating parameters on the performance of the system. As a result of these studies, it is found that the integration of ORC and PTSC systems increases the net power output but decreases the electrical and exergetic efficiencies of the integrated system. It is also shown that R134a is the most suitable working fluid type for this system; and the PTSCs and air cooled condenser are the main sources of the exergy destructions. - Highlights: • A geothermal power plant integrated with PTSC is investigated. • Different approaches for defining the exergetic efficiency are used. • The PTSCs and ACC are the main sources of the exergy destructions. • R134a gives the highest performance for any number of collectors studied.

Preliminary Design and Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Turbine Blade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Wi S.; Kim, Tae W.; Suh, Kune Y.

2007-01-01

The supercritical gas turbine Brayton cycle has been adopted in the secondary loop of the Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems, and planned to be installed in power conversion cycles of the nuclear fusion reactors as well. The supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO 2 ) is one of widely considered fluids for this concept. The potential beneficiaries include the Secure Transportable Autonomous Reactor- Liquid Metal (STAR-LM), the Korea Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor (KALIMER) and Battery Omnibus Reactor Integral System (BORIS) which is being developed at the Seoul National University. The reason for these welcomed applications is that the SCO 2 Brayton cycle can achieve higher overall energy conversion efficiency than the steam turbine Rankine cycle. Seoul National University has recently been working on the SCO 2 based Modular Optimized Brayton Integral System (MOBIS). The MOBIS design power conversion efficiency is about 45%. Gas turbine design is crucial part in achieving this high efficiency. In this paper, the preliminary analysis on first stage of gas turbine was performed using CFX as a solver

Observational status of Tachyon Natural Inflation and reheating

Science.gov (United States)

Rashidi, Narges; Nozari, Kourosh; Grøn, Øyvind

2018-05-01

We study observational viability of Natural Inflation with a tachyon field as inflaton. By obtaining the main perturbation parameters in this model, we perform a numerical analysis on the parameter space of the model and in confrontation with 68% and 95% CL regions of Planck2015 data. By adopting a warped background geometry, we find some new constraints on the width of the potential in terms of its height and the warp factor. We show that the Tachyon Natural Inflation in the large width limit recovers the tachyon model with a phi2 potential which is consistent with Planck2015 observational data. Then we focus on the reheating era after inflation by treating the number of e-folds, temperature and the effective equation of state parameter in this era. Since it is likely that the value of the effective equation of state parameter during the reheating era to be in the range 0Inflation model. In particular, we show that a prediction of this model is r<=8/3 δns, where δns is the scalar spectral tilt, δns=1‑ns. In this regard, given that from the Planck2015 data we have δns=0.032 (corresponding to ns=0.968), we get r<= 0.085.

Solid catalyzed isoparaffin alkylation at supercritical fluid and near-supercritical fluid conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Ginosar, Daniel M.; Fox, Robert V.; Kong, Peter C.

2000-01-01

This invention relates to an improved method for the alkylation reaction of isoparaffins with olefins over solid catalysts including contacting a mixture of an isoparaffin, an olefin and a phase-modifying material with a solid acid catalyst member under alkylation conversion conditions at either supercritical fluid, or near-supercritical fluid conditions, at a temperature and a pressure relative to the critical temperature(T.sub.c) and the critical pressure(P.sub.c) of the reaction mixture. The phase-modifying phase-modifying material is employed to promote the reaction's achievement of either a supercritical fluid state or a near-supercritical state while simultaneously allowing for decreased reaction temperature and longer catalyst life.

MSW-resonant fermion mixing during reheating

Science.gov (United States)

Kanai, Tsuneto; Tsujikawa, Shinji

2003-10-01

We study the dynamics of reheating in which an inflaton field couples two flavor fermions through Yukawa-couplings. When two fermions have a mixing term with a constant coupling, we show that the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW)-type resonance emerges due to a time-dependent background in addition to the standard fermion creation via parametric resonance. This MSW resonance not only alters the number densities of fermions generated by a preheating process but also can lead to the larger energy transfer from the inflaton to fermions. Our mechanism can provide additional source terms for the creation of superheavy fermions which may be relevant for the leptogenesis scenario.

MSW-resonant fermion mixing during reheating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanai, Tsuneto; Tsujikawa, Shinji

2003-01-01

We study the dynamics of reheating in which an inflaton field couples two flavor fermions through Yukawa-couplings. When two fermions have a mixing term with a constant coupling, we show that the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW)-type resonance emerges due to a time-dependent background in addition to the standard fermion creation via parametric resonance. This MSW resonance not only alters the number densities of fermions generated by a preheating process but also can lead to the larger energy transfer from the inflaton to fermions. Our mechanism can provide additional source terms for the creation of superheavy fermions which may be relevant for the leptogenesis scenario

Exergy analysis of a system using a chemical heat pump to link a supercritical water-cooled nuclear reactor and a thermochemical water splitting cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Granovskii, M.; Dincer, I.; Rosen, M. A.; Pioro, I

2007-01-01

The power generation efficiency of nuclear plants is mainly determined by the permissible temperatures and pressures of the nuclear reactor fuel and coolants. These parameters are limited by materials properties and corrosion rates and their effect on nuclear reactor safety. The advanced materials for the next generation of CANDU reactors, which employ steam as a coolant and heat carrier, permit the increased steam parameters (outlet temperature up to 625 degree C and pressure of about 25 MPa). Supercritical water-cooled (SCW) nuclear power plants are expected to increase the power generation efficiency from 35 to 45%. Supercritical water-cooled nuclear reactors can be linked to thermochemical water splitting cycles for hydrogen production. An increased steam temperature from the nuclear reactor makes it also possible to utilize its energy in thermochemical water splitting cycles. These cycles are considered by many as one of the most efficient ways to produce hydrogen from water and to have advantages over traditional low-temperature water electrolysis. However, even lower temperature water splitting cycles (Cu-Cl, UT-3, etc.) require a heat supply at the temperatures over 550-600 degree C. A sufficient increase in the heat transfer from the nuclear reactor to a thermochemical water splitting cycle, without jeopardizing nuclear reactor safety, might be effectively achieved by application of a heat pump which increases the temperature the heat supplied by virtue of a cyclic process driven by mechanical or electrical work. A high temperature chemical heat pump which employs the reversible catalytic methane conversion reaction is proposed. The reaction shift from exothermic to endothermic and back is achieved by a change of the steam concentration in the reaction mixture. This heat pump, coupled with a SCW nuclear plant on one side and thermochemical water splitting cycle on the other, increases the temperature level of the 'nuclear' heat and, thus, the intensity of

Design of an efficient space constrained diffuser for supercritical CO2 turbines

Science.gov (United States)

Keep, Joshua A.; Head, Adam J.; Jahn, Ingo H.

2017-03-01

Radial inflow turbines are an arguably relevant architecture for energy extraction from ORC and supercritical CO 2 power cycles. At small scale, design constraints can prescribe high exit velocities for such turbines, which lead to high kinetic energy in the turbine exhaust stream. The inclusion of a suitable diffuser in a radial turbine system allows some exhaust kinetic energy to be recovered as static pressure, thereby ensuring efficient operation of the overall turbine system. In supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycles, the high turbine inlet pressure can lead to a sealing challenge if the rotor is supported from the rotor rear side, due to the seal operating at rotor inlet pressure. An alternative to this is a cantilevered layout with the rotor exit facing the bearing system. While such a layout is attractive for the sealing system, it limits the axial space claim of any diffuser. Previous studies into conical diffuser geometries for supercritical CO 2 have shown that in order to achieve optimal static pressure recovery, longer geometries of a shallower cone angle are necessitated when compared to air. A diffuser with a combined annular-radial arrangement is investigated as a means to package the aforementioned geometric characteristics into a limited space claim for a 100kW radial inflow turbine. Simulation results show that a diffuser of this design can attain static pressure rise coefficients greater than 0.88. This confirms that annular-radial diffusers are a viable design solution for supercritical CO2 radial inflow turbines, thus enabling an alternative cantilevered rotor layout.

Design of a supercritical carbon dioxide cooled reactor for marine applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bollardiere, T. Paris de; Verchere, T.; Wilson, M.; O'Sullivan, P.; Heap, S.; Thompson, A.; Jewer, S.; Beeley, P.A.

2009-01-01

The reactor physics and thermal hydraulics aspects of a feasibility study conducted to assess the potential of a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) cooled nuclear reactor for marine propulsion are presented. Supercritical carbon dioxide cycles have been proposed for next generation nuclear plants as such cycles take advantage of sCO2 property changes near the critical point which leads to improved plant efficiency over existing nuclear plant cycles at the same temperatures and pressures. Selecting two 192 MWth cores and a recompression Brayton cycle it was determined that a maximum power conversion efficiency of 47.5 % could be achieved. The core design employs TRISO particles in a graphite matrix forming a fuelled annulus in a prismatic graphite moderating block. The design of this plant has been modeled using WIMS/MONK (neutronics) and Flownex (plant thermal hydraulics and power conversion). Plant modeling found that the core remains within thermal safety limits in the event of a LOCA. The major limitation of the design was found to be the high xenon levels produced as a result of the high neutron flux required of a gas cooled reactor and the effect it has on the versatility of the plant to cope with changes in power demand. (author)

High performance supercapacitor using N-doped graphene prepared via supercritical fluid processing with an oxime nitrogen source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balaji, S. Suresh; Elavarasan, A.; Sathish, M.

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: N-doped graphene prepared via supercritical fluid processing with oxime nitrogen source (DMG) showed enhanced performance in electrochemical supercapacitor application. A maximum specific capacitance of 286 F g"−"1 at a current density of 0.5 A/g was achieved with a high specific capacity retention of 98% after 1000 cycles at 5 A/g. - Highlights: • N-functionalised graphene synthesized via supercritical fluid processing. • DMG, an oxime based nitrogen precursor. • Maximum specific capacitance of 286 F/g at 0.5 A/g in aqueous solution. • Pyridinic as well as quarternary nitrogen for enhanced capacitance. - Abstract: Heteroatom doped graphene has been proved for its promising applications in electrochemical energy storage systems. Here, nitrogen (N) doped graphene was prepared via two different techniques namely supercritical fluid assisted processing and hydrothermal heat treatment using dimethylglyoxime (DMG) as an oxime nitrogen precursor. The FT-IR and Raman spectra showed the N-containing functional group in the graphene. The XRD analysis revealed the complete reduction of graphene oxide during the supercritical fluid processing. The elemental analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed the amount and nature of N-doping in the graphene, respectively. The surface morphology and physical nature of the samples were analyzed using scanning and transmission electron microscopic analysis. The electrochemical performance of prepared electrode materials was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge analysis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The N-doped graphene prepared via supercritical fluid assisted processing exhibit enhanced capacitive behaviour with a maximum specific capacitance of 286 F g"−"1 at a current density of 0.5 A/g. The cycling studies showed 98% specific capacity retention with 100% coulombic efficiency over 1000 cycles at 5 A/g. The enhanced specific capacitance of N

Studies of super-critical CO2 gas turbine power generation fast reactor (Contract research, translated document)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kisohara, Naoyuki; Kotake, Shoji; Sakamoto, Toshihiko

2008-08-01

The following studies have been executed for a super-critical CO 2 turbine system of an SFR. (1) Preliminary design of a SFR adopting a super-critical CO 2 cycle turbine. Preliminary system design of an SFR that adopts a super-critical CO 2 cycle turbine has been made. This SFR system eliminates secondary sodium circuits because of no sodium/water reaction. The power generation efficiency of the SFR has been estimated to be approximately 42%. Compared to a conventional SFR that adopts a steam Rankine cycle with secondary sodium circuits, the volume of the reactor building of the SC-CO 2 SFR has been reduced by 20%. (2) Thermal-hydraulic experiment of a super-critical CO 2 cycle loop. A test loop that simulates a super-critical CO 2 whole cycle was fabricated. An electrical heater was used for a heat source of the test loop. The high efficiency of the compressor has been experimentally confirmed near the super-critical region. The temperature efficiencies of PCHE recuperators have been approximately 98-99% (hot leg), and the recuperators have exhibited high heat transfer performance. No significant flow instability has been observed in the test loop operation. (3) Liquid sodium/CO 2 reaction test. Reaction tests have been executed by contacting a small amount of liquid sodium and CO 2 gas. Continuous sodium/CO 2 reactions with flame have occurred at the temperature higher than 570-580degC. Main reaction products have been Na 2 CO 3 and CO gas. The reaction heat has been also measured to be 50-75kJ/Na-mol. (4) Computer code safety analysis for tube failure of sodium/CO 2 heat exchanger. Safety calculation has been done for one double ended guillotine tube failure (1 DEG) of a helical coil type sodium/CO 2 heat exchanger. The analysis has showed that the maximum pressure in the primary sodium circuit is 0.28MPa due to a gas leak. It has been, however, below the allowed level of the primary circuit structural integrity. The void reactivity of the reactor core has

Adsorption of ethyl acetate onto modified clays and its regeneration with supercritical CO2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. M. Cavalcante

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Modified clays were used to remove ethyl acetate from aqueous solutions. These clays were regenerated using supercritical CO2. Structural changes in the montmorillonite clay after treatment with quaternary amines were studied. The surface properties of the modified clay changed from highly hydrophilic to highly organophilic. The clay was regenerated by percolation of a stream of CO2 through the porous montmorillonite matrix. Different pressures and temperatures were employed, resulting in different fluid conditions (gas, liquid, and supercritical. The experimental data was fitted with a simplified model. The best desorption result was found under supercritical conditions. A crossover effect was observed. The capacity of the modified clay as a pollutant attenuator remained almost unchanged after a regeneration cycle.

Development and validation of models for simulation of supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycles and application to self-propelling heat removal systems in boiling water reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Venker, Jeanne

2015-03-31

The objective of the current work was to develop a model that is able to describe the transient behavior of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO{sub 2}) Brayton cycles, to be applied to self-propelling residual heat removal systems in boiling water reactors. The developed model has been implemented into the thermohydraulic system code ATHLET. By means of this improved ATHLET version, novel residual heat removal systems, which are based on closed sCO{sub 2} Brayton cycles, can be assessed as a retrofit measure for present light water reactors. Transient simulations are hereby of great importance. The heat removal system has to be modeled explicitly to account for the interaction between the system and the behavior of the plant during different accident conditions. As a first step, transport and thermodynamic fluid properties of supercritical carbon dioxide have been implemented in ATHLET to allow for the simulation of the new working fluid. Additionally, a heat transfer correlation has been selected to represent the specific heat transfer of supercritical carbon dioxide. For the calculation of pressure losses due to wall friction, an approach for turbulent single phase flow has been adopted that is already implemented in ATHLET. In a second step, a component model for radial compressors has been implemented in the system code. Furthermore, the available model for axial turbines has been adapted to simulate the transient behavior of radial turbines. All extensions have been validated against experimental data. In order to simulate the interaction between the self-propelling heat removal system and a generic boiling water reactor, the components of the sCO{sub 2} Brayton cycle have been dimensioned with first principles. An available input deck of a generic BWR has then been extended by the residual heat removal system. The modeled application has shown that the extended version of ATHLET is suitable to simulate sCO{sub 2} Brayton cycles and to evaluate the introduced

Extraction with supercritical gases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schneider, G M; Wilke, G; Stahl, E

1980-01-01

The contents of this book derives from a symposium on the 5th and 6th of June 1978 in the ''Haus der Technik'' in Essen. Contributions were made to separation with supercritical gases, fluid extraction of hops, spices and tobacco, physicochemical principles of extraction, phase equilibria and critical curves of binary ammonia-hydrocarbon mixtures, a quick method for the microanalytical evaluation of the dissolving power of supercritical gases, chromatography with supercritical fluids, the separation of nonvolatile substances by means of compressed gases in countercurrent processes, large-scale industrial plant for extraction with supercritical gases, development and design of plant for high-pressure extraction of natural products.

Thermal Efficiency of Cogeneration Units with Multi-Stage Reheating for Russian Municipal Heating Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evgeny Lisin

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the layout of an optimum process for supplying heat to Russian municipal heating systems operating in a market environment. We analyze and compare the standard cogeneration unit design with two-stage reheating of service water coming from controlled extraction locations and layouts that employ three in-line reheaters with heat the supply controlled by a rotary diaphragm and qualitative/quantitative methods (so-called “uncontrolled extraction”. Cogeneration unit designs are benchmarked in terms of their thermal efficiency expressed as a fuel consumption rate. The specific fuel consumption rate on electricity production is viewed as a key parameter of thermal efficiency.

Potential advantages of coupling supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle to water cooled small and medium size reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Ho Joon; Ahn, Yoonhan; Lee, Jeong Ik; Addad, Yacine

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► S-CO 2 cycle as candidate for SMS. ► MATLAB code used for S-CO 2 cycle analysis. ► Pressure ratio and split ratio comparison analyzed. - Abstract: The supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO 2 ) Brayton cycle is being considered as a favorable candidate for the next generation nuclear reactors power conversion systems. Major benefits of the S-CO 2 Brayton cycle compared to other Brayton cycles are: (1) high thermal efficiency in relatively low turbine inlet temperature, (2) compactness of the turbomachineries and heat exchangers and (3) simpler cycle layout at an equivalent or superior thermal efficiency. However, these benefits can be still utilized even in the water-cooled reactor technologies under special circumstances. A small and medium size water-cooled nuclear reactor (SMR) has been gaining interest due to its wide range of application such as electricity generation, seawater desalination, district heating and propulsion. Another key advantage of a SMR is that it can be transported from one place to another mostly by maritime transport due to its small size, and sometimes even through a railway system. Therefore, the combination of a S-CO 2 Brayton cycle with a SMR can reinforce any advantages coming from its small size if the S-CO 2 Brayton cycle has much smaller size components, and simpler cycle layout compared to the currently considered steam Rankine cycle. In this paper, SMART (System-integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor), a 330 MW th integral reactor developed by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Institute) for multipurpose utilization, is considered as a potential candidate for applying the S-CO 2 Brayton cycle and advantages and disadvantages of the proposed system will be discussed in detail. In consideration of SMART condition, the turbine inlet pressure and size of heat exchangers are analyzed by using in-house code developed by KAIST–Khalifa University joint research team. According to the cycle evaluation, the maximum cycle efficiency

On finite density effects on cosmic reheating and moduli decay and implications for Dark Matter production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drewes, Marco

2014-01-01

We study the damping of an oscillating scalar field in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime by perturbative processes, taking into account the back-reaction of the plasma of decay products on the damping rate. The scalar field may be identified with the inflaton, in which case this process resembles the reheating of the universe after inflation. It can also model a modulus that dominates the energy density of the universe at later times. We find that the finite density corrections to the damping rate can have a drastic effect on the thermal history and considerably increase both, the maximal temperature in the early universe and the reheating temperature at the onset of the radiation dominated era. As a result the abundance of some Dark Matter candidates may be considerably larger than previously estimated. We give improved analytic estimates for the maximal and the reheating temperatures and confirm them numerically in a simple model

Inflation and reheating in induced-gravity models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barr, S.; Segre, G.

1990-01-01

The Planck mass is generated dynamically in induced-gravity models, typically being related to the vacuum expectation value of a scalar field φ, ε 1/2 left-angle φ right-angle=M Pl / √8π , where ε is a dimensionless parameter, typically smaller than one. We discuss in this paper the decay of the φ particle, which is mainly into gravitons, and the consequences this has for models in which the φ field is responsible for inflation. We show in particular that too much energy is stored in φ oscillations and adequate reheating does not occur

Supercritical CO2 test loop operation and first test results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, Steven A.; Pickard, Paul S.

2009-01-01

The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy is investigating advanced Brayton cycles for use with next generation nuclear power plants. The focus of this work is on the supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycle which has the potential for high efficiency, and for reduced capital costs due to very compact turbomachinery. Sandia has fabricated and is operating a supercritical CO 2 (S-CO 2 ) test loop to investigate the key technology issues associated with this cycle. This loop is part of a multi-year phased development program to develop a megawatt (MW) class closed S-CO 2 Brayton cycle to demonstrate the applicability of this cycle for DOE Gen-IV program. The current loop has been configured as both a compression loop and as simple heated but unrecuperated Brayton cycle. A second split-flow or re-compression Brayton cycle is currently under development that will use approximately 1 MW of heat to run the Brayton cycle. Early configurations of this split-flow Brayton cycle will be operational later this fiscal year. The key issues for this cycle include the fundamental issues of compressor fluid performance and system control near the critical point, but also the supporting technology issues of bearings, sealing technologies, and rotor windage losses which are also essential to achieving efficiency and cost objectives. These tests are providing the first measurements and information on these key supercritical CO 2 power conversion systems questions. Important data for all these issues has been obtained. This report presents the major results of the testing by showing and comparing the measured compressor performance map with the predicted performance. The compression loop uses a ∼50 kWe motor driven compressor to spin a 37 mm OD compressor at design speeds up to 75,000 rpm with a pressure ratio of 1.8 and a flow rate of 3.53 kg/s for a compressor inlet condition of 305.3 K and 7690 kPa. The most recent configuration of this loop has added a small turbine and 260 kW of heater power is

Design Study of Supercritical CO{sub 2} Integral Experiment Loop (SCIEL)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahn, Yoonhan; Lee, Jaekyoung; Lee, Jeong Ik [Korea Adavanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cha, Jae Eun [Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

As the global warming becomes more substantial, the development of highly efficient power conversion system gains a lot of interests to reduce CO{sub 2} emission. Supercritical CO{sub 2} (S-CO{sub 2}) cycle is considered as one of the promising candidates due to the competitive efficiency in the mild turbine inlet temperature range, and the compact footprint with compact turbomachinery and heat exchangers. With these advantages, S-CO{sub 2} cycle can be utilized as the power conversion system of fossil power, advanced nuclear reactor, renewable energy system and a bottoming cycle for gas turbine or high temperature fuel cell, as well. In addition, the S-CO{sub 2} cycle is considered as the alternative power conversion system of a Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) as the violent Sodium-Water Reaction (SWR) can be replaced with the mild Sodium-CO{sub 2} Reaction (SCR). To demonstrate the S-CO{sub 2} cycle performance, the integral test facilities were constructed and the operational results were reported by several countries. The development of S-CO{sub 2} cycle can be utilized as the power conversion system including the fossil power, next generation nuclear reactor, and concentrated solar power systems as the cycle efficiency is high in the mild turbine inlet temperature range (450-650 .deg. C) and the layout is simple with the physically compact system size. To demonstrate the S-CO{sub 2} cycle performance, Supercritical CO{sub 2} Integral Experiment Loop (SCIEL) has been under development by the joint research team of KAERI, KAIST and POSTECH. The final layout of SCIEL is recuperated cycle with a double stage of compression and expansion to achieve 2.57 pressure ratio. Considering the temperature difference limit of PCHE, a series of recuperation process is utilized.

High-Efficiency Low-Cost Solar Receiver for Use Ina a Supercritical CO₂ Recompression Cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sullivan, Shaun D. [Brayton Energy, LLC, Portsmouth, NH (United States); Kesseli, James [Brayton Energy, LLC, Portsmouth, NH (United States); Nash, James [Brayton Energy, LLC, Portsmouth, NH (United States); Farias, Jason [Brayton Energy, LLC, Portsmouth, NH (United States); Kesseli, Devon [Brayton Energy, LLC, Portsmouth, NH (United States); Caruso, William [Brayton Energy, LLC, Portsmouth, NH (United States)

2016-04-06

This project has performed solar receiver designs for two supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) power cycles. The first half of the program focused on a nominally 2 MWe power cycle, with a receiver designed for test at the Sandia Solar Thermal Test Facility. This led to an economical cavity-type receiver. The second half of the program focused on a 10 MWe power cycle, incorporating a surround open receiver. Rigorous component life and performance testing was performed in support of both receiver designs. The receiver performance objectives are set to conform to the US DOE goals of 6¢/kWh by 2020 . Key findings for both cavity-type and direct open receiver are highlighted below: A tube-based absorber design is impractical at specified temperatures, pressures and heat fluxes for the application; a plate-fin architecture however has been shown to meet performance and life targets; the $148/kW_th cost of the design is significantly less than the SunShot cost target with a margin of 30%; the proposed receiver design is scalable, and may be applied to both modular cavity-type installations as well as large utility-scale open receiver installations; the design may be integrated with thermal storage systems, allowing for continuous high-efficiency electrical production during off-sun hours; costs associated with a direct sCO₂ receiver for a sCO₂ Brayton power cycle are comparable to those of a typical molten salt receiver; lifetimes in excess of the 90,000 hour goal are achievable with an optimal cell geometry; the thermal performance of the Brayton receiver is significantly higher than the industry standard, and enables at least a 30% efficiency improvement over the performance of the baseline steam-Rankine boiler/cycle system; brayton’s patent-pending quartz tube window provides a greater than five-percent efficiency benefit to the receiver by reducing both convection and radiation losses.

3-D Transient Heat Transfer Analysis of Slab Heating Characteristics in a Reheating Furnace in Hot Strip Mills

OpenAIRE

J. Y. Jang; Y. W. Lee; C. N. Lin; C. H. Wang

2015-01-01

The reheating furnace is used to reheat the steel slabs before the hot-rolling process. The supported system includes the stationary/moving beams, and the skid buttons which block some thermal radiation transmitted to the bottom of the slabs. Therefore, it is important to analyze the steel slab temperature distribution during the heating period. A three-dimensional mathematical transient heat transfer model for the prediction of temperature distribution within the slab ha...

Supercritical Water Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouchter, J.C.; Dufour, P.; Guidez, J.; Latge, C.; Renault, C.; Rimpault, G.

2014-01-01

The supercritical water reactor (SCWR) is one of the 6 concepts selected for the 4. generation of nuclear reactors. SCWR is a new concept, it is an attempt to optimize boiling water reactors by using the main advantages of supercritical water: only liquid phase and a high calorific capacity. The SCWR requires very high temperatures (over 375 C degrees) and very high pressures (over 22.1 MPa) to operate which allows a high conversion yield (44% instead of 33% for a PWR). Low volumes of coolant are necessary which makes the neutron spectrum shift towards higher energies and it is then possible to consider fast reactors operating with supercritical water. The main drawbacks of supercritical water is the necessity to use very high pressures which has important constraints on the reactor design, its physical properties (density, calorific capacity) that vary strongly with temperatures and pressures and its very high corrosiveness. The feasibility of the concept is not yet assured in terms of adequate materials that resist to corrosion, reactor stability, reactor safety, and reactor behaviour in accidental situations. (A.C.)

Leptogenesis and reheating in complex hybrid inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez-Prieto, Carlos; Delepine, David; Urena-Lopez, L. Arturo

2010-01-01

We study the transformation into a baryon asymmetry of a charge initially stored in a complex (waterfall) scalar field at the end of a hybrid inflation phase as described by Delepine, Martinez, and Urena-Lopez [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 161302 (2007)]. The waterfall field is coupled to right-handed neutrinos, and is also responsible for their Majorana masses. The charge is finally transferred to the leptons of the standard model through the decay of the right-handed neutrinos without introducing new CP violating interactions. Other needed processes, like the decay of the inflaton field and the reheating of the Universe, are also discussed in detail.

Cytotoxic Deoxypodophyllotoxin Can Be Extracted in High Purity from Anthriscus sylvestris Roots by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Seegers, Christel L C; Tepper, Pieter G; Setroikromo, Rita; Quax, Wim J

2018-05-01

Deoxypodophyllotoxin is present in the roots of Anthriscus sylvestris . This compound is cytotoxic on its own, but it can also be converted into podophyllotoxin, which is in high demand as a precursor for the important anticancer drugs etoposide and teniposide. In this study, deoxypodophyllotoxin is extracted from A. sylvestris roots by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. The process is simple and scalable. The supercritical carbon dioxide method extracts 75 - 80% of the total deoxypodophyllotoxin content, which is comparable to a single extraction by traditional Soxhlet. However, less polar components are extracted. The activity of the supercritical carbon dioxide extract containing deoxypodophyllotoxin was assessed by demonstrating that the extract arrests A549 and HeLa cells in the G 2 /M phase of the cell cycle. We conclude that biologically active deoxypodophyllotoxin can be extracted from A. sylvestris by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. The method is solvent free and more sustainable compared to traditional methods. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

European supercritical water cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulenberg, T.; Starflinger, J.; Marsault, P.; Bittermann, D.; Maraczy, C.; Laurien, E.; Lycklama a Nijeholt, J.A.; Anglart, H.; Andreani, M.; Ruzickova, M.; Toivonen, A.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The HPLWR reactor design is an example of a supercritical water cooled reactor. → Cladding material tests have started but materials are not yet satisfactory. → Numerical heat transfer predictions are promising but need further validation. → The research project is most suited for nuclear education and training. - Abstract: The High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR), how the European Supercritical Water Cooled Reactor is called, is a pressure vessel type reactor operated with supercritical water at 25 MPa feedwater pressure and 500 o C average core outlet temperature. It is designed and analyzed by a European consortium of 10 partners and 3 active supporters from 8 Euratom member states in the second phase of the HPLWR project. Most emphasis has been laid on a core with a thermal neutron spectrum, consisting of small fuel assemblies in boxes with 40 fuel pins each and a central water box to improve the neutron moderation despite the low coolant density. Peak cladding temperatures of the fuel rods have been minimized by heating up the coolant in three steps with intermediate coolant mixing. The containment design with its safety and residual heat removal systems is based on the latest boiling water reactor concept, but with different passive high pressure coolant injection systems to cause a forced convection through the core. The design concept of the steam cycle is indicating the envisaged efficiency increase to around 44%. Moreover, it provides the constraints to design the components of the balance of the plant. The project is accompanied by numerical studies of heat transfer of supercritical water in fuel assemblies and by material tests of candidate cladding alloys, performed by the consortium and supported by additional tests of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Besides the scientific and technical progress, the HPLWR project turned out to be most successful in training the young generation of nuclear engineers

Engineered for the energy future. I. Moisture separator-reheaters: extreme reliability an imperative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1976-01-01

A description is given of the design and development activities performed by Foster-Wheeler to insure operational reliability of sixteen moisture separator-reheaters being manufactured for eight twin-unit BWR power plants to be operated by TVA

Operation Test of the Supercritical CO{sub 2} Compressor Supported with Active Magnetic Bearing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cha, Jae Eun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Seong Kuk; Lee, Jeong IK [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

In this paper, the operation test status of the SCIEL sCO{sub 2} AMB Compressor is briefly described. The Supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycle Integral Experiment Loop (SCIEL) has been installed in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to develop the element technologies for the sCO{sub 2} cycle power generation system. The operation of the SCIEL has mainly focused on sCO{sub 2} compressor development and establishing sCO{sub 2} system control logic. The installation of the SCIEL low compression loop was finished in December 2014 and research team succeeded in generating electric power on the supercritical state of the CO{sub 2} in May 2015. The SCIEL has been built in KAERI to develop the element technologies and the system control logics for the sCO{sub 2} cycle power conversion unit of the next generation reactor. For the stable operation of the sCO{sub 2} compressor under high rotational speed, the AMB sCO{sub 2} compressor was developed and achieved the maximum 40,000 rpm.

Power flattening and reactivity suppression strategies for the Canadian supercritical water reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, M.; Colton, A.; Pencer, J.

2015-01-01

The Canadian supercritical water-cooled reactor (SCWR) is a conceptual heavy water moderated, supercritical light water cooled pressure tube reactor. In contrast to current heavy water power reactors, the Canadian SCWR will be a batch fuelled reactor. Associated with batch fuelling is a large beginning-of-cycle excess reactivity. Furthermore, radial power peaking arising as a consequence of batch refuelling must be mitigated in some way. In this paper, burnable neutron absorber (BNA) added to fuel and absorbing rods inserted into the core are considered for reactivity management and power flattening. A combination of approaches appears adequate to reduce the core radial power peaking, while also providing reactivity suppression. (author)

Supercritical fluids processing: emerging opportunities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovaly, K.A.

1985-01-01

This publication on the emerging opportunities of supercritical fluids processing reveals the latest research findings and development trends in this field. These findings and development trends are highlighted, and the results of applications of technology to the business of supercritical fluids are reported. Applications of supercritical fluids to chemical intermediates, environmental applications, chemical reactions, food and biochemistry processing, and fuels processing are discussed in some detail

Analysis of a novel solar energy-powered Rankine cycle for combined power and heat generation using supercritical carbon dioxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, X.R.; Yamaguchi, H.; Uneno, D. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Doshisha University, Kyoto 630-0321 (Japan); Fujima, K. [Mayekawa MFG Co., Ltd., 2000 Tatsuzawa Moriya-city, Ibaraki-Pref. 302-0118 (Japan); Enomoto, M. [Showa Denko K. K., 1-480, Inuzuka, Oyama-city, Tochigi 323-8679 (Japan); Sawada, N. [Showa Tansan Co., Ltd., 7-1, Ogimachi, Kawasaki-Ku, Kawasaki-city, Kanagawa 210-0867 (Japan)

2006-10-15

Theoretical analysis of a solar energy-powered Rankine thermodynamic cycle utilizing an innovative new concept, which uses supercritical carbon dioxide as a working fluid, is presented. In this system, a truly 'natural' working fluid, carbon dioxide, is utilized to generate firstly electricity power and secondly high-grade heat power and low-grade heat power. The uniqueness of the system is in the way in which both solar energy and carbon dioxide, available in abundant quantities in all parts of the world, are simultaneously used to build up a thermodynamic cycle and has the potential to reduce energy shortage and greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and global warming, offering environmental and personal safety simultaneously. The system consists of an evacuated solar collector system, a power-generating turbine, a high-grade heat recovery system, a low-grade heat recovery system and a feed pump. The performances of this CO{sub 2}-based Rankine cycle were theoretically investigated and the effects of various design conditions, namely, solar radiation, solar collector area and CO{sub 2} flow rate, were studied. Numerical simulations show that the proposed system may have electricity power efficiency and heat power efficiency as high as 11.4% and 36.2%, respectively. It is also found that the cycle performances strongly depend on climate conditions. Also the electricity power and heat power outputs increase with the collector area and CO{sub 2} flow rate. The estimated COP{sub power} and COP{sub heat} increase with the CO{sub 2} flow rate, but decrease with the collector area. The CO{sub 2}-based cycle can be optimized to provide maximum power, maximum heat recovery or a combination of both. The results suggest the potential of this new concept for applications to electricity power and heat power generation. (author)

Effect of Dynamic Reheating Controlled by the Weaving Width on the Microstructure of GTA Bead-On-Pipe Weld Metal of 25% Cr Super Duplex Stainless Steel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hee-Joon Sung

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW with three different heat inputs controlled by the weaving width was performed to understand their effects on the microstructural changes during bead-on-pipe welding of super duplex stainless steel. The microstructure of the weld metals was categorized into three different types of zones: non-reheated, reheated type, and reheating-free zone. Even though single-pass welding with different weaving widths was employed, a reheated microstructure was detected, which has been previously observed with multiple pass welding. This phenomenon was called “dynamic reheating”, because it was produced by the weaving operation during welding regardless of the weaving width. The categorized area fraction varied with the weaving width change. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD results at the edge (the area near the fusion line of the low-heat-input condition indicated a higher austenite volume fraction and a lower Cr2N fraction than that of the medium heat input condition. Thus, it described an inverse relationship, because higher heat input provided a lower austenite fraction. In addition, it was observed clearly that the austenite fraction at the medium heat input condition was dramatically increased by reheating, while the Cr2N fraction was reduced. Regardless of the weaving width, reheating contributed to the increase of the austenite fraction, further reducing the Cr2N quantity. The edge areas in the map showed an inverse relationship in the reheated area fraction between low heat input and medium heat input. For this reason, the austenite fraction on the weld metal was determined not only by the heat input, but also by the amount of reheating.

Supercritical CO{sub 2} mediated synthesis and catalytic activity of graphene/Pd nanocomposites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tang, Lulu [School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Gyeoungbuk 712-749 (Korea, Republic of); Nguyen, Van Hoa [School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Gyeoungbuk 712-749 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Chemistry, Nha Trang University, 2 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Nha Trang (Viet Nam); Shim, Jae-Jin, E-mail: jjshim@yu.ac.kr [School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Gyeoungbuk 712-749 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-11-15

Highlights: • RGO/Pd composite was efficiently prepared via a facile method in supercritical CO{sub 2}. • Graphene sheets were coated uniformly with Pd nanoparticles with a size of ∼8 nm. • Composites exhibited excellent catalytic activity in the Suzuki reaction even after 10 cycles. - Abstract: Graphene sheets were decorated with palladium nanoparticles using a facile and efficient method in supercritical CO{sub 2}. The nanoparticles were formed on the graphene sheets by the simple hydrogen reduction of palladium(II) hexafluoroacetylacetonate precursor in supercritical CO{sub 2}. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Highly dispersed nanoparticles with various sizes and shapes adhered well to the graphene sheets. The composites showed high catalytic activities for the Suzuki reaction under aqueous and aerobic conditions within 5 min. The effects of the different Pd precursor loadings on the catalytic activities of the composites were also examined.

STYLE, Steam Cycle Heat Balance for Turbine Blade Design in Marine Operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Love, J.B.; Dines, W.R.

1970-01-01

1 - Nature of physical problem solved: The programme carries out iterative steam cycle heat balance calculations for a wide variety of steam cycles including single reheat, live steam reheat and multistage moisture separation. Facilities are also available for including the steam-consuming auxiliaries associated with a marine installation. Though no attempt is made to carry out a detailed turbine blading design the programme is capable of automatically varying the blading efficiency from stage to stage according to local steam volume flow rate, dryness fraction and shaft speed. 2 - Method of solution: 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Steam pressures to lie within range 0.2 to 5,000 lb/square inch abs steam temperatures to lie within range 50 to 1600 degrees F. Not more than 40 points per turbine expansion line; Not more than 10 expansion lines; Not more than 15 feed heaters. UNIVAC 1108 version received from FIAT Energia Nucleare, Torino, Italy

Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis of a Supercritical Water Reactor (SCWR) Core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kucukboyaci, V.N.; Oriani, L.

2004-01-01

The supercritical water reactor (SCWR) has been the object of interest throughout the nuclear Generation IV community because of its high potential: a simple, direct cycle, compact configuration; elimination of many traditional LWR components, operation at coolant temperatures much higher than traditional LWRs and thus high thermal efficiency. It could be said that the SWR was viewed as the water counterpart to the high temperature gas reactor

Electrochemistry in supercritical fluids

Science.gov (United States)

Branch, Jack A.; Bartlett, Philip N.

2015-01-01

A wide range of supercritical fluids (SCFs) have been studied as solvents for electrochemistry with carbon dioxide and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) being the most extensively studied. Recent advances have shown that it is possible to get well-resolved voltammetry in SCFs by suitable choice of the conditions and the electrolyte. In this review, we discuss the voltammetry obtained in these systems, studies of the double-layer capacitance, work on the electrodeposition of metals into high aspect ratio nanopores and the use of metallocenes as redox probes and standards in both supercritical carbon dioxide–acetonitrile and supercritical HFCs. PMID:26574527

Behavior of a cycle-integrated system. Heat recovery in RTL plants; Verhalten von Kreislauf-Verbund-Systemen. Waermerueckgewinnung in RLT-Anlagen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rauser, Hanns Christoph [HCR Consulting, Ingenieurbuero fuer Kaelte- und Klimatechnik, Bietigheim-Bissingen (Germany)

2010-09-15

The contribution under consideration reports on the behaviour of a cycle-integrated system and derives criteria for the attaining high degrees of temperature changes. Since cycle-integrated system also realizes a reheating and a re-cooling apart from a heat recovery, also the behaviour of such a system is presented according to feeding coldness and warmth into the cycle.

Upgrading the SPP-500-1 moisture separators-steam reheaters used in the Leningrad NPP turbine units

Science.gov (United States)

Legkostupova, V. V.; Sudakov, A. V.

2015-03-01

The specific features of existing designs of moisture separators-steam reheaters (MSRs) and experience gained with using them at nuclear power plants are considered. Main factors causing damage to and failures of MSRs are described: nonuniform distribution of wet steam flow among the separation modules, breakthrough of moisture through the separator (and sometimes also through the steam reheater), which may lead to the occurrence of additional thermal stresses and, hence, to thermal-fatigue damage to or stress corrosion cracking of metal. MSR failure results in a less efficient operation of the turbine unit as a whole and have an adverse effect on the reliability of the low-pressure cylinder's last-stage blades. By the time the design service life of the SPP-500-1 MSRs had been exhausted in power units equipped with RBMK-1000 reactors, the number of damages inflicted to both the separation part and to the pipework and heating surface tubes was so large, that a considerable drop of MSR effectiveness and turbine unit efficiency as a whole occurred. The design of the upgraded separation part used in the SPP-500-1 MSR at the Leningrad NPP is described and its effectiveness is shown, which was confirmed by tests. First, efforts taken to achieve more uniform distribution of moisture content over the perimeter and height of steam space downstream of the separation modules and to bring it to values close to the design ones were met with success. Second, no noticeable effect of the individual specific features of separation modules on the moisture content was revealed. Recommendations on elaborating advanced designs of moisture separators-steam reheaters are given: an MSR arrangement in which the separator is placed under or on the side from the steam reheater; axial admission of wet steam for ensuring its uniform distribution among the separation modules; inlet chambers with an extended preliminary separation system and devices for uniformly distributing steam flows in the

A Simplified Supercritical Fast Reactor with Thorium Fuel

OpenAIRE

Peng Zhang; Kan Wang; Ganglin Yu

2014-01-01

Super-Critical water-cooled Fast Reactor (SCFR) is a feasible option for the Gen-IV SCWR designs, in which much less moderator and thus coolant are needed for transferring the fission heat from the core compared with the traditional LWRs. The fast spectrum of SCFR is useful for fuel breeding and thorium utilization, which is then beneficial for enhancing the sustainability of the nuclear fuel cycle. A SCFR core is constructed in this work, with the aim of simplifying the mechanical structure ...

An improved model to evaluate thermodynamic solar plants with cylindrical parabolic collectors and air turbine engines in open Joule–Brayton cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferraro, Vittorio; Imineo, Francesco; Marinelli, Valerio

2013-01-01

An improved model to analyze the performance of solar plants operating with cylindrical parabolic collectors and atmospheric air as heat transfer fluid in an open Joule–Brayton cycle is presented. In the new model, the effect of the incident angle modifier is included, to take into account the variation of the optical efficiency with the incidence angle of the irradiance, and the effect of the reheating of the fluid also has been studied. The analysis was made for two operating modes of the plants: with variable air flow rate and constant inlet temperature to the turbine and with constant flow rate and variable inlet temperature to the turbine, with and without reheating of the fluid in the solar field. When reheating is used, the efficiency of the plant is increased. The obtained results show a good performance of this type of solar plant, in spite of its simplicity; it is able to compete well with other more complex plants operating with different heat transfer fluids. - Highlights: ► An improved model to calculate an innovative CPS solar plant is presented. ► The plant works with air in an open Joule–Brayton cycle. ► The reheating of the air increases the thermodynamic efficiency. ► The plant is very simple and competes well with other more complex solar plants

Calculations of Inflaton Decays and Reheating: with Applications to No-Scale Inflation Models

CERN Document Server

Ellis, John; Nanopoulos, Dimitri V; Olive, Keith A

2015-01-01

We discuss inflaton decays and reheating in no-scale Starobinsky-like models of inflation, calculating the effective equation-of-state parameter, $w$, during the epoch of inflaton decay, the reheating temperature, $T_{\\rm reh}$, and the number of inflationary e-folds, $N_*$, comparing analytical approximations with numerical calculations. We then illustrate these results with applications to models based on no-scale supergravity and motivated by generic string compactifications, including scenarios where the inflaton is identified as an untwisted-sector matter field with direct Yukawa couplings to MSSM fields, and where the inflaton decays via gravitational-strength interactions. Finally, we use our results to discuss the constraints on these models imposed by present measurements of the scalar spectral index $n_s$ and the tensor-to-scalar perturbation ratio $r$, converting them into constraints on $N_*$, the inflaton decay rate and other parameters of specific no-scale inflationary models.

Reheating temperature and gauge mediation models of supersymmetry breaking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olechowski, Marek; Pokorski, Stefan; Turzynski, Krzysztof; Wells, James D.

2009-01-01

For supersymmetric theories with gravitino dark matter, the maximal reheating temperature consistent with big bang nucleosynthesis bounds arises when the physical gaugino masses are degenerate. We consider the cases of a stau or sneutrino next-to-lightest superpartner, which have relatively less constraint from big bang nucleosynthesis. The resulting parameter space is consistent with leptogenesis requirements, and can be reached in generalized gauge mediation models. Such models illustrate a class of theories that overcome the well-known tension between big bang nucleosynthesis and leptogenesis.

Thermodynamic evaluation of the Kalina split-cycle concepts for waste heat recovery applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, Tuong-Van; Knudsen, Thomas; Larsen, Ulrik

2014-01-01

of varying boundary conditions by conducting an exergy analysis. The design parameters of each configuration were determined by performing a multi-variable optimisation. The results indicate that the Kalina split-cycle with reheat presents an exergetic efficiency by 2.8% points higher than a reference Kalina...... and condenser, and indicates a reduction of the exergy destruction by about 23% in the heat recovery system compared to the baseline cycle....

Gas turbine with heating during the expansion in the stator blades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abd El-Maksoud, Rafea Mohamed

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A new cycle is herein introduced with a concept of heating during the expansion. • Turbine overheating is avoided by reducing significantly the cycle temperature. • Comparison is done with a reheat cycle having a higher maximum cycle temperature. • The cycle performance is higher than the reheat cycle. • Regeneration is used to boost the present cycle efficiency. - Abstract: Reheat is used in the gas turbine to achieve higher power output. However, the reheat process is constrained by the heat quantity given to it and the choice of reheat point. Consequently, this paper introduces a new gas turbine cycle to overcome the reheat drawbacks and having superior features. In this cycle, the reheat process is replaced by processes of heating the expanded gases while passing through different turbine stator blades. Small amount of combusted gases is utilized to flow inside such blades for heating and mixing with the expanded gases. Nevertheless, this is performed with precautions of turbine overheating by reducing significantly the maximum temperature of the present cycle. The simulated results demonstrate that the cycle performance is increased by raising the quantity of heating during the expansion. Additionally, this cycle achieves greater efficient output than the traditional reheat Brayton cycle operating with higher maximum cycle temperature. To boost the present cycle efficiency, regeneration is used making the possibility of such cycle to be competitive to the combined cycle

Materials, Turbomachinery and Heat Exchangers for Supercritical CO2 Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, Mark; Nellis, Greg; Corradini, Michael

2012-10-19

The objective of this project is to produce the necessary data to evaluate the performance of the supercritical carbon dioxide cycle. The activities include a study of materials compatibility of various alloys at high temperatures, the heat transfer and pressure drop in compact heat exchanger units, and turbomachinery issues, primarily leakage rates through dynamic seals. This experimental work will serve as a test bed for model development and design calculations, and will help define further tests necessary to develop high-efficiency power conversion cycles for use on a variety of reactor designs, including the sodium fast reactor (SFR) and very high-temperature gas reactor (VHTR). The research will be broken into three separate tasks. The first task deals with the analysis of materials related to the high-temperature S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle. The most taxing materials issues with regard to the cycle are associated with the high temperatures in the reactor side heat exchanger and in the high-temperature turbine. The system could experience pressures as high as 20MPa and temperatures as high as 650°C. The second task deals with optimization of the heat exchangers required by the S-CO{sub 2} cycle; the S-CO{sub 2} flow passages in these heat exchangers are required whether the cycle is coupled with a VHTR or an SFR. At least three heat exchangers will be required: the pre-cooler before compression, the recuperator, and the heat exchanger that interfaces with the reactor coolant. Each of these heat exchangers is unique and must be optimized separately. The most challenging heat exchanger is likely the pre-cooler, as there is only about a 40°C temperature change but it operates close to the CO{sub 2} critical point, therefore inducing substantial changes in properties. The proposed research will focus on this most challenging component. The third task examines seal leakage through various dynamic seal designs under the conditions expected in the S-CO{sub 2} cycle

Exergetic and economic evaluation of the effect of HRSG configurations on the performance of combined cycle power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tajik Mansouri, Mohammad; Ahmadi, Pouria; Ganjeh Kaviri, Abdolsaeid; Jaafar, Mohammad Nazri Mohd

2012-01-01

Highlights: ►To conduct the comprehensive exergy and economic analysis for advanced combined cycle power plant. ►To study three different HRSG configurations, dual and triple pressure HRSG, based on thermodynamic relations. ►To have a better performance assessment of the system studied using exergy and economic criteria. - Abstract: In the present research study, the effect of HRSG pressure levels on exergy efficiency of combined cycle power plants is investigated. Hence, three types of gas turbine combined cycles, with the same gas turbine as a topping cycle are evaluated. A double pressure, and two triple pressure HRSGs (with and without reheat) are modeled. The results show how an increase in the number of pressure levels of the HRSG affect the exergy losses due to heat transfer in the HRSG and the exhaust of flue gas to the stack. Moreover, the results show that an increase in the number of pressure levels affects the exergy destruction rate in HRSG, and as a result, it causes a tangible increase in exergy efficiency of the whole cycle. The results from thermodynamic analysis show that the losses due to heat transfer in the HRSG and the exhaust of flue gas to the stack in a triple pressure reheat combined cycle are less than the other cases. From the economic analysis, it is found that increasing the number of pressure levels of steam generation leads to an increase for the total and specific investment cost of the plant for about 6% and 4% respectively. The net present value (NPV) of the plant increases for about 7% for triple pressure reheat compared to with the double pressure CCPP. Therefore, the results of economic analysis show that it is economically justifiable to increase the number of pressure levels of steam generation in HRSG.

Reheating-volume measure for random-walk inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winitzki, Sergei

2008-01-01

The recently proposed 'reheating-volume' (RV) measure promises to solve the long-standing problem of extracting probabilistic predictions from cosmological multiverse scenarios involving eternal inflation. I give a detailed description of the new measure and its applications to generic models of eternal inflation of random-walk type. For those models I derive a general formula for RV-regulated probability distributions that is suitable for numerical computations. I show that the results of the RV cutoff in random-walk type models are always gauge invariant and independent of the initial conditions at the beginning of inflation. In a toy model where equal-time cutoffs lead to the 'youngness paradox', the RV cutoff yields unbiased results that are distinct from previously proposed measures.

Reheating via a generalized nonminimal coupling of curvature to matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertolami, Orfeu; Frazao, Pedro; Paramos, Jorge

2011-01-01

In this work, one shows that a generalized nonminimal coupling between geometry and matter is compatible with Starobinsky inflation and leads to a successful process of preheating, a reheating scenario based on the production of massive particles via parametric resonance. The model naturally extends the usual preheating mechanism, which resorts to an ad hoc scalar curvature-dependent mass term for a scalar field χ, and also encompasses a previously studied preheating channel based upon a nonstandard kinetic term.

Parametric Investigation of Brayton Cycle for High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang Oh

2004-01-01

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is investigating a Brayton cycle efficiency improvement on a high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) as part of Generation-IV nuclear engineering research initiative. In this project, we are investigating helium Brayton cycles for the secondary side of an indirect energy conversion system. Ultimately we will investigate the improvement of the Brayton cycle using other fluids, such as supercritical carbon dioxide. Prior to the cycle improvement study, we established a number of baseline cases for the helium indirect Brayton cycle. These cases look at both single-shaft and multiple-shaft turbomachinery. The baseline cases are based on a 250 MW thermal pebble bed HTGR. The results from this study are applicable to other reactor concepts such as a very high temperature gas-cooled reactor (VHTR), fast gas-cooled reactor (FGR), supercritical water reactor (SWR), and others. In this study, we are using the HYSYS computer code for optimization of the helium Brayton cycle. Besides the HYSYS process optimization, we performed parametric study to see the effect of important parameters on the cycle efficiency. For these parametric calculations, we use a cycle efficiency model that was developed based on the Visual Basic computer language. As a part of this study we are currently investigated single-shaft vs. multiple shaft arrangement for cycle efficiency and comparison, which will be published in the next paper. The ultimate goal of this study is to use supercritical carbon dioxide for the HTGR power conversion loop in order to improve the cycle efficiency to values great than that of the helium Brayton cycle. This paper includes preliminary calculations of the steady state overall Brayton cycle efficiency based on the pebble bed reactor reference design (helium used as the working fluid) and compares those results with an initial calculation of a CO2 Brayton cycle

Technology with Supercritical Fluid. Part 2. Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marongiu, B.; De Giorgi, M. R.; Porcedda, S.; Cadoni, E.

1998-01-01

The present article is based on a bibliographical analysis of the main applications of the supercritical fluid in various fields, as: extraction from solid matrices, division of liquid charges, chromatography HPLC with supercritical eluent, chemical and biochemical reactions in supercritical solvents etc [it

Supercritical transitiometry of polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Randzio, S L; Grolier, J P

1998-06-01

Employing supercritical fluids (SCFs) during polymers processing allows the unusual properties of SCFs to be exploited for making polymer products that cannot be obtained by other means. A new supercritical transitiometer has been constructed to permit study of the interactions of SCFs with polymers during processing under well-defined conditions of temperature and pressure. The supercritical transitiometer allows pressure to be exerted by either a supercritical fluid or a neutral medium and enables simultaneous determination of four basic parameters of a transition, i.e., p, T, Δ(tr)H and Δ(tr)V. This permits determination of the SCF effect on modification of the polymer structure at a given pressure and temperature and defines conditions to allow reproducible preparation of new polymer structures. Study of a semicrystalline polyethylene by this method has defined conditions for preparation of new microfoamed phases with good mechanical properties. The low densities and microporous structures of the new materials may make them useful for applications in medicine, pharmacy, or the food industry, for example.

Experimental Assessment of a Helical Coil Heat Exchanger Operating at Subcritical and Supercritical Conditions in a Small-Scale Solar Organic Rankine Cycle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marija Lazova

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In this study, the performance of a helical coil heat exchanger operating at subcritical and supercritical conditions is analysed. The counter-current heat exchanger was specially designed to operate at a maximal pressure and temperature of 42 bar and 200 °C, respectively. The small-scale solar organic Rankine cycle (ORC installation has a net power output of 3 kWe. The first tests were done in a laboratory where an electrical heater was used instead of the concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T collectors. The inlet heating fluid temperature of the water was 95 °C. The effects of different parameters on the heat transfer rate in the heat exchanger were investigated. Particularly, the performance analysis was elaborated considering the changes of the mass flow rate of the working fluid (R-404A in the range of 0.20–0.33 kg/s and the inlet pressure varying from 18 bar up to 41 bar. Hence, the variation of the heat flux was in the range of 5–9 kW/m2. The results show that the working fluid’s mass flow rate has significant influence on the heat transfer rate rather than the operational pressure. Furthermore, from the comparison between the experimental results with the heat transfer correlations from the literature, the experimental results fall within the uncertainty range for the supercritical analysis but there is a deviation of the investigated subcritical correlations.

Supercritical fluid technologies for ceramic-processing applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matson, D.W.; Smith, R.D.

1989-01-01

This paper reports on the applications of supercritical fluid technologies for ceramic processing. The physical and chemical properties of these densified gases are summarized and related to their use as solvents and processing media. Several areas are identified in which specific ceramic processes benefit from the unique properties of supercritical fluids. The rapid expansion of supercritical fluid solutions provides a technique for producing fine uniform powders and thin films of widely varying materials. Supercritical drying technologies allow the formation of highly porous aerogel products with potentially wide application. Hydrothermal processes leading to the formation of large single crystals and microcrystalline powders can also be extended into the supercritical regime of water. Additional applications and potential applications are identified in the areas of extraction of binders and other additives from ceramic compacts, densification of porous ceramics, the formation of powders in supercritical micro-emulsions, and in preceramic polymer processing

Degradation Characteristics of Wood Using Supercritical Alcohols

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeeban Poudel

2012-11-01

Full Text Available In this work, the characteristics of wood degradation using supercritical alcohols have been studied. Supercritical ethanol and supercritical methanol were used as solvents. The kinetics of wood degradation were analyzed using the nonisothermal weight loss technique with heating rates of 3.1, 9.8, and 14.5 °C/min for ethanol and 5.2, 11.3, and 16.3 °C/min for methanol. Three different kinetic analysis methods were implemented to obtain the apparent activation energy and the overall reaction order for wood degradation using supercritical alcohols. These were used to compare with previous data for supercritical methanol. From this work, the activation energies of wood degradation in supercritical ethanol were obtained as 78.0–86.0, 40.1–48.1, and 114 kJ/mol for the different kinetic analysis methods used in this work. The activation energies of wood degradation in supercritical ethanol were obtained as 78.0–86.0, 40.1–48.1, and 114 kJ/mol. This paper also includes the analysis of the liquid products obtained from this work. The characteristic analysis of liquid products on increasing reaction temperature and time has been performed by GC-MS. The liquid products were categorized according to carbon numbers and aromatic/aliphatic components. It was found that higher conversion in supercritical ethanol occurs at a lower temperature than that of supercritical methanol. The product analysis shows that the majority of products fall in the 2 to 15 carbon number range.

Supercritical fluids in ionic liquids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kroon, M.C.; Peters, C.J.; Plechkova, N.V.; Seddon, K.R.

2014-01-01

Ionic liquids and supercritical fluids are both alternative environmentally benign solvents, but their properties are very different. Ionic liquids are non-volatile but often considered highly polar compounds, whereas supercritical fluids are non-polar but highly volatile compounds. The combination

PULSE RADIOLYSIS IN SUPERCRITICAL RARE GAS FLUIDS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HOLROYD, R.

2007-01-01

Recently, supercritical fluids have become quite popular in chemical and semiconductor industries for applications in chemical synthesis, extraction, separation processes, and surface cleaning. These applications are based on: the high dissolving power due to density build-up around solute molecules, and the ability to tune the conditions of a supercritical fluid, such as density and temperature, that are most suitable for a particular reaction. The rare gases also possess these properties and have the added advantage of being supercritical at room temperature. Information about the density buildup around both charged and neutral species can be obtained from fundamental studies of volume changes in the reactions of charged species in supercritical fluids. Volume changes are much larger in supercritical fluids than in ordinary solvents because of their higher compressibility. Hopefully basic studies, such as discussed here, of the behavior of charged species in supercritical gases will provide information useful for the utilization of these solvents in industrial applications

Advanced gas turbine cycles a brief review of power generation thermodynamics

CERN Document Server

Horlock, JH

2003-01-01

Primarily this book describes the thermodynamics of gas turbine cycles. The search for high gas turbine efficiency has produced many variations on the simple ""open circuit"" plant, involving the use of heat exchangers, reheating and intercooling, water and steam injection, cogeneration and combined cycle plants. These are described fully in the text. A review of recent proposals for a number of novel gas turbine cycles is also included. In the past few years work has been directed towards developing gas turbines which produce less carbon dioxide, or plants from which the CO2 can be d

Supercritical fluid chromatography

Science.gov (United States)

Vigdergauz, M. S.; Lobachev, A. L.; Lobacheva, I. V.; Platonov, I. A.

1992-03-01

The characteristic features of supercritical fluid chromatography (SCFC) are examined and there is a brief historical note concerning the development of the method. Information concerning the use of supercritical fluid chromatography in the analysis of objects of different nature is presented in the form of a table. The roles of the mobile and stationary phases in the separation process and the characteristic features of the apparatus and of the use of the method in physicochemical research are discussed. The bibliography includes 364 references.

Quantitative consideration for the tempering effect during multi-pass thermal cycle in HAZ of low-alloy steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Lina; Nakabayashi, Yuma; Saida, Kazuyoshi; Mochizuki, Masahito; Nishimoto, Kazutoshi; Kameyama, Masashi; Hirano, Shinro; Chigusa, Naoki

2011-01-01

A new Thermal Cycle Tempering Parameter (TCTP) to deal with the tempering effect during multi-pass thermal cycles has been proposed by extending Larson-Miller parameter (LMP). Experimental result revealed that the hardness in synthetic HAZ of the low alloy steel subjected to multi tempering thermal cycles has a good linear relationship with TCTP. By using this relationship, the hardness of the low-alloy steel reheated with tempering thermal cycles can be predicted when the original hardness is known. (author)

Second Law Analysis of Super CritIcal Cycle

OpenAIRE

I.Satyanarayana, A.V.S.S.K.S. Gupta , K.Govinda Rajulu

2010-01-01

Coal is the key fuel for power generation in the Supercritical Rankine cycle. Exergy, auniversal measure has the work potential or quality of different forms of energy ofenergy in relation to a given environment. In this paper, an exergy analysis has carriedout to the supercritical power plant tells us how much useful work potential or exergy,supplied to the input to the system under consideration has been consumed by theprocess. A computer code has developed for exergy to analyses the superc...

Correlation of supercritical-fluid extraction recoveries with supercritical-fluid chromatographic retention data: A fundamental study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lou, X.W.; Janssen, J.G.M.; Cramers, C.A.M.G.

1995-01-01

The possibility of using supercritical-fluid chromatographic retention data for examining the effects of operational parameters, such as pressure and flow rate, on the extraction characteristics in supercritical-fluid extraction (SFE) was investigated. A model was derived for calculating the

Fast power cycle for fusion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, J.; Fillo, J.; Makowitz, H.

1978-01-01

The unique, deep penetration capability of 14 MeV neutrons produced in DT fusion reactions allows the generation of very high temperature working fluid temperatures in a thermal power cycle. In the FAST (Fusion Augmented Steam Turbine) power cycle steam is directly superheated by the high temperature ceramic refractory interior of the blanket, after being generated by heat extracted from the relatively cool blanket structure. The steam is then passed to a high temperature gas turbine for power generation. Cycle studies have been carried out for a range of turbine inlet temperatures [1600 0 F to 3000 0 F (870 to 1650 0 C)], number of reheats, turbine mechanical efficiency, recuperator effectiveness, and system pressure losses. Gross cycle efficiency is projected to be in the range of 55 to 60%, (fusion energy to electric power), depending on parameters selected. Turbine inlet temperatures above 2000 0 F, while they do increase efficiency somewhat, are not necessarily for high cycle efficiency

Exfoliation Propensity of Oxide Scale in Heat Exchangers Used for Supercritical CO2 Power Cycles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sabau, Adrian S [ORNL; Shingledecker, John P. [Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); Kung, Steve [Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); Wright, Ian G. [WrightHT, Inc.; Nash, Jim [Brayton Energy, LLC, Hampton, NH

2016-01-01

Supercritical CO2 (sCO2) Brayton cycle systems offer the possibility of improved efficiency in future fossil energy power generation plants operating at temperatures of 650 C and above. As there are few data on the oxidation/corrosion behavior of structural alloys in sCO2 at these temperatures, modeling to predict the propensity for oxide exfoliation is not well developed, thus hindering materials selection for these novel cycles. The ultimate goal of this effort is to provide needed data on scale exfoliation behavior in sCO2 for confident alloy selection. To date, a model developed by ORNL and EPRI for the exfoliation of oxide scales formed on boiler tubes in high-temperature, high-pressure steam has proven useful for managing exfoliation in conventional steam plants. A major input provided by the model is the ability to predict the likelihood of scale failure and loss based on understanding of the evolution of the oxide morphologies and the conditions that result in susceptibility to exfoliation. This paper describes initial steps taken to extend the existing model for exfoliation of steam-side oxide scales to sCO2 conditions. The main differences between high-temperature, high-pressure steam and sCO2 that impact the model involve (i) significant geometrical differences in the heat exchangers, ranging from standard pressurized tubes seen typically in steam-producing boilers to designs for sCO2 that employ variously-curved thin walls to create shaped flow paths for extended heat transfer area and small channel cross-sections to promote thermal convection and support pressure loads; (ii) changed operating characteristics with sCO2 due to the differences in physical and thermal properties compared to steam; and (iii) possible modification of the scale morphologies, hence properties that influence exfoliation behavior, due to reaction with carbon species from sCO2. The numerical simulations conducted were based on an assumed sCO2 operating schedule and several

High temperature and high performance light water cooled reactors operating at supercritical pressure, research and development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Y.; Koshizuka, S.; Katsumura, Y.; Yamada, K.; Shiga, S.; Moriya, K.; Yoshida, S.; Takahashi, H.

2003-01-01

The concept of supercritical-pressure, once-through coolant cycle nuclear power plant (SCR) was developed at the University of Tokyo. The research and development (R and D) started worldwide. This paper summarized the conceptual design and R and D in Japan. The big advantage of the SCR concept is that the temperatures of major components such as reactor pressure vessel, control rod drive mechanisms, containments, coolant pumps, main steam piping and turbines are within the temperatures of the components of LWR and supercritical fossil fired power plants (FPP) in spite of the high outlet coolant temperature. The experience of these components of LWR and supercritical fossil fired power plants will be fully utilized for SCR. The high temperature, supercritical-pressure light water reactor is the logical evolution of LWR. Boiling evolved from circular boilers, water tube boilers and once-through boilers. It is the reactor version of the once-through boiler. The development from LWR to SCR follows the history of boilers. The goal of the R and D should be the capital cost reduction that cannot be achieved by the improvement of LWR. The reactor can be used for hydrogen production either by catalysis and chemical decomposition of low quality hydrocarbons in supercritical water. The reactor is compatible with tight lattice fast core for breeders due to low outlet coolant density, small coolant flow rate and high head coolant pumps

Reheating of the Universe and evolution of the inflaton

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazzitelli, F.D.; Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina,); Paz, J.P.; Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad)

1989-01-01

The problem of the reheating of the Universe after inflation is considered. Our approach is based on the use, as ''first principles,'' of the renormalized version of (a) the evolution equation for the mean value of an interacting scalar field and (b) the semiclassical Einstein equations. We compute (for two different toy models) the characteristic time for the damping of the mean-value oscillations. We show that when the oscillations are damped the Universe becomes radiation dominated and inflation ends. The techniques used in this paper are those of quantum field theory in curved spacetime and can be generalized to more realistic models

Thermodynamic analysis of a simple Organic Rankine Cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Javanshir, Alireza; Sarunac, Nenad

2017-01-01

Thermodynamic performance (thermal efficiency and net power output) of a simple subcritical and supercritical Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) was analyzed over a range of operating conditions for a number of working fluids to determine the effect of operating parameters on cycle performance and select the best working fluid. The results show that for an ORC operating with a dry working fluid, thermal efficiency decreases with an increase in the turbine inlet temperature (TIT) due to the convergence of the isobaric lines with temperature. The results also show that efficiency of an ORC operating with isentropic working fluids is higher compared to the dry and wet fluids, and working fluids with higher specific heat capacity provide higher cycle net power output. New expressions for thermal efficiency of a subcritical and supercritical simple ORC are proposed. For a subcritical ORC without the superheat, thermal efficiency is expressed as a function of the Figure of Merit (FOM), while for the superheated subcritical ORC thermal efficiency is given in terms of the modified Jacob number. For the supercritical ORC, thermal efficiency is expressed as a function of dimensionless temperature. - Highlights: • Analyzing thermodynamic performance of ORC over a range of operating conditions. • Selecting the best working fluid suitable for a simple ORC. • Proposing new expressions for thermal efficiency of a simple ORC.

Screening of hydrocarbons as supercritical ORCs working fluids by thermal stability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai, Xiaoye; Shi, Lin; An, Qingsong; Qian, Weizhong

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A rapid evaluation method for thermal stability of hydrocarbons for ORCs. • Methane and hydrogen are confirmed to be decomposition indicators. • The decomposition temperatures for some hydrocarbons using the rapid method. • Long carbon chain hydrocarbons are not suitable for supercritical ORCs. - Abstract: Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems are widely used for industrial waste heat recovery and renewable energy utilization. The supercritical ORC is currently one of the main development directions due to its low exergy loss, high thermal efficiency and high work output. The thermal stability is the major limitation of organic working fluid selection with high temperature heat sources. This paper presents a rapid experimental method for assessing the thermal stability of hydrocarbons for ORCs. The fluids were tested in a high temperature reactor with methane and hydrogen theoretically and experimentally confirmed to be the indicators of thermal decomposition. The thermal decomposition temperatures were obtained for n-hexane, n-pentane, isopentane, cyclopentane, n-butane and isobutane using the rapid experimental method. The results show that cycloalkanes are not the good choices by thermal stability and long carbon chain hydrocarbons (longer than C6) are not suitable for supercritical ORCs due to the thermal stability limitation.

Drying of supercritical carbon dioxide with membrane processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lohaus, Theresa; Scholz, Marco; Koziara, Beata; Benes, Nieck Edwin; Wessling, Matthias

2015-01-01

In supercritical extraction processes regenerating the supercritical fluid represents the main cost constraint. Membrane technology has potential for cost efficient regeneration of water-loaded supercritical carbon dioxide. In this study we have designed membrane-based processes to dehydrate

Supercritical water natural circulation flow stability experiment research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Dongliang; Zhou, Tao; Li, Bing [North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). School of Nuclear Science and Engineering; North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). Inst. of Nuclear Thermalhydraulic Safety and Standardization; North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). Beijing Key Lab. of Passive Safety Technology for Nuclear Energy; Huang, Yanping [Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu (China). Science and Technology on Reactor System Design Technology Lab.

2017-12-15

The Thermal hydraulic characteristics of supercritical water natural circulation plays an important role in the safety of the Generation-IV supercritical water-cooled reactors. Hence it is crucial to conduct the natural circulation heat transfer experiment of supercritical water. The heat transfer characteristics have been studied under different system pressures in the natural circulation systems. Results show that the fluctuations in the subcritical flow rate (for natural circulation) is relatively small, as compared to the supercritical flow rate. By increasing the heating power, it is observed that the amplitude (and time period) of the fluctuation tends to become larger for the natural circulation of supercritical water. This tends to show the presence of flow instability in the supercritical water. It is possible to observe the flow instability phenomenon when the system pressure is suddenly reduced from the supercritical pressure state to the subcritical state. At the test outlet section, the temperature is prone to increase suddenly, whereas the blocking effect may be observed in the inlet section of the experiment.

A design study of high electric power for fast reactor cooled by supercritical light water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshizuka, Seiichi

2000-03-01

In order to evaluate the possibility to achieve high electric power by a fast reactor with supercritical light water, the design study was carried out on a large fast reactor core with high coolant outlet temperature (SCFR-H). Since the reactor coolant circuit uses once-through direct cycle where all feedwater flows through the core to the turbine at supercritical pressure, it is possible to design much simpler and more compact reactor systems and to achieve higher thermal efficiency than those of current light water reactors. The once-through direct cycle system is employed in current fossil-fired power plants. In the present study, three types of core were designed. The first is SCFR-H with blankets cooled by ascending flow, the second is SCFR-H with blankets cooled by descending flow and the third is SCFR-H with high thermal power. Every core was designed to achieve the thermal efficiency over 43%, positive coolant density reactivity coefficient and electric power over 1600 MW. Core characteristics of SCFR-Hs were compared with those of SCLWR-H (electric power: 1212 MW), which is a thermal neutron spectrum reactor cooled and moderated by supercritical light water, with the same diameter of the reactor pressure vessel. It was shown that SCFR-H could increase the electric power about 1.7 times maximally. From the standpoint of the increase of a reactor thermal power, a fast reactor has advantages as compared with a thermal neutron reactor, because it can increase the power density by adopting tight fuel lattices and eliminating the moderator region. Thus, it was concluded that a reactor cooled by supercritical light water could further improve the cost competitiveness by using a fast neutron spectrum and achieving a higher thermal power. (author)

Study on CO{sub 2} Recovery System Design in Supercritical CO{sub 2} Cycle for SFR Application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Min Seok; Jung, Hwa-Young; Lee, Jeong Ik [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

As a part of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) development in Korea, the supercritical CO{sub 2} (S-CO{sub 2}) Brayton cycle is considered as an alternative power conversion system to eliminate sodium-water reaction (SWR) when the current conventional steam Rankine cycle is utilized with SFR. The parasitic loss caused by the leakage flow should be minimized since this greatly influences the cycle efficiency. Thus, a simple model for estimating the critical flow in a turbo-machinery seal was developed to predict the leakage flow rate and calculate the required total mass of working fluid in a S-CO{sub 2} power system to minimize the parasitic loss. In this work, study on CO{sub 2} recovery system design was conducted by finding the suitable recovery point with the developed simple CO{sub 2} critical flow model and sensitivity analysis was performed on the power system performance with respect to multiple CO{sub 2} recovery process options. The study of a CO{sub 2} recovery system design was conducted to minimize the thermal efficiency losses caused by CO{sub 2} inventory recovery system. For the first step, the configuration of a seal was selected. A labyrinth seal has suitable features for the S-CO{sub 2} power cycle application. Then, thermal efficiency losses with different CO{sub 2} leak rate and recovery point were evaluated. To calculate the leak rate in turbo-machinery by using the developed CO{sub 2} critical flow model, the conditions of storage tank is set to be closer to the recovery point. After modifying the critical flow model appropriately, total mass flow rate of leakage flow was calculated. Finally, the CO{sub 2} recovery system design work was performed to minimize the loss of thermal efficiency. The suggested system is not only simple and intuitive but also has relatively very low additional work loss from the compressor than other considered systems. When each leak rate is set to the conventional leakage rate of 1 kg/s per seal, the minimum and

Effects of Supercritical Environment on Hydrocarbon-fuel Injection

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Bongchul Shin; Dohun Kim; Min Son; Jaye Koo

2017-01-01

In this study,the effects of environment conditions on decane were investigated.Decane was injected in subcritical and supercritical ambient conditions.The visualization chamber was pressurized to 1.68 MPa by using nitrogen gas at a temperature of 653 K for subcritical ambient conditions.For supercritical ambient conditions,the visualization chamber was pressurized to 2.52 MPa by using helium at a temperature of 653 K.The decane injection in the pressurized chamber was visualized via a shadowgraph technique and gradient images were obtained by a post processing method.A large variation in density gradient was observed at jet interface in the case of subcritical injection in subcritical ambient conditions.Conversely,for supercritical injection in supercritical ambient conditions,a small density gradient was observed at the jet interface.In a manner similar to that observed in other cases,supercritical injection in subcritical ambient conditions differed from supercritical ambient conditions such as sphere shape liquid.Additionally,there were changes in the interface,and the supercritical injection core width was thicker than that in the subcritical injection.Furthermore,in cases with the same injection conditions,the change in the supercritical ambient normalized core width was smaller than the change in the subcritical ambient normalized core width owing to high specific heat at the supercritical injection and small phase change at the interface.Therefore,the interface was affected by the changing ambient condition.Given that the effect of changing the thermodynamic properties of propellants could be essential for a variable thrust rocket engine,the effects of the ambient conditions were investigated experimentally.

Effects of supercritical environment on hydrocarbon-fuel injection

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Bongchul; Kim, Dohun; Son, Min; Koo, Jaye

2017-04-01

In this study, the effects of environment conditions on decane were investigated. Decane was injected in subcritical and supercritical ambient conditions. The visualization chamber was pressurized to 1.68 MPa by using nitrogen gas at a temperature of 653 K for subcritical ambient conditions. For supercritical ambient conditions, the visualization chamber was pressurized to 2.52 MPa by using helium at a temperature of 653 K. The decane injection in the pressurized chamber was visualized via a shadowgraph technique and gradient images were obtained by a post processing method. A large variation in density gradient was observed at jet interface in the case of subcritical injection in subcritical ambient conditions. Conversely, for supercritical injection in supercritical ambient conditions, a small density gradient was observed at the jet interface. In a manner similar to that observed in other cases, supercritical injection in subcritical ambient conditions differed from supercritical ambient conditions such as sphere shape liquid. Additionally, there were changes in the interface, and the supercritical injection core width was thicker than that in the subcritical injection. Furthermore, in cases with the same injection conditions, the change in the supercritical ambient normalized core width was smaller than the change in the subcritical ambient normalized core width owing to high specific heat at the supercritical injection and small phase change at the interface. Therefore, the interface was affected by the changing ambient condition. Given that the effect of changing the thermodynamic properties of propellants could be essential for a variable thrust rocket engine, the effects of the ambient conditions were investigated experimentally.

Dynamics of cosmological perturbations and reheating in the anamorphic universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graef, L.L.; Ferreira, Elisa G.M.; Brandenberger, Robert [Physics Department, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2T8 (Canada); Hipólito-Ricaldi, W.S., E-mail: leilagraef@on.br, E-mail: wiliam.ricaldi@ufes.br, E-mail: elisa.ferreira@mail.mcgill.ca, E-mail: rhb@physics.mcgill.ca [Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Rodovia BR 101 Norte, km. 60, São Mateus, ES (Brazil)

2017-04-01

We discuss scalar-tensor realizations of the Anamorphic cosmological scenario recently proposed by Ijjas and Steinhardt [1]. Through an analysis of the dynamics of cosmological perturbations we obtain constraints on the parameters of the model. We also study gravitational Parker particle production in the contracting Anamorphic phase and we compute the fraction between the energy density of created particles at the end of the phase and the background energy density. We find that, as in the case of inflation, a new mechanism is required to reheat the universe.

Geothermal energy production with supercritical fluids

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Donald W.

2003-12-30

There has been invented a method for producing geothermal energy using supercritical fluids for creation of the underground reservoir, production of the geothermal energy, and for heat transport. Underground reservoirs are created by pumping a supercritical fluid such as carbon dioxide into a formation to fracture the rock. Once the reservoir is formed, the same supercritical fluid is allowed to heat up and expand, then is pumped out of the reservoir to transfer the heat to a surface power generating plant or other application.

Status of advanced ultra-supercritical pulverised coal technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-12-01

In pulverised coal combustion (PCC) power plant, increasing the maximum temperature of the steam cycle increases the electrical efficiency, which in turn lowers both coal consumption and flue gas emissions. However, the maximum steam temperature is limited by materials that can operate at these conditions for practical service lifetimes without failure. The EU, USA, Japan, India and China all have material research programmes aiming for the next generation of increased steam temperatures and efficiency, known as advanced ultra-supercritical (AUSC) or 700°C technology. This report reviews developments and status of these major material research programmes.

Output power analyses for the thermodynamic cycles of thermal power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Chen; Cheng Xue-Tao; Liang Xin-Gang

2014-01-01

Thermal power plant is one of the important thermodynamic devices, which is very common in all kinds of power generation systems. In this paper, we use a new concept, entransy loss, as well as exergy destruction, to analyze the single reheating Rankine cycle unit and the single stage steam extraction regenerative Rankine cycle unit in power plants. This is the first time that the concept of entransy loss is applied to the analysis of the power plant Rankine cycles with reheating and steam extraction regeneration. In order to obtain the maximum output power, the operating conditions under variant vapor mass flow rates are optimized numerically, as well as the combustion temperatures and the off-design flow rates of the flue gas. The relationship between the output power and the exergy destruction rate and that between the output power and the entransy loss rate are discussed. It is found that both the minimum exergy destruction rate and the maximum entransy loss rate lead to the maximum output power when the combustion temperature and heat capacity flow rate of the flue gas are prescribed. Unlike the minimum exergy destruction rate, the maximum entransy loss rate is related to the maximum output power when the highest temperature and heat capacity flow rate of the flue gas are not prescribed. (general)

Bio-oil production from biomass via supercritical fluid extraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Durak, Halil, E-mail: halildurak@yyu.edu.tr [Yuzuncu Yıl University, Vocational School of Health Services, 65080, Van (Turkey)

2016-04-18

Supercritical fluid extraction is used for producing bio-fuel from biomass. Supercritical fluid extraction process under supercritical conditions is the thermally disruption process of the lignocellulose or other organic materials at 250-400 °C temperature range under high pressure (4-5 MPa). Supercritical fluid extraction trials were performed in a cylindrical reactor (75 mL) in organic solvents (acetone, ethanol) under supercritical conditions with (calcium hydroxide, sodium carbonate) and without catalyst at the temperatures of 250, 275 and 300 °C. The produced liquids at 300 °C in supercritical liquefaction were analyzed and characterized by elemental, GC-MS and FT-IR. 36 and 37 different types of compounds were identified by GC-MS obtained in acetone and ethanol respectively.

Bio-oil production from biomass via supercritical fluid extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durak, Halil

2016-01-01

Supercritical fluid extraction is used for producing bio-fuel from biomass. Supercritical fluid extraction process under supercritical conditions is the thermally disruption process of the lignocellulose or other organic materials at 250-400 °C temperature range under high pressure (4-5 MPa). Supercritical fluid extraction trials were performed in a cylindrical reactor (75 mL) in organic solvents (acetone, ethanol) under supercritical conditions with (calcium hydroxide, sodium carbonate) and without catalyst at the temperatures of 250, 275 and 300 °C. The produced liquids at 300 °C in supercritical liquefaction were analyzed and characterized by elemental, GC-MS and FT-IR. 36 and 37 different types of compounds were identified by GC-MS obtained in acetone and ethanol respectively.

Particle creation and reheating in a braneworld inflationary scenario

Science.gov (United States)

Bilić, Neven; Domazet, Silvije; Djordjevic, Goran S.

2017-10-01

We study the cosmological particle creation in the tachyon inflation based on the D-brane dynamics in the Randall-Sundrum (RSII) model extended to include matter in the bulk. The presence of matter modifies the warp factor which results in two effects: a modification of the RSII cosmology and a modification of the tachyon potential. Besides, a string theory D-brane supports among other fields a U(1) gauge field reflecting open strings attached to the brane. We demonstrate how the interaction of the tachyon with the U(1) gauge field drives cosmological creation of massless particles and estimate the resulting reheating at the end of inflation.

Extraction of Co ions from ion-exchange resin by supercritical carbon dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ju, Min Su; Koh, Moon Sung; Yang, Sung Woo; Park, Kwang Heon; Kim, Hak Won; Kim, Hong Doo

2005-01-01

There are a number of liquid treatment processes for eliminating radioactive ionic contaminants in nuclear facilities. One of the most common treatment methods for aqueous streams is the use of ion exchange, which is a well-developed technique that has been employed for many years in the nuclear industry. More specifically speaking, systems that ion exchange method is applied to in nuclear power plants are liquid radioactive waste treatment system, chemical and volume control system, steam generator blowdown treatment system, and service water supply system. During the operation of nuclear power plants, radioactive contaminants such as Co-60, Mn-54, Fe-59 and Cs-137 are contained in liquid radioactive wastes. And the wastes containing small amount of uranium are generated in nuclear fuel cycle facilities. To treat the liquid radioactive waste, we usually install ion exchangers rather than evaporators due to their simplicity and effectiveness, and this trend is increasing. However, the ion exchange process produces large volume of spent organic resin, and has some problems of radiation damage and thermal instability. And the reuse of the resin is limited due to the degradation of ion-exchanging ability. For this reason, were should consider a better method to expand the lifetime of the resin or to reduce the volume of radioactive resin wastes by extracting radioactive contaminants located in the resin. Supercritical fluid CO 2 has many good points as a process solvent that include low viscosity, negligible surface tension, and variable selectivity. And supercritical fluids have physical properties of both liquid and gas such as good penetration with a high dissolution capability. Supercritical fluids have been widely used in extraction, purification, and recovery processes. A number of workers applied supercritical CO 2 solvent for cleaning of precision devices and waste treatments. Since supercritical CO 2 has its mild critical point at 31 and 73.8bar as .deg. C

Characterization of chromia scales formed in supercritical carbon dioxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pint, Bruce A. [ORNL; Unocic, Kinga A. [ORNL; Brese, Robert G. [ORNL; Keiser, James R. [ORNL

2017-10-01

Initial experimental work at 700°–800 °C is in progress to develop a lifetime model for supercritical CO2 (sCO2) compatibility for a 30-year lifetime of a >700 °C concentrated solar power system. Nickel-based alloys 282, 740H and 625 and Fe-based alloy 25 are being evaluated in 500-h cycles at 1 and 300 bar, and 10-h cycles in 1 bar industrial grade CO2. The alloys showed similar low rates of oxidation in 1 and 300 bar CO2 in 500-h cycles at 750 °C. However, in 10-h cycles, alloy 25 showed accelerated attack at 700° and 750 °C. Transmission electron microscopy scale cross-sections on alloy 25 after 1000 h at 700 °C in sCO2 and in air only showed a small row of carbides beneath the scale in the former environment. Similar characterisation was performed on alloys 625 and 282 after sCO2 exposure at 750 °C.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Turbine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tae W.; Kim, Nam H.; Suh, Kune Y.; Kim, Seung O.

2006-01-01

The supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO 2 ) gas turbine Brayton cycle has been not only adopted in the secondary loop of the Generation IV nuclear energy systems but also planned to be installed in the high efficiency power conversion cycles of the nuclear fusion reactors. The potential beneficiaries include the Korea Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor (KALIMER), Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) and International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The reason for these welcomed applications is that the cycle can achieve the overall energy conversion efficiency as high as 45%. The SCO 2 turbine efficiency is one of the major parameters affecting the overall Brayton cycle efficiency. Thus, optimal turbine design determines the economics of the Generation IV as well as the future nuclear fission and fusion energy industry. Seoul National University has recently been working on the SCO 2 based Modular Optimized Brayton Integral System (MOBIS). MOBIS includes the Gas Advanced Turbine Operation Study (GATOS), the Loop Operating Brayton Optimization Study (LOBOS), the Nonsteady Operation Multidimensional Online Simulator (NOMOS), and the Turbine Advanced Compressor Operation Study (TACOS). This paper presents first results from GATOS

The use of gas based energy conversion cycles for sodium fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saez, M.; Haubensack, D.; Alpy, N.; Gerber, A.; Daid, F.

2008-01-01

In the frame of Sodium Fast Reactors, CEA, AREVA and EDF are involved in a substantial effort providing both significant expertise and original work in order to investigate the interest to use a gas based energy conversion cycle as an alternative to the classical steam cycle. These gas cycles consist in different versions of the Brayton cycle, various types of gas being considered (helium, nitrogen, argon, separately or mixed, sub or supercritical carbon dioxide) as well as various cycle arrangements (indirect, indirect / combined cycles). The interest of such cycles is analysed in details by thermodynamic calculations and cycle optimisations. The objective of this paper is to provide a comparison between gas based energy conversion cycles from the viewpoint of the overall plant efficiency. Key factors affecting the Brayton cycle efficiency include the turbine inlet temperature, compressors and turbine efficiencies, recuperator effectiveness and cycle pressure losses. A nitrogen Brayton cycle at high pressure (between 100 and 180 bar) could appear as a potential near-term solution of classical gas power conversion system for maximizing the plant efficiency. At long-term, supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle appears very promising for Sodium Fast Reactors, with a potential of high efficiency using even at a core outlet temperature of 545 deg. C. (authors)

Development of the ANL plant dynamics code and control strategies for the supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle and code validation with data from the Sandia small-scale supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle test loop.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moisseytsev, A.; Sienicki, J. J. (Nuclear Engineering Division)

2011-11-07

Significant progress has been made in the ongoing development of the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) Plant Dynamics Code (PDC), the ongoing investigation and development of control strategies, and the analysis of system transient behavior for supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO{sub 2}) Brayton cycles. Several code modifications have been introduced during FY2011 to extend the range of applicability of the PDC and to improve its calculational stability and speed. A new and innovative approach was developed to couple the Plant Dynamics Code for S-CO{sub 2} cycle calculations with SAS4A/SASSYS-1 Liquid Metal Reactor Code System calculations for the transient system level behavior on the reactor side of a Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) or Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor (LFR). The new code system allows use of the full capabilities of both codes such that whole-plant transients can now be simulated without additional user interaction. Several other code modifications, including the introduction of compressor surge control, a new approach for determining the solution time step for efficient computational speed, an updated treatment of S-CO{sub 2} cycle flow mergers and splits, a modified enthalpy equation to improve the treatment of negative flow, and a revised solution of the reactor heat exchanger (RHX) equations coupling the S-CO{sub 2} cycle to the reactor, were introduced to the PDC in FY2011. All of these modifications have improved the code computational stability and computational speed, while not significantly affecting the results of transient calculations. The improved PDC was used to continue the investigation of S-CO{sub 2} cycle control and transient behavior. The coupled PDC-SAS4A/SASSYS-1 code capability was used to study the dynamic characteristics of a S-CO{sub 2} cycle coupled to a SFR plant. Cycle control was investigated in terms of the ability of the cycle to respond to a linear reduction in the electrical grid demand from 100% to 0% at a rate of 5

Supercritical Fluids Processing of Biomass to Chemicals and Fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olson, Norman K. [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2011-09-28

The main objective of this project is to develop and/or enhance cost-effective methodologies for converting biomass into a wide variety of chemicals, fuels, and products using supercritical fluids. Supercritical fluids will be used both to perform reactions of biomass to chemicals and products as well as to perform extractions/separations of bio-based chemicals from non-homogeneous mixtures. This work supports the Biomass Program’s Thermochemical Platform Goals. Supercritical fluids are a thermochemical approach to processing biomass that, while aligned with the Biomass Program’s interests in gasification and pyrolysis, offer the potential for more precise and controllable reactions. Indeed, the literature with respect to the use of water as a supercritical fluid frequently refers to “supercritical water gasification” or “supercritical water pyrolysis.”

Transport properties of supercritical carbon dioxide

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lavanchy, F.; Fourcade, E.; de Koeijer, E.A.; Wijers, J.G.; Meyer, T.; Keurentjes, J.T.F.; Kemmere, M.F.; Meyer, T.

2005-01-01

Recently, supercritical fluids have emerged as more sustainable alternatives for the organic solvents often used in polymer processes. This is the first book emphasizing the potential of supercritical carbon dioxide for polymer processes from an engineering point of view. It develops a

Preliminary Design and Model Assessment of a Supercritical CO2 Compressor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiyuan Liu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The compressor is a key component in the supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2 Brayton cycle. In this paper, the authors designed a series of supercritical CO2 compressors with different parameters. These compressors are designed for 100 MWe, 10 MWe and 1 MWe scale power systems, respectively. For the 100 MWe SCO2 Brayton cycle, an axial compressor has been designed by the Smith chart to test whether an axial compressor is suitable for the SCO2 Brayton cycle. Using a specific speed and a specific diameter, the remaining two compressors were designed as centrifugal compressors with different pressure ratios to examine whether models used for air in the past are applicable to SCO2. All compressors were generated and analyzed with internal MATLAB programs coupled with the NIST REFPROP database. Finally, the design results are all checked by numerical simulations due to the lack of reliable experimental data. Research has found that in order to meet the de Haller stall criterion, axial compressors require a considerable number of stages, which introduces many additional problems. Thus, a centrifugal compressor is more suitable for the SCO2 Brayton cycle, even for a 100 MWe scale system. For the performance prediction model of a centrifugal compressor, the stall predictions are compared with steady numerical calculation, which indicates that past stall criteria may also be suitable for SCO2 compressors, but more validations are needed. However, the accuracy of original loss models is found to be inadequate, particularly for lower flow and higher pressure ratio cases. Deviations may be attributed to the underestimation of clearance loss according to the result of steady simulation. A modified model is adopted which can improve the precision to a certain extent, but more general and reasonable loss models are needed to improve design accuracy in the future.

Optimization of a slab heating pattern for minimum energy consumption in a walking-beam type reheating furnace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Jiin-Yuh; Huang, Jun-Bo

2015-01-01

A two-dimensional mathematical heat transfer model for the prediction of the temperature history of steel slabs was performed in order to obtain the optimal heating pattern of these slabs with minimum energy consumption in a walking-beam type reheating furnace. An algorithm developed with a simplified conjugated-gradient method combined with a shooting method, was used as an optimizer to design the furnace temperature distribution, including the preheating zone, heating zone and soaking zone temperatures. Comparison with the in-situ experimental data indicated that the present heat transfer model works well for the prediction of the thermal behavior of a slab in the reheating furnace. The effect of the furnace temperature distribution on the design requirements, such as energy required for heating a slab, slab temperature uniformity at the furnace exit and slab discharging temperature, were investigated. The parametric study results indicated that energy consumption significantly decreases with reductions in the preheating zone temperature. The optimal design also resulted in lower energy consumption for heating a slab as compared to the original operational conditions in the steel plant. - Highlights: • The heating process of steel slabs in a reheating furnace is numerically simulated. • An algorithm is developed to search for the optimal heating pattern of a slab. • Energy consumption decreases with reductions in the preheating zone temperature

Flow Distribution Measurement Feasibility in Supercritical CO₂

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lance, Blake [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-12-01

Supercritical CO₂ (sCO₂) is a fluid of interest for advanced power cycles that can reach thermal to electric energy conversion efficiencies of 50% or higher. Of particular interest for fossil-fired natural gas is the Allam cycle that captures nearly all CO₂ emissions and exports it as a fluid stream where it may be of value. The combustion process conditions are unlike any before realized with 90-95% CO₂ concentration, temperatures around 1000°C, and pressures near 300 bar. This work outlines the experimental feasibility of flow measurements to acquire the first known data in pure sCO₂ at similar but reduced temperature and pressure conditions.

Steel billet reheat simulation with growth of oxide layer and investigation on zone temperature sensitivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubey, Satish Kumar; Srinivasan, P.

2014-01-01

This paper presents a three-dimensional heat conduction numerical model and simulation of steel billet reheating in a reheat furnace. The model considers the growth of oxide scale on the billet surfaces. Control-volume approach and implicit scheme of finite difference method are used to discretize the transient heat conduction equation. The model is validated with analytical results subject to limited conditions. Simulations are carried out for predictions of three-dimensional temperature filed in the billet and oxide scale growth on the billet surfaces. The model predictions are in agreement with expected trends. It was found that the effect of oxide scale on billet heating is considerable. In order to investigate the effect of zone temperatures on the responses, a parametric sensitivity subject to six responses of interest are carried out using analysis of mean approach. The simulation approach and parametric study presented will be useful and applicable to the steel industry.

Modeling and sizing of the heat exchangers of a new supercritical CO2 Brayton power cycle for energy conversion for fusion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serrano, I.P.; Cantizano, A.; Linares, J.I.; Moratilla, B.Y.

2014-01-01

Highlights: •We propose a procedure to model the heat exchangers of a S-CO2 Brayton power cycle. •Discretization in sub-heat exchangers is performed due to complex behavior of CO 2 . •Different correlations have been tested, verifying them with CFD when necessary. •Obtained sizes are agree with usual values of printed circuit heat exchangers. -- Abstract: TECNO F US is a research program financed by the Spanish Government to develop technologies related to a dual-coolant (He/Pb–Li) breeding blanket design concept including the auxiliary systems for a future power reactor (DEMO). One of the main issues of this program is the optimization of heat recovery from the reactor and its conversion into electrical power. This paper is focused on the methodology employed for the design and sizing of all the heat exchangers of the supercritical CO 2 Brayton power cycle (S-CO2) proposed by the authors. Due to the large pressure difference between the fluids, and also to their compactness, Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers (PCHE) are suggested in literature for these type of cycles. Because of the complex behavior of CO 2 , their design is performed by a numerical discretization into sub-heat exchangers, thus a higher precision is reached when the thermal properties of the fluids vary along the heat exchanger. Different empirical correlations for the pressure drop and the Nusselt number have been coupled and assessed. The design of the precooler (PC) and the low temperature recuperator (LTR) is also verified by simulations using CFD because of the near-critical behavior of CO 2 . The size of all of the heat exchangers of the cycle have been assessed

Imprints of quantum gravity on large field inflation and reheating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rompineve Sorbello, Fabrizio

2017-04-18

In this thesis we investigate the feasibility and phenomenology of transplanckian field displacements during Inflation as well as the production of very light fields during Reheating. We begin by focusing on realisations of axion inflation in the complex structure moduli sector of Type IIB String Theory (ST) flux compactifications. Firstly, we analyse the problem of backreaction of complex structure moduli on the inflationary trajectory in a concrete model of axion monodromy inflation. Secondly, we propose a realisation of natural inflation where the inflaton arises as a combination of two axions. In both cases we find sufficiently flat inflationary potentials over a limited, but transplanckian field range. However, our realisation of axion monodromy inflation requires a potentially large, though realisable, number of tunings to ensure that the inflationary shift symmetry is only weakly broken. The consequences of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) for axion monodromy inflation are then explored. We find that the conjecture provides a bound on the inflationary field range, but does not forbid transplanckian displacements. Moreover, we provide a strategy to generalise the WGC to general p-form gauge theories in ST. Finally, we focus on the physics of the early post-inflationary phase. We show that axion monodromy inflation can lead to a phase decomposition, followed by the radiation of potentially detectable gravitational waves. We also propose a strategy to evade the overproduction of Dark Radiation in the Large Volume Scenario of moduli stabilisation, by means of flavour branes wrapping the bulk cycle of the compactification manifold.

Supercritical Fluid Chromatographic Separation of Dimethylpolysiloxane Polymer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pyo, Dong Jin; Lim, Chang Hyun [Kangwon National University, Chuncheon (Korea, Republic of)

2005-02-15

Water was used as a polar modifier and a μ-porasil column as a saturator column. The μ-porasil column was inserted between the pump outlet and the injection valve. During the passage of the supercritical fluid mobile phase through the silica column, a polar modifier (water) can be dissolved in the pressurized supercritical fluid. Dimethylpolysiloxane polymer has been known as more polar polymer than polystyrene polymer. Dimethylpolysiloxane polymer has never been separated using water modified mobile phase. In this paper, using a μ-porasil column as a saturator column, excellent supercritical fluid chromatograms of dimethylpolysiloxane oligomers were obtained. The use of compressed (dense) gases and supercritical fluids as chromatographic mobile phases in conjunction with liquid chromatographic (LC)-type packed columns was first reported by Klesper et al. in 1962. During its relatively short history, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has become an attractive alternative to GC and LC in certain industrially important applications. SFC gives the advantage of high efficiency and allows the analysis of nonvolatile or thermally labile mixtures.

Supercritical Fluid Chromatographic Separation of Dimethylpolysiloxane Polymer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pyo, Dong Jin; Lim, Chang Hyun

2005-01-01

Water was used as a polar modifier and a μ-porasil column as a saturator column. The μ-porasil column was inserted between the pump outlet and the injection valve. During the passage of the supercritical fluid mobile phase through the silica column, a polar modifier (water) can be dissolved in the pressurized supercritical fluid. Dimethylpolysiloxane polymer has been known as more polar polymer than polystyrene polymer. Dimethylpolysiloxane polymer has never been separated using water modified mobile phase. In this paper, using a μ-porasil column as a saturator column, excellent supercritical fluid chromatograms of dimethylpolysiloxane oligomers were obtained. The use of compressed (dense) gases and supercritical fluids as chromatographic mobile phases in conjunction with liquid chromatographic (LC)-type packed columns was first reported by Klesper et al. in 1962. During its relatively short history, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has become an attractive alternative to GC and LC in certain industrially important applications. SFC gives the advantage of high efficiency and allows the analysis of nonvolatile or thermally labile mixtures

Introduction to supercritical fluids a spreadsheet-based approach

CERN Document Server

Smith, Richard; Peters, Cor

2013-01-01

This text provides an introduction to supercritical fluids with easy-to-use Excel spreadsheets suitable for both specialized-discipline (chemistry or chemical engineering student) and mixed-discipline (engineering/economic student) classes. Each chapter contains worked examples, tip boxes and end-of-the-chapter problems and projects. Part I covers web-based chemical information resources, applications and simplified theory presented in a way that allows students of all disciplines to delve into the properties of supercritical fluids and to design energy, extraction and materials formation systems for real-world processes that use supercritical water or supercritical carbon dioxide. Part II takes a practical approach and addresses the thermodynamic framework, equations of state, fluid phase equilibria, heat and mass transfer, chemical equilibria and reaction kinetics of supercritical fluids. Spreadsheets are arranged as Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) functions and macros that are completely (source code) ...

Fast Cycled Superconducting Magnet - Connecting hydraulically the Fast Cycled magnet to the cryogenic feed box.

CERN Multimedia

Maximilien Brice

2012-01-01

Photo 1 : Connecting hydraulically the Fast Cycled magnet to the cryogenic feed box. Patrck Viret and Guy Deferne technicians of TE-MSC-TF in SM18. - Photo 2 : Installation of the Fast Cycled Superconducting Magnet (FCM) to the new cold feed box in Sm18. - Photo 3 : Connecting the powering cables of the FCM to the feed box. - Photo 5/6 : The connections of the Fast Cycled Magnet. Intermediate pieces. - Photo 7 : Hydraulic connections of the Fast Cycle Magnet cable to allow the cooling of the magnet’s conductor ( Cable in conduit type) with supercritical helium. - Photo 8 : Verification of the connection: design versus reality. Guy Deferne and Frederick Rougemont, technicians of TE-MSC-TE in SM18.

Reheating via Gravitational Particle Production in Simple Models of Quintessence or ΛCDM Inflation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaume de Haro

2017-11-01

Full Text Available We have tested some simple Λ CDM (the same test is also valid for quintessence inflation models, imposing that they match with the recent observational data provided by the BICEP and Planck’s team and leading to a reheating temperature, which is obtained via gravitational particle production after inflation, supporting the nucleosynthesis success.

Simulation of Thermal Hydraulic at Supercritical Pressures with APROS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurki, Joona [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, FI02044 VTT (Finland)

2008-07-01

The proposed concepts for the fourth generation of nuclear reactors include a reactor operating with water at thermodynamically supercritical state, the Supercritical Water Reactor (SCWR). For the design and safety demonstrations of such a reactor, the possibility to accurately simulate the thermal hydraulics of the supercritical coolant is an absolute prerequisite. For this purpose, the one-dimensional two-phase thermal hydraulics solution of APROS process simulation software was developed to function at the supercritical pressure region. Software modifications included the redefinition of some parameters that have physical significance only at the subcritical pressures, improvement of the steam tables, and addition of heat transfer and friction correlations suitable for the supercritical pressure region. (author)

Development of a PF fired high efficiency power plant (AD700)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blum, R.; Kjaer, S.; Bugge, J. [DONG Energy Generation, Fredericia (Denmark)

2007-05-15

European efforts to start substantial improvements of the performance of well established supercritical coal-fired power technology named the AD700 project began in 1998. Major targets were development of austenitic materials and nickel-based superalloys for the hottest sections of boilers, steam lines and turbines. Other targets were development of boiler and turbine designs for the more advanced conditions and finally economic viability of the AD700 technology has been investigated. The project has been very successful and 40 partners from the European power industry have worked together in several projects co-funded by the European Commission for nearly years. Procurement of mature and commercially optimised AD700 plant could take place around 2015. The investigated nickel-based materials have shown very high creep strengths but they have also shown to be very hard to manufacture, and more efforts to define new machining lines are being started. Ongoing tests indicate that the developed austenitic material will fulfil its creep strength target and is now ready for commercialisation. Development works on boiler and turbine designs for the advanced steam conditions have also been successfully completed but they also clearly indicate that further development work on improved ferritic steel for furnace walls is important. Conventional development of the steam cycles is based on new improved materials, which open for higher steam temperatures and efficiencies whereas other thermodynamic tools are only slowly being accepted. However, in the present paper a proposal for steam cycle improvements not based on higher steam temperatures is presented. The improved cycle is named the Master Cycle (MC) and it is based on a revision of the double reheat steam cycle where the bleeds of the IP turbines have been moved to a feed pump turbine bleeding on the first cold reheat line. Elsam has established protection of a patent for the MC in a number of countries. At constant main

Feasibility Study of Supercritical Light Water Cooled Fast Reactors for Actinide Burning and Electric Power Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mac Donald, Philip Elsworth; Buongiorno, Jacopo; Davis, Cliff Bybee; Weaver, Kevan Dean

2002-01-01

The use of supercritical temperature and pressure light water as the coolant in a direct-cycle nuclear reactor offers potential for considerable plant simplification and consequent capital and O&M cost reduction compared with current light water reactor (LWR) designs. Also, given the thermodynamic conditions of the coolant at the core outlet (i.e. temperature and pressure beyond the water critical point), very high thermal efficiencies of the power conversion cycle are possible (i.e. up to 46%). Because no change of phase occurs in the core, the need for steam separators and dryers as well as for BWR-type recirculation pumps is eliminated, which, for a given reactor power, results in a substantially shorter reactor vessel than the current BWRs. Furthermore, in a direct cycle the steam generators are not needed. If a tight fuel rod lattice is adopted, it is possible to significantly reduce the neutron moderation and attain fast neutron energy spectrum conditions. In this project a supercritical water reactor concept with a simple, blanket-free, pancake-shaped core will be developed. This type of core can make use of either fertile or fertile-free fuel and retain the hard spectrum to effectively burn plutonium and minor actinides from LWR spent fuel while efficiently generating electricity.

Supercritical fluid technology: concepts and pharmaceutical applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Deshpande, Praful Balavant; Kumar, G Aravind; Kumar, Averineni Ranjith; Shavi, Gopal Venkatesh; Karthik, Arumugam; Reddy, Meka Sreenivasa; Udupa, Nayanabhirama

2011-01-01

In light of environmental apprehension, supercritical fluid technology (SFT) exhibits excellent opportunities to accomplish key objectives in the drug delivery sector. Supercritical fluid extraction using carbon dioxide (CO(2)) has been recognized as a green technology. It is a clean and versatile solvent with gas-like diffusivity and liquid-like density in the supercritical phase, which has provided an excellent alternative to the use of chemical solvents. The present commentary provides an overview of different techniques using supercritical fluids and their future opportunity for the drug delivery industry. Some of the emerging applications of SFT in pharmaceuticals, such as particle design, drug solubilization, inclusion complex, polymer impregnation, polymorphism, drug extraction process, and analysis, are also covered in this review. The data collection methods are based on the recent literature related to drug delivery systems using SFT platforms. SFT has become a much more versatile and environmentally attractive technology that can handle a variety of complicated problems in pharmaceuticals. This cutting-edge technology is growing predominantly to surrogate conventional unit operations in relevance to the pharmaceutical production process. Supercritical fluid technology has recently drawn attention in the field of pharmaceuticals. It is a distinct conception that utilizes the solvent properties of supercritical fluids above their critical temperature and pressure, where they exhibit both liquid-like and gas-like properties, which can enable many pharmaceutical applications. For example, the liquid-like properties provide benefits in extraction processes of organic solvents or impurities, drug solubilization, and polymer plasticization, and the gas-like features facilitate mass transfer processes. It has become a much more versatile and environmentally attractive technology that can handle a variety of complicated problems in pharmaceuticals. This review is

Heat transfer and pressure drop of supercritical carbon dioxide flowing in several printed circuit heat exchanger channel patterns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, M.; Kruizenga, A.; Anderson, M.; Corradini, M.

2012-01-01

Closed-loop Brayton cycles using supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO 2 ) show potential for use in high-temperature power generation applications including High Temperature Gas Reactors (HTGR) and Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors (SFR). Compared to Rankine cycles SCO 2 Brayton cycles offer similar or improved efficiency and the potential for decreased capital costs due to a reduction in equipment size and complexity. Compact printed-circuit heat exchangers (PCHE) are being considered as part of several SCO 2 Brayton designs to further reduce equipment size with increased energy density. Several designs plan to use a gas cooler operating near the pseudo-critical point of carbon dioxide to benefit from large variations in thermophysical properties, but further work is needed to validate correlations for heat transfer and pressure-drop characteristics of SCO 2 flows in candidate PCHE channel designs for a variety of operating conditions. This paper presents work on experimental measurements of the heat transfer and pressure drop behavior of miniature channels using carbon dioxide at supercritical pressure. Results from several plate geometries tested in horizontal cooling-mode flow are presented, including a straight semi-circular channel, zigzag channel with a bend angle of 80 degrees, and a channel with a staggered array of extruded airfoil pillars modeled after a NACA 0020 airfoil with an 8.1 mm chord length facing into the flow. Heat transfer coefficients and bulk temperatures are calculated from measured local wall temperatures and local heat fluxes. The experimental results are compared to several methods for estimating the friction factor and Nusselt number of cooling-mode flows at supercritical pressures in millimeter-scale channels. (authors)

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Turbine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Tae W.; Kim, Nam H.; Suh, Kune Y. [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Seung O. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

2006-07-01

The supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO{sub 2}) gas turbine Brayton cycle has been not only adopted in the secondary loop of the Generation IV nuclear energy systems but also planned to be installed in the high efficiency power conversion cycles of the nuclear fusion reactors. The potential beneficiaries include the Korea Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor (KALIMER), Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) and International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The reason for these welcomed applications is that the cycle can achieve the overall energy conversion efficiency as high as 45%. The SCO{sub 2} turbine efficiency is one of the major parameters affecting the overall Brayton cycle efficiency. Thus, optimal turbine design determines the economics of the Generation IV as well as the future nuclear fission and fusion energy industry. Seoul National University has recently been working on the SCO{sub 2} based Modular Optimized Brayton Integral System (MOBIS). MOBIS includes the Gas Advanced Turbine Operation Study (GATOS), the Loop Operating Brayton Optimization Study (LOBOS), the Nonsteady Operation Multidimensional Online Simulator (NOMOS), and the Turbine Advanced Compressor Operation Study (TACOS). This paper presents first results from GATOS.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Turbine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Tae W.; Kim, Nam H.; Suh, Kune Y. [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Seung O. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2007-07-01

The supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO{sub 2}) gas turbine Brayton cycle has been not only adopted in the secondary loop of the Generation IV nuclear energy systems but also planned to be installed in the high efficiency power conversion cycles of the nuclear fusion reactors. The potential beneficiaries include the Korea Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor (KALIMER), the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) as well as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The reason for these welcomed applications is that the cycle can achieve the overall energy conversion efficiency as high as 45%. The SCO{sub 2} turbine efficiency is one of the major parameters affecting the overall Brayton cycle efficiency. Thus, optimal turbine design determines the economics of the Generation IV as well as the future nuclear fission and fusion energy industry. Seoul National University has recently been working on the SCO{sub 2} based Modular Optimized Brayton Integral System (MOBIS). MOBIS includes the Gas Advanced Turbine Operation Study (GATOS), the Loop Operating Brayton Optimization Study (LOBOS), the Nonsteady Operation Multidimensional Online Simulator (NOMOS), and the Turbine Advanced Compressor Operation Study (TACOS). This paper presents results from GATOS.

Supercritical Airfoil Coordinates

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Rectangular Supercritical Wing (Ricketts) - design and measured locations are provided in an Excel file RSW_airfoil_coordinates_ricketts.xls . One sheet is with Non...

Dual turbine power plant and a reheat steam bypass flow control system for use therein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braytenbah, A.S.; Jaegtnes, K.O.

1977-01-01

An electric power plant having dual turbine-generators connected to a steam source that includes a high temperature gas cooled nuclear reactor is described. Each turbine comprises a high pressure portion operated by superheat steam and an intermediate-low pressure portion operated by reheat steam; a bypass line is connected across each turbine portion to permit a desired minimum flow of steam from the source at times when the combined flow of steam through the turbine is less than the minimum. Coolant gas is propelled through the reactor by a circulator which is driven by an auxiliary turbine which uses steam exhausted from the high pressure portions and their bypass lines. The pressure of the reheat steam is controlled by a single proportional-plus-integral controller which governs the steam flow through the bypass lines associated with the intermediate-low pressure portions. At times when the controller is not in use its output signal is limited to a value that permits an unbiased response when pressure control is resumed, as in event of a turbine trip. 25 claims, 2 figures

Theoretical models for supercritical fluid extraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhen; Shi, Xiao-Han; Jiang, Wei-Juan

2012-08-10

For the proper design of supercritical fluid extraction processes, it is essential to have a sound knowledge of the mass transfer mechanism of the extraction process and the appropriate mathematical representation. In this paper, the advances and applications of kinetic models for describing supercritical fluid extraction from various solid matrices have been presented. The theoretical models overviewed here include the hot ball diffusion, broken and intact cell, shrinking core and some relatively simple models. Mathematical representations of these models have been in detail interpreted as well as their assumptions, parameter identifications and application examples. Extraction process of the analyte solute from the solid matrix by means of supercritical fluid includes the dissolution of the analyte from the solid, the analyte diffusion in the matrix and its transport to the bulk supercritical fluid. Mechanisms involved in a mass transfer model are discussed in terms of external mass transfer resistance, internal mass transfer resistance, solute-solid interactions and axial dispersion. The correlations of the external mass transfer coefficient and axial dispersion coefficient with certain dimensionless numbers are also discussed. Among these models, the broken and intact cell model seems to be the most relevant mathematical model as it is able to provide realistic description of the plant material structure for better understanding the mass-transfer kinetics and thus it has been widely employed for modeling supercritical fluid extraction of natural matters. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Second Law Of Thermodynamics Analysis Of Triple Cycle Power Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matheus M. Dwinanto

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Triple cycle power plant with methane as a fuel has been analyzed on the basis of second law of thermodynamics.In this model, ideal Brayton cycle is selected as a topping cycle as it gives higher efficiency at lower pressure ratio comparedintercooler and reheat cycle. In trilple cycle the bottoming cycles are steam Rankine and organic Rankine cycle. Ammoniahas suitable working properties like critical temperature, boiling temperature, etc. Steam cycle consists of a deaerator andreheater. The bottoming ammonia cycle is a ideal Rankine cycle. Single pressure heat recovery steam and ammoniagenerators are selected for simplification of the analysis. The effects of pressure ratio and maximum temperature which aretaken as important parameters regarding the triple cycle are discussed on performance and exergetic losses. On the otherhand, the efficiency of the triple cycle can be raised, especially in the application of recovering low enthalpy content wasteheat. Therefore, by properly combining with a steam Rankine cycle, the ammonia Rankine cycle is expected to efficientlyutilize residual yet available energy to an optimal extent. The arrangement of multiple cycles is compared with combinedcycle having the same sink conditions. The parallel type of arrangement of bottoming cycle is selected due to increasedperformance.

Performance comparison of different thermodynamic cycles for an innovative central receiver solar power plant

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes-Belmonte, Miguel A.; Sebastián, Andrés; González-Aguilar, José; Romero, Manuel

2017-06-01

The potential of using different thermodynamic cycles coupled to a solar tower central receiver that uses a novel heat transfer fluid is analyzed. The new fluid, named as DPS, is a dense suspension of solid particles aerated through a tubular receiver used to convert concentrated solar energy into thermal power. This novel fluid allows reaching high temperatures at the solar receiver what opens a wide range of possibilities for power cycle selection. This work has been focused into the assessment of power plant performance using conventional, but optimized cycles but also novel thermodynamic concepts. Cases studied are ranging from subcritical steam Rankine cycle; open regenerative Brayton air configurations at medium and high temperature; combined cycle; closed regenerative Brayton helium scheme and closed recompression supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle. Power cycle diagrams and working conditions for design point are compared amongst the studied cases for a common reference thermal power of 57 MWth reaching the central cavity receiver. It has been found that Brayton air cycle working at high temperature or using supercritical carbon dioxide are the most promising solutions in terms of efficiency conversion for the power block of future generation by means of concentrated solar power plants.

Reheat cracking susceptibility of new generation 2%CrMo(W)V P23 steel multipass welds made using matching and mis-matching filler metals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nevasmaa, P.; Salonen, J.; Holmstroem, S. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo (Finland)

2007-06-15

In comparison with conventional creep resisting grade T/P22, the modified 2%Cr steels T/P23 and T/P24 show nearly twice the creep strength at typical service temperatures of about 520-570 deg C. The possibility of welding thin-wall boiler tubes without preheating or PWHT has promoted the use of T23 and T24 in practical boiler service. For thick-wall applications and multipass welds, welding consumables still require further development to improve creep strength and ductility. Susceptibility to reheat cracking and hydrogen cracking increase with the wall-thickness and structural rigidity of the component. Consequently, thick-wall sections generally require the use of PWHT and sometimes preheating as well. This paper is concerned with weldability of P23 pipe steel, with particular emphasis on reheat cracking sensitivity of simulated HAZ microstructures and thick-section multipass welds made using closely matching and mis-matching filler metals. The results demonstrate that the weld metal is far more critical than the parent steel HAZ, both in terms of reheat cracking sensitivity and ductility and toughness. In the as-welded condition, the weld metal exhibited excessive hardness of {approx}380 HV and only diminutive Charpy toughness at room temperature. Adoption of the PWHT (760 deg C/2h) enhanced the weldment toughness; however, it also inevitably raises risk to reheat cracking in the weld metal that showed values of reduction of area (RA) no more than 2-3% in the BWI cracking test. The results imply that thick-section multipass welds made using filler metal with the chemical composition closer to P24 grade material are much less susceptible to reheat cracking than 'matching' P23 grade welds. (orig.)

Thermal stability of biodiesel in supercritical methanol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hiroaki Imahara; Eiji Minami; Shusaku Hari; Shiro Saka [Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan). Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science

2008-01-15

Non-catalytic biodiesel production technologies from oils/fats in plants and animals have been developed in our laboratory employing supercritical methanol. Due to conditions in high temperature and high pressure of the supercritical fluid, thermal stability of fatty acid methyl esters and actual biodiesel prepared from various plant oils was studied in supercritical methanol over a range of its condition between 270{sup o}C/17 MPa and 380{sup o}C/56 MPa. In addition, the effect of thermal degradation on cold flow properties was studied. As a result, it was found that all fatty acid methyl esters including poly-unsaturated ones were stable at 270{sup o}C/17 MPa, but at 350{sup o}C/43 MPa, they were partly decomposed to reduce the yield with isomerization from cis-type to trans-type. These behaviors were also observed for actual biodiesel prepared from linseed oil, safflower oil, which are high in poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Cold flow properties of actual biodiesel, however, remained almost unchanged after supercritical methanol exposure at 270{sup o}C/17 MPa and 350{sup o}C/43 MPa. For the latter condition, however, poly-unsaturated fatty acids were sacrificed to be decomposed and reduced in yield. From these results, it was clarified that reaction temperature in supercritical methanol process should be lower than 300{sup o}C, preferably 270{sup o}C with a supercritical pressure higher than 8.09 MPa, in terms of thermal stabilization for high-quality biodiesel production. 9 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs.

Effect of pre-strain on creep of three AISI 316 austenitic stainless steels in relation to reheat cracking of weld-affected zones

Science.gov (United States)

Auzoux, Q.; Allais, L.; Caës, C.; Monnet, I.; Gourgues, A. F.; Pineau, A.

2010-05-01

Microstructural modifications induced by welding of 316 stainless steels and their effect on creep properties and relaxation crack propagation were examined. Cumulative strain due to multi-pass welding hardens the materials by increasing the dislocation density. Creep tests were conducted on three plates from different grades of 316 steel at 600 °C, with various carbon and nitrogen contents. These plates were tested both in the annealed condition and after warm rolling, which introduced pre-strain. It was found that the creep strain rate and ductility after warm rolling was reduced compared with the annealed condition. Moreover, all steels exhibited intergranular crack propagation during relaxation tests on Compact Tension specimens in the pre-strained state, but not in the annealed state. These results confirmed that the reheat cracking risk increases with both residual stress triaxiality and pre-strain. On the contrary, high solute content and strain-induced carbide precipitation, which are thought to increase reheat cracking risk of stabilised austenitic stainless steels did not appear as key parameters in reheat cracking of 316 stainless steels.

Effect of pre-strain on creep of three AISI 316 austenitic stainless steels in relation to reheat cracking of weld-affected zones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auzoux, Q.; Allais, L.; Caes, C.; Monnet, I.; Gourgues, A.F.; Pineau, A.

2010-01-01

Microstructural modifications induced by welding of 316 stainless steels and their effect on creep properties and relaxation crack propagation were examined. Cumulative strain due to multi-pass welding hardens the materials by increasing the dislocation density. Creep tests were conducted on three plates from different grades of 316 steel at 600 deg. C, with various carbon and nitrogen contents. These plates were tested both in the annealed condition and after warm rolling, which introduced pre-strain. It was found that the creep strain rate and ductility after warm rolling was reduced compared with the annealed condition. Moreover, all steels exhibited intergranular crack propagation during relaxation tests on Compact Tension specimens in the pre-strained state, but not in the annealed state. These results confirmed that the reheat cracking risk increases with both residual stress triaxiality and pre-strain. On the contrary, high solute content and strain-induced carbide precipitation, which are thought to increase reheat cracking risk of stabilised austenitic stainless steels did not appear as key parameters in reheat cracking of 316 stainless steels.

Exergy based parametric analysis of a combined reheat regenerative thermal power plant and water–LiBr vapor absorption refrigeration system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gogoi, T.K.; Talukdar, K.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Exergy analysis of a combined power–absorption cooling system is provided. • Exergetic efficiency of the power cycle and absorption cooling system are calculated. • Irreversibility in each component and total system irreversibility are calculated. • Effect of operating parameters on exergetic performance and irreversibility is analyzed. • Optimum operating parameters are identified based on energy and exergy based results. - Abstract: In this paper, exergy analysis of a combined reheat regenerative steam turbine (ST) based power cycle and water–LiBr vapor absorption refrigeration system (VARS) is presented. Exergetic efficiency of the power cycle and VARS, energy utilization factor (EUF) of the combined system (CS) and irreversibility in each system component are calculated. The effect of fuel flow rate, boiler pressure, cooling capacity and VARS components’ temperature on performance, component and total system irreversibility is analyzed. The second law based results indicate optimum performance at 150 bar boiler pressure and VARS generator, condenser, evaporator and absorber temperature of 80 °C, 37.5 °C, 15 °C and 35 °C respectively. The present exergy based results conform well to the first law based results obtained in a previous analysis done on the same combined system. Irreversibility distribution among various power cycle components shows the highest irreversibility in the cooling tower. Irreversibility of the exhaust flue gas leaving the boiler and the boiler are the next major contributors. Among the VARS components, exergy destruction in the generator is the highest followed by irreversibility contribution of the absorber, condenser and the evaporator

Fast infrared spectroscopy in supercritical fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, X.

2000-05-01

Chapter 1: Introduction. A brief introduction to supercritical fluids is given, illustrating why supercritical fluids are unique solvents and why there is a wide application of supercritical fluids in industry and laboratories. Potential ways for solvation in supercritical fluids to affect reactivity are briefly reviewed. A general introduction to the photochemistry of organometallic complexes is also given. Chapter 2: Time resolved vibrational spectroscopy. Time resolved resonance Raman is introduced and compared with Time-resolved infrared spectroscopy (TRIR). The different approaches of TRIR, including microsecond, nanosecond, and ultrafast (picosecond and femtosecond) systems are discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of these systems are also compared. The TRIR apparatus using an IR diode laser used for work in this thesis are described in detail. Experimental procedures for supercritical fluid TRIR experiments are described with emphasis on handling the IR cell for supercritical fluids and preparation of supercritical fluid solutions. Chapter 3: Photochemistry of group VIB hexacarbonyl compounds in supercritical noble gases and CO 2 solutions. A systematic TRIR study of the photolysis of M(CO) 6 in supercritical Ar, Kr, Xe, and CO 2 and the observation of M(CO) 5 L (M = Cr, Mo, and W; L = Ar (W only), Kr, Xe, and CO 2 ) is described. The second-order rate constants for the reaction of M(CO) 5 L with CO have been evaluated and the reactivity for each metal is Kr > Xe ∼ CO 2 . For M(CO) 5 Kr, M(CO) 5 Xe, or M(CO) 5 (CO 2 ), the reactivity is Cr ∼ Mo > W. In supercritical Kr doped with either Xe or CO 2 , the M(CO) 5 moiety interacts with Xe or CO 2 in preference to Kr. The effect of solvent density on the rate of the reaction of W(CO) 5 (CO 2 ) with CO has been investigated. The reaction of W(CO) 5 (CO 2 ) with CO in scCO 2 is predominantly a dissociative process. The activation energies for the reaction of W(CO) 5 Xe and W(CO) 5 (CO 2 ) with CO and

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Generation System Definition: Concept Definition and Capital Cost Estimate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stoddard, Larry [Black & Veatch, Kansas City, MO (United States); Galluzzo, Geoff [Black & Veatch, Kansas City, MO (United States); Andrew, Daniel [Black & Veatch, Kansas City, MO (United States); Adams, Shannon [Black & Veatch, Kansas City, MO (United States)

2016-06-30

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Renewable Power (ORP) has been tasked to provide effective program management and strategic direction for all of the DOE’s Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) renewable power programs. The ORP’s efforts to accomplish this mission are aligned with national energy policies, DOE strategic planning, EERE’s strategic planning, Congressional appropriation, and stakeholder advice. ORP is supported by three renewable energy offices, of which one is the Solar Energy Technology Office (SETO) whose SunShot Initiative has a mission to accelerate research, development and large scale deployment of solar technologies in the United States. SETO has a goal of reducing the cost of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) by 75 percent of 2010 costs by 2020 to reach parity with base-load energy rates, and 30 percent further reductions by 2030. The SunShot Initiative is promoting the implementation of high temperature CSP with thermal energy storage allowing generation during high demand hours. The SunShot Initiative has funded significant research and development work on component testing, with attention to high temperature molten salts, heliostats, receiver designs, and high efficiency high temperature supercritical CO₂ (sCO2) cycles. DOE retained Black & Veatch to support SETO’s SunShot Initiative for CSP solar power tower technology in the following areas: 1. Concept definition, including costs and schedule, of a flexible test facility to be used to test and prove components in part to support financing. 2. Concept definition, including costs and schedule, of an integrated high temperature molten salt (MS) facility with thermal energy storage and with a supercritical CO₂ cycle generating approximately 10MWe. 3. Concept definition, including costs and schedule, of an integrated high temperature falling particle facility with thermal energy storage and with a supercritical CO₂ cycle

Development of a test facility for analyzing supercritical fluid blowdown

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberto, Thiago D.; Alvim, Antonio C.M.

2015-01-01

The generation IV nuclear reactors under development mostly use supercritical fluids as the working fluid because higher temperatures improve the thermal efficiency. Supercritical fluids are used by modern nuclear power plants to achieve thermal efficiencies of around 45%. With water as the supercritical working fluid, these plants operate at a high temperature and pressure. However, experiments on supercritical water are limited by technical and financial difficulties. These difficulties can be overcome by using model fluids, which have more feasible supercritical conditions and exhibit a lower critical pressure and temperature. Experimental research is normally used to determine the conditions under which model fluids represent supercritical fluids under steady-state conditions. A fluid-to-fluid scaling approach has been proposed to determine model fluids that can represent supercritical fluids in a transient state. This paper presents an application of fractional scale analysis to determine the simulation parameters for a depressurization test facility. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and R134a gas were considered as the model fluids because their critical point conditions are more feasible than those of water. The similarities of water (prototype), CO 2 (model) and R134a (model) for depressurization in a pressure vessel were analyzed. (author)

Fireside corrosion of superheaters/reheaters in advanced power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Syed, A.U.; Simms, N.J.; Oakey, J.E. [Cranfield Univ. (United Kingdom). Energy Technology Centre

2010-07-01

The generation of increasing amounts of electricity while simultaneously reducing environmental emissions (CO{sub 2}, SO{sub 2}, NO{sub x} particles, etc) has become a goal for the power industry worldwide. Co-firing biomass and coal in new advanced pulverised fuel power plants is one route to address this issue, since biomass is regarded as a CO{sub 2} neutral fuel (i.e. CO{sub 2} uptake during its growth equals the CO{sub 2} emissions produced during its combustion) and such new advanced power plants operate at higher efficiencies than current plants as a result of using steam systems with high temperatures and pressures. However, co-firing has the potential to cause significant operational challenges for such power plants as amongst other issues, it will significantly change the chemistry of the deposits on the heat exchanger surfaces and the surrounding gas compositions. As a result these critical components can experience higher corrosion rates, and so shorter lives, causing increased operational costs, unless the most appropriate materials are selected for their construction. This paper reports the results of a series of 1000 hour laboratory corrosion tests that have been carried out in controlled atmosphere furnaces, to assess the effect of biomass/coal co-firing on the fireside corrosion of superheaters/reheaters. The materials used for the tests were one ferritic alloy (T92), two austenitic alloys (347HFG and HR3C) and one nickel based alloy (alloy 625). Temperatures of 600 and 650 C were used to represent the metal temperatures in advanced power plants. During these exposures, traditional mass change data were recorded as the samples were recoated with the simulated deposits. After these exposures, cross-sections through samples were prepared using standard metallographic techniques and then analysed using SEM/EDX. Pre-exposure micrometer and post-exposure image analyser measurements were used so that the metal wastage could be calculated. These data are

27.12 MHz plasma generation in supercritical carbon dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawashima, Ayato; Toyota, Hiromichi; Nomura, Shinfuku; Takemori, Toshihiko; Mukasa, Shinobu; Maehara, Tsunehiro; Yamashita, Hiroshi

2007-01-01

An experiment was conducted for generating high-frequency plasma in supercritical carbon dioxide; it is expected to have the potential for applications in various types of practical processes. It was successfully generated at 6-20 MPa using electrodes mounted in a supercritical cell with a gap of 1 mm. Emission spectra were then measured to investigate the physical properties of supercritical carbon dioxide plasma. The results indicated that while the emission spectra for carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide could be mainly obtained at a low pressure, the emission spectra for atomic oxygen could be obtained in the supercritical state, which increased with the pressure. The temperature of the plasma in supercritical state was estimated to be approximately 6000-7000 K on the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium and the calculation results of thermal equilibrium composition in this state showed the increase of atomic oxygen by the decomposition of CO 2

Radiolytic and electron-transfer reactions in supercritical CO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartels, D. M.; Dimitrijevic, N. M.; Jonah, C. D.; Takahashi, K.

2000-01-01

Using supercritical fluids as solvents is useful for both practical and theoretical reasons. It has been proposed to use supercritical CO 2 as a solvent for synthesis because it eliminates the air pollution arising from other solvents. The properties of supercritical fluids can be easily varied with only modest changes in temperature and density, so they provide a way of testing theories of chemical reactions. It has also been proposed to use supercritical fluids for the treatment of hazardous mixed waste. For these reasons the authors have studied the production of radiolytic species in supercritical CO 2 and have measured their reactivity as a function of density. They have shown that the C 2 O 4 + is formed. They also have shown that the electron transfer reactions of dimethylaniline to C 2 O 4 + and CO 2 (e - ) to benzoquinone are diffusion controlled over a considerable density range

Supercritical fields and bald black holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Irvine, J M

1975-01-01

The instability of a many-fermion ground state against particle-hole excitations is reviewed and the existence of supercritical electromagnetic and strong interaction fields is briefly discussed. The nature of associated phase changes and in particular the change in conservation laws which accompanies the phase changes is outlined. Finally, the supercritical gravitational field is considered and weight given to the argument that ''black holes have no hair.''

Supercritical Synthesis of Biodiesel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michel Vaultier

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The synthesis of biodiesel fuel from lipids (vegetable oils and animal fats has gained in importance as a possible source of renewable non-fossil energy in an attempt to reduce our dependence on petroleum-based fuels. The catalytic processes commonly used for the production of biodiesel fuel present a series of limitations and drawbacks, among them the high energy consumption required for complex purification operations and undesirable side reactions. Supercritical fluid (SCF technologies offer an interesting alternative to conventional processes for preparing biodiesel. This review highlights the advances, advantages, drawbacks and new tendencies involved in the use of supercritical fluids (SCFs for biodiesel synthesis.

Gravitational wave signals and cosmological consequences of gravitational reheating

Science.gov (United States)

Artymowski, Michał; Czerwińska, Olga; Lalak, Zygmunt; Lewicki, Marek

2018-04-01

Reheating after inflation can proceed even if the inflaton couples to Standard Model (SM) particles only gravitationally. However, particle production during the transition between de-Sitter expansion and a decelerating Universe is rather inefficient and the necessity to recover the visible Universe leads to a non-standard cosmological evolution initially dominated by remnants of the inflaton field. We remain agnostic to the specific dynamics of the inflaton field and discuss a generic scenario in which its remnants behave as a perfect fluid with a general barotropic parameter w. Using CMB and BBN constraints we derive the allowed range of inflationary scales. We also show that this scenario results in a characteristic primordial Gravitational Wave (GW) spectrum which gives hope for observation in upcoming runs of LIGO as well as in other planned experiments.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), General Electric Phase 1. Volume 2: Advanced energy conversion systems. Part 1: Open-cycle gas turbines

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, D. H.; Corman, J. C.

1976-01-01

Ten energy conversion systems are defined and analyzed in terms of efficiency. These include: open-cycle gas turbine recuperative; open-cycle gas turbine; closed-cycle gas turbine; supercritical CO2 cycle; advanced steam cycle; liquid metal topping cycle; open-cycle MHD; closed-cycle inert gas MHD; closed-cycle liquid metal MHD; and fuel cells. Results are presented.

Effect of supercritical fluid density on nanoencapsulated drug particle size using the supercritical antisolvent method.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalani, Mahshid; Yunus, Robiah

2012-01-01

The reported work demonstrates and discusses the effect of supercritical fluid density (pressure and temperature of supercritical fluid carbon dioxide) on particle size and distribution using the supercritical antisolvent (SAS) method in the purpose of drug encapsulation. In this study, paracetamol was encapsulated inside L-polylactic acid, a semicrystalline polymer, with different process parameters, including pressure and temperature, using the SAS process. The morphology and particle size of the prepared nanoparticles were determined by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results revealed that increasing temperature enhanced mean particle size due to the plasticizing effect. Furthermore, increasing pressure enhanced molecular interaction and solubility; thus, particle size was reduced. Transmission electron microscopy images defined the internal structure of nanoparticles. Thermal characteristics of nanoparticles were also investigated via differential scanning calorimetry. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction pattern revealed the changes in crystallinity structure during the SAS process. In vitro drug release analysis determined the sustained release of paracetamol in over 4 weeks.

European supercritical water cooled reactor (HPLWR Phase 2 project)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulenberg, Thomas; Starflinger, Joerg; Marsault, Philippe; Bittermann, Dietmar; Maraczy, Czaba; Laurien, Eckart; Lycklama, Jan Aiso; Anglart, Henryk; Andreani, Michele; Ruzickova, Mariana; Heikinheimo, Liisa

2010-01-01

The High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR), how the European Supercritical Water Cooled Reactor is called, is a pressure vessel type reactor operated with supercritical water at 25 MPa feedwater pressure and 500 deg C maximum core outlet temperature. It is designed and analyzed by a European consortium of 13 partners from 8 Euratom member states in the second phase of the HPLWR project. Most emphasis has been laid on a core with a thermal neutron spectrum, consisting of small, housed fuel assemblies with 40 fuel pins each and a central water box to improve the neutron moderation despite the low coolant density. Peak cladding temperatures of the fuel rods have been minimized by heating up the coolant in three steps with intermediate coolant mixing. The innovative core design with upward and downward flow through its assemblies has been studied with neutronic, thermal-hydraulic and stress analyses and has been reviewed carefully in a mid-term assessment. The containment design with its safety and residual heat removal systems is based on the latest boiling water reactor concept, but with different passive high pressure coolant injection systems to cause a forced convection through the core. The design concept of the steam cycle is indicating the envisaged efficiency increase to around 44%. Moreover, it provides the constraints to design the components of the balance of the plant. The project is accompanied by numerical studies of heat transfer of supercritical water in fuel assemblies and by material tests of candidate cladding alloys, performed by the consortium and supported by additional tests of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. An overview of results achieved up to now, given in this paper, is illustrating the latest scientific and technological advances. (author)

Modeling and sizing of the heat exchangers of a new supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton power cycle for energy conversion for fusion reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Serrano, I.P.; Cantizano, A.; Linares, J.I., E-mail: linares@upcomillas.es; Moratilla, B.Y.

2014-10-15

Highlights: •We propose a procedure to model the heat exchangers of a S-CO2 Brayton power cycle. •Discretization in sub-heat exchangers is performed due to complex behavior of CO{sub 2}. •Different correlations have been tested, verifying them with CFD when necessary. •Obtained sizes are agree with usual values of printed circuit heat exchangers. -- Abstract: TECNO{sub F}US is a research program financed by the Spanish Government to develop technologies related to a dual-coolant (He/Pb–Li) breeding blanket design concept including the auxiliary systems for a future power reactor (DEMO). One of the main issues of this program is the optimization of heat recovery from the reactor and its conversion into electrical power. This paper is focused on the methodology employed for the design and sizing of all the heat exchangers of the supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton power cycle (S-CO2) proposed by the authors. Due to the large pressure difference between the fluids, and also to their compactness, Printed Circuit Heat Exchangers (PCHE) are suggested in literature for these type of cycles. Because of the complex behavior of CO{sub 2}, their design is performed by a numerical discretization into sub-heat exchangers, thus a higher precision is reached when the thermal properties of the fluids vary along the heat exchanger. Different empirical correlations for the pressure drop and the Nusselt number have been coupled and assessed. The design of the precooler (PC) and the low temperature recuperator (LTR) is also verified by simulations using CFD because of the near-critical behavior of CO{sub 2}. The size of all of the heat exchangers of the cycle have been assessed.

Design of large reheat steam turbines for U.K. and overseas markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchell, J.M.

1979-01-01

Two prototype designs of large reheat steam turbines are described, together with the technical, economic and plant design aspects that have influenced their main features. Relevant service experience is outlined and details are given of the solutions adopted to overcome the relatively few problems that were encountered. The evolution of these designs to form the current range of adaptable, pre-engineered modular designs is presented and the main features of current machines are described. A brief account is given of likely future developments in large steam turbines. (author)

Sustainable solid catalyst alkylation of commercial olefins by regeneration with supercritical isobutane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daniel M. Ginosar; David N. Thompson; Kyle C. Burch

2005-12-01

Supercritical isobutane regeneration of a USY zeolite alkylation catalyst was examined in a continuous, automated reaction / regeneration system. Two feeds were studied; a synthetic isobutane / 2-butene blend, and a commercial refinery isoparaffin / olefin blend. The refinery blend was minimally treated, containing a variety of light olefins, and contaminants, including butadiene, oxygenates and sulfur, which are well known to cause severe catalyst deactivation. Synthetic feed experiments showed that high levels of butene conversion was maintained for more than 200 hours time on stream, and that product quality and catalyst maintenance was relatively stable over the course of the experiment using a 3 hour reaction / 3 hour regeneration cycle. Catalyst activity maintenance was lower when the commercial feed was employed. High levels of alkene conversion were maintained for 78 hours and 192 hours using a 3 hour reaction / 3 hour regeneration cycle and a 2 hour reaction / 2 hour regeneration cycle, respectively.

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle Energy Conversion System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cha, Jae Eun; Kim, S. O.; Seong, S. H.; Eoh, J. H.; Lee, T. H.; Choi, S. K.; Han, J. W.; Bae, S. W

2007-12-15

This report contains the description of the S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle coupled to KALIMER-600 as an alternative energy conversion system. For system development, a computer code was developed to calculate heat balance of 100% power operation condition. Based on the computer code, the S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle energy conversion system was constructed for the KALIMER-600. Using the developed turbomachinery models, the off-design characteristics and the sensitivities of the S-CO{sub 2} turbomachinery were investigated. For the development of PCHE models, a one-dimensional analysis computer code was developed to evaluate the performance of the PCHE. Possible control schemes for power control in the KALIMER-600 S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle were investigated by using the MARS code. Simple power reduction and recovery event was selected and analyzed for the transient calculation. For the evaluation of Na/CO{sub 2} boundary failure event, a computer was developed to simulate the complex thermodynamic behaviors coupled with the chemical reaction between liquid sodium and CO{sub 2} gas. The long term behavior of a Na/CO{sub 2} boundary failure event and its consequences which lead to a system pressure transient were evaluated.

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle Energy Conversion System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cha, Jae Eun; Kim, S. O.; Seong, S. H.; Eoh, J. H.; Lee, T. H.; Choi, S. K.; Han, J. W.; Bae, S. W.

2007-12-01

This report contains the description of the S-CO 2 Brayton cycle coupled to KALIMER-600 as an alternative energy conversion system. For system development, a computer code was developed to calculate heat balance of 100% power operation condition. Based on the computer code, the S-CO 2 Brayton cycle energy conversion system was constructed for the KALIMER-600. Using the developed turbomachinery models, the off-design characteristics and the sensitivities of the S-CO 2 turbomachinery were investigated. For the development of PCHE models, a one-dimensional analysis computer code was developed to evaluate the performance of the PCHE. Possible control schemes for power control in the KALIMER-600 S-CO 2 Brayton cycle were investigated by using the MARS code. Simple power reduction and recovery event was selected and analyzed for the transient calculation. For the evaluation of Na/CO 2 boundary failure event, a computer was developed to simulate the complex thermodynamic behaviors coupled with the chemical reaction between liquid sodium and CO 2 gas. The long term behavior of a Na/CO 2 boundary failure event and its consequences which lead to a system pressure transient were evaluated

Nanotechnology and supercritical fluids | Hamidreza | Journal of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Supercritical fluid (SCF) technology has become an important tool of materials processing in the last two decades. Supercritical CO2 and H2O are extensively being used in the preparation of a great variety of nanomaterials. The interest in the preparation and application of nanometer size materials is increasing since they ...

Supercritical fluid technology for energy and environmental applications

CERN Document Server

Anikeev, Vladimir

2014-01-01

Supercritical Fluid Technology for Energy and Environmental Applications covers the fundamental principles involved in the preparation and characterization of supercritical fluids (SCFs) used in the energy production and other environmental applications. Energy production from diversified resources - including renewable materials - using clean processes can be accomplished using technologies like SCFs. This book is focused on critical issues scientists and engineers face in applying SCFs to energy production and environmental protection, the innovative solutions they have found, and the challenges they need to overcome. The book also covers the basics of sub- and supercritical fluids, like the thermodynamics of phase and chemical equilibria, mathematical modeling, and process calculations. A supercritical fluid is any substance at a temperature and pressure above its critical point where distinct liquid and gas phases do not exist. At this state the compound demonstrates unique properties, which can be "fine...

Bottoming organic Rankine cycle configurations to increase Internal Combustion Engines power output from cooling water waste heat recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peris, Bernardo; Navarro-Esbrí, Joaquín; Molés, Francisco

2013-01-01

This work is focused on waste heat recovery of jacket cooling water from Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs). Cooling water heat does not always find use due to its low temperature, typically around 90 °C, and usually is rejected to the ambient despite its high thermal power. An efficient way to take benefit from the ICE cooling water waste heat can be to increase the power output through suitable bottoming Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs). Thereby, this work simulates six configurations using ten non flammable working fluids and evaluates their performances in efficiency, safety, cost and environmental terms. Results show that the Double Regenerative ORC using SES36 gets the maximum net efficiency of 7.15%, incrementing the ICE electrical efficiency up to 5.3%, although requires duplicating the number of main components and high turbine size. A more rigorous analysis, based on the system feasibility, shows that small improvements in the basic cycle provide similar gains compared to the most complex schemes proposed. So, the single Regenerative ORC using R236fa and the Reheat Regenerative ORC using R134a seem suitable cycles which provide a net efficiency of 6.55%, incrementing the ICE electrical efficiency up to 4.9%. -- Highlights: • Suitable bottoming cycles for ICE cooling water waste heat recovery are studied. • Non flammable working fluids and various ORC configurations are evaluated. • Double regenerative cycle using SES36 is the most efficient configuration. • Regenerative and reheat regenerative ORCs seem feasible cycles. • Electrical efficiency of the ICE can be improved up to 5.3%

Selective chelation and extraction of lanthanides and actinides with supercritical fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brauer, R.D.; Carleson, T.E.; Harrington, J.D.; Jean, F.; Jiang, H.; Lin, Y.; Wai, C.M.

1994-01-01

This report is made up of three independent papers: (1) Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Thorium and Uranium with Fluorinated Beta-Diketones and Tributyl Phosphate, (2) Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Lanthanides with Beta-Diketones and Mixed Ligands, and (3) A Group Contribution Method for Predicting the Solubility of Solid Organic Compounds in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide. Experimental data are presented demonstrating the successful extraction of thorium and uranium using fluorinated beta-diketones to form stable complexes that are extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide. The conditions for extracting the lanthanide ions from liquid and solid materials using supercritical carbon dioxide are presented. In addition, the Peng-Robison equation of state and thermodynamic equilibrium are used to predict the solubilities of organic solids in supercritical carbon dioxide from the sublimation pressure, critical properties, and a centric factor of the solid of interest

Life cycle energy use and GHG emission assessment of coal-based SNG and power cogeneration technology in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Sheng; Gao, Lin; Jin, Hongguang

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Life cycle energy use and GHG emissions are assessed for SNG and power cogeneration. • A model based on a Chinese domestic database is developed for evaluation. • Cogeneration shows lower GHG emissions than coal-power pathway. • Cogeneration has lower life cycle energy use than supercritical coal-power pathway. • Cogeneration is a good option to implement China’s clean coal technologies. - Abstract: Life cycle energy use and GHG emissions are assessed for coal-based synthetic natural gas (SNG) and power cogeneration/polygenereation (PG) technology and its competitive alternatives. Four main SNG applications are considered, including electricity generation, steam production, SNG vehicle and battery electric vehicle (BEV). Analyses show that if SNG is produced from a single product plant, the lower limits of its life cycle energy use and GHG emissions can be comparable to the average levels of coal-power and coal-BEV pathways, but are still higher than supercritical and ultra supercritical (USC) coal-power and coal-BEV pathways. If SNG is coproduced from a PG plant, when it is used for power generation, steam production, and driving BEV car, the life cycle energy uses for PG based pathways are typically lower than supercritical coal-power pathways, but are still 1.6–2.4% higher than USC coal-power pathways, and the average life cycle GHG emissions are lower than those of all coal-power pathways including USC units. If SNG is used to drive vehicle car, the life cycle energy use and GHG emissions of PG-SNGV-power pathway are both much higher than all combined coal-BEV and coal-power pathways, due to much higher energy consumption in a SNG driven car than in a BEV car. The coal-based SNG and power cogeneration technology shows comparable or better energy and environmental performances when compared to other coal-based alternatives, and is a good option to implement China’s clean coal technologies.

Effects of Gravity on Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Hegde, Uday; Hicks, Michael

2013-01-01

The effects of gravity on the fluid mechanics of supercritical water jets are being studied at NASA to develop a better understanding of flow behaviors for purposes of advancing supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) technologies for applications in reduced gravity environments. These studies provide guidance for the development of future SCWO experiments in new experimental platforms that will extend the current operational range of the DECLIC (Device for the Study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization) Facility on board the International Space Station (ISS). The hydrodynamics of supercritical fluid jets is one of the basic unit processes of a SCWO reactor. These hydrodynamics are often complicated by significant changes in the thermo-physical properties that govern flow behavior (e.g., viscosity, thermal conductivity, specific heat, compressibility, etc), particularly when fluids transition from sub-critical to supercritical conditions. Experiments were conducted in a 150 ml reactor cell under constant pressure with water injections at various flow rates. Flow configurations included supercritical jets injected into either sub-critical or supercritical water. Profound gravitational influences were observed, particularly in the transition to turbulence, for the flow conditions under study. These results will be presented and the parameters of the flow that control jet behavior will be examined and discussed.

Supercritical carbon dioxide for textile applications and recent developments

Science.gov (United States)

Eren, H. A.; Avinc, O.; Eren, S.

2017-10-01

In textile industry, supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), possessing liquid-like densities, mostly find an application on textile dyeing processes such as providing hydrophobic dyes an advantage on dissolving. Their gas-like low viscosities and diffusion properties can result in shorter dyeing periods in comparison with the conventional water dyeing process. Supercritical carbon dioxide dyeing is an anhydrous dyeing and this process comprises the usage of less energy and chemicals when compared to conventional water dyeing processes leading to a potential of up to 50% lower operation costs. The advantages of supercritical carbon dioxide dyeing method especially on synthetic fiber fabrics hearten leading textile companies to alter their dyeing method to this privileged waterless dyeing technology. Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) waterless dyeing is widely known and applied green method for sustainable and eco-friendly textile industry. However, not only the dyeing but also scouring, desizing and different finishing applications take the advantage of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). In this review, not only the principle, advantages and disadvantages of dyeing in supercritical carbon dioxide but also recent developments of scCO2 usage in different textile processing steps such as scouring, desizing and finishing are explained and commercial developments are stated and summed up.

Industrial applications and current trends in supercritical fluid technologies

OpenAIRE

Gamse Thomas

2005-01-01

Supercritical fluids have a great potential for wide fields of processes Although CO2 is still one of the most used supercritical gases, for special purposes propane or even fluorinated-chlorinated fluids have also been tested. The specific characteristics of supercritical fluids behaviour were analyzed such as for example the solubilities of different components and the phase equilibria between the solute and solvent. The application at industrial scale (decaffeinating of tea and coffee, hop...

Supercritical fluid analytical methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, R.D.; Kalinoski, H.T.; Wright, B.W.; Udseth, H.R.

1988-01-01

Supercritical fluids are providing the basis for new and improved methods across a range of analytical technologies. New methods are being developed to allow the detection and measurement of compounds that are incompatible with conventional analytical methodologies. Characterization of process and effluent streams for synfuel plants requires instruments capable of detecting and measuring high-molecular-weight compounds, polar compounds, or other materials that are generally difficult to analyze. The purpose of this program is to develop and apply new supercritical fluid techniques for extraction, separation, and analysis. These new technologies will be applied to previously intractable synfuel process materials and to complex mixtures resulting from their interaction with environmental and biological systems

Contamination prevention of superheaters and reheaters during initial startup and operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabrielli, F.; Sylvester, W.R.; Thimot, G.W.

1976-01-01

The general precautions that should be taken to minimize the potential for harmful contamination or oxygen corrosion of power plant superheaters and reheaters during the period from field storage through operation are discussed and summarized. Present boiler industry start-up and operating practices intended to minimize the introduction of solids to the superheater are, as proven by experience, adequate to avoid contamination-related problems. No basic changes to general industry practice are necessary. What is needed, however, is a continuing awareness of the potential for contamination-related problems so that in the specific application of these practices all likely sources of contamination will be considered

Structural behavior of supercritical fluids under confinement

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, Kanka; Krishnamurthy, C. V.

2018-01-01

The existence of the Frenkel line in the supercritical regime of a Lennard-Jones (LJ) fluid shown through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations initially and later corroborated by experiments on argon opens up possibilities of understanding the structure and dynamics of supercritical fluids in general and of the Frenkel line in particular. The location of the Frenkel line, which demarcates two distinct physical states, liquidlike and gaslike within the supercritical regime, has been established through MD simulations of the velocity autocorrelation (VACF) and radial distribution function (RDF). We, in this article, explore the changes in the structural features of supercritical LJ fluid under partial confinement using atomistic walls. The study is carried out across the Frenkel line through a series of MD simulations considering a set of thermodynamics states in the supercritical regime (P =5000 bar, 240 K ≤T ≤1500 K ) of argon well above the critical point. Confinement is partial, with atomistic walls located normal to z and extending to "infinity" along the x and y directions. In the "liquidlike" regime of the supercritical phase, particles are found to be distributed in distinct layers along the z axis with layer spacing less than one atomic diameter and the lateral RDF showing amorphous-like structure for specific spacings (packing frustration) and non-amorphous-like structure for other spacings. Increasing the rigidity of the atomistic walls is found to lead to stronger layering and increased structural order. For confinement with reflective walls, layers are found to form with one atomic diameter spacing and the lateral RDF showing close-packed structure for the smaller confinements. Translational order parameter and excess entropy assessment confirms the ordering taking place for atomistic wall and reflective wall confinements. In the "gaslike" regime of the supercritical phase, particle distribution along the spacing and the lateral RDF exhibit features

Oxidation stability of biodiesel fuel as prepared by supercritical methanol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiayu Xin; Hiroaki Imahara; Shiro Saka [Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan). Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science

2008-08-15

A non-catalytic supercritical methanol method is an attractive process to convert various oils/fats efficiently into biodiesel. To evaluate oxidation stability of biodiesel, biodiesel produced by alkali-catalyzed method was exposed to supercritical methanol at several temperatures for 30 min. As a result, it was found that the tocopherol in biodiesel is not stable at a temperature higher than 300{sup o}C. After the supercritical methanol treatment, hydroperoxides were greatly reduced for biodiesel with initially high in peroxide value, while the tocopherol slightly decreased in its content. As a result, the biodiesel prepared by the supercritical methanol method was enhanced for oxidation stability when compared with that prepared by alkali-catalyzed method from waste oil. Therefore, supercritical methanol method is useful especially for oils/fats having higher peroxide values. 32 refs., 8 figs., 3 tabs.

Safety system consideration of a supercritical-water cooled fast reactor with simplified PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.H.; Oka, Y.; Koshizuka, S.

1999-01-01

The probabilistic safety of the supercritical-water cooled fast reactor (SCFR) is evaluated with the simplified probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) methodology. SCFR has a once-through direct cycle where all feedwater flows through the core to the turbine at supercritical pressure. There are no recirculation loops in the once-through direct cycle system, which is the most important difference from the current light water reactor (LWR). The main objective of the present study is to assess the effect of this difference on the safety in the stage of conceptual design study. A safety system configuration similar to the advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) is employed. At loss of flow events, no natural recirculation occurs. Thus, emergency core flow should be quickly supplied before the completion of the feedwater pump coastdown at a loss of flow accident. The motor-driven high pressure coolant injection (MD-HPCI) system cannot be used for the quick core cooling due to the delay of the emergency diesel generator (D/G) start-up. Accordingly, an MD-HPCI system in an ABWR is substituted by a turbine-driven (TD-) HPCI system for the SCFR. The calculated core damage frequency (CDF) is a little higher than that of the Japanese ABWR and a little lower than that of the Japanese BWR when Japanese data are employed for initiating event frequencies. Four alternatives to the safety system configurations are also examined as a sensitivity analysis. This shows that the balance of the safety systems designed here is adequate. Consequently, though the SCFR has a once-through coolant system, the CDF is not high due to the diversity of feedwater systems as the direct cycle characteristics

Operation and Performance of the Supercritical Fluids Reactor (SFR)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hanush, R

1996-01-01

The Supercritical Fluids Reactor (SFR) at Sandia National Laboratories, CA has been developed to examine and solve engineering, process, and fundamental chemistry issues regarding the development of supercritical water oxidation (SCWO...

Generic supercritical water technology; Generic technology to shite no chorinkaisui riyo gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arai, K; Ajiri, M; Inomata, H; Smith, R; Hakuta, Y [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan). Faculty of Engineering; Yokoyama, C [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan). The Institute forChemical Reaction Science; Chin, L [New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Tokyo, (Japan)

1997-02-01

This paper describes the measurement and analysis for clarifying solution structure of supercritical water and exhibition mechanism of solvent functions. It also describes the development of new processes using supercritical water as reaction solvent. The PVT measurements were conducted in the supercritical region using pure water and NaCl aqueous solution, to confirm the reduction of molar volume of the electrolyte solution. The hydration structure was examined in the supercritical aqueous solution by the molecular dynamic simulation. As a result, presence of hydrogen bond structure, where the contribution of two branching hydrogen bond can not be ignored, was suggested under the supercritical condition. Characteristics of supercritical aqueous solutions are analyzed through in-situ Raman and scattered X-ray spectral measurements. Moreover, this paper introduces developments of some processes in the supercritical water, such as decomposition of wasted polymers, recovery of chemical materials, reforming of heavy hydrocarbons by contact hydrogenation, and synthesis of fine powders of metal oxide by reaction crystallization.

CFD study on the supercritical carbon dioxide cooled pebble bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, Dali, E-mail: ydlmitd@outlook.com; Peng, Minjun; Wang, Zhongyi

2015-01-15

Highlights: • An innovation concept of supercritical carbon dioxide cooled pebble bed reactor is proposed. • Body-centered cuboid (BCCa) arrangement is adopted for the pebbles. • S-CO{sub 2} would be a good candidate coolant for using in pebble bed reactor. - Abstract: The thermal hydraulic study of using supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO{sub 2}), a superior fluid state brayton cycle medium, in pebble bed type nuclear reactor is assessed through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology. Preliminary concept design of this S-CO{sub 2} cooled pebble bed reactor (PBR) is implemented by the well-known KTA heat transfer correlation and Ergun pressure drop equation. Eddy viscosity transport turbulence model is adopted and verified by KTA calculated results. Distributions of the temperature, velocity, pressure and Nusselt (Nu) number of the coolant near the surface of the middle spherical fuel element are obtained and analyzed. The conclusion of the assessment is that S-CO{sub 2} would be a good candidate coolant for using in pebble bed reactor due primarily to its good heat transfer characteristic and large mass density, which could lead to achieve lower pressure drop and higher power density.

Furan formation during storage and reheating of sterilised vegetable purées.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmers, Stijn; Grauwet, Tara; Buvé, Carolien; Van de Vondel, Lore; Kebede, Biniam T; Hendrickx, Marc E; Van Loey, Ann

2015-01-01

To this day, research for furan mitigation has mostly targeted the levels of food production and handling of prepared foods by the consumer. However, part of the furan concentrations found in commercially available food products might originate from chemical deterioration reactions during storage. A range of individual vegetable purées was stored at two different temperatures to investigate the effects of storage on the furan concentrations of shelf-stable, vegetable-based foods. After 5 months of storage at 35°C (temperature-abuse conditions), a general increase in furan concentrations was observed. The furan formation during storage could be reduced by storing the vegetable purées at a refrigerated temperature of 4°C, at which the furan concentrations remained approximately constant for at least 5 months. Following storage, the vegetable purées were briefly reheated to 90°C to simulate the effect of the final preparation step before consumption. Contrary to storage, furan concentrations decreased as a result of evaporative losses. Both refrigerated storage and the reheating step prior to consumption showed the potential of mitigation measures for furan formation in vegetable-based foods (e.g. canned vegetables, ready-to-eat soups, sauces or baby foods). Next to furan, the vegetable purées were analysed for 2- and 3-methylfuran. Tomato was very susceptible to the formation of both alkylated derivatives of furan, as opposed to the other vegetables in this study. Methylfuran concentrations rapidly decreased during storage, which was contrary to the results observed for furan.

Determination of major aromatic constituents in vanilla using an on-line supercritical fluid extraction coupled with supercritical fluid chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Yanshan; Liu, Jiaqi; Zhong, Qisheng; Shen, Lingling; Yao, Jinting; Huang, Taohong; Zhou, Ting

2018-04-01

An on-line supercritical fluid extraction coupled with supercritical fluid chromatography method was developed for the determination of four major aromatic constituents in vanilla. The parameters of supercritical fluid extraction were systematically investigated using single factor optimization experiments and response surface methodology by a Box-Behnken design. The modifier ratio, split ratio, and the extraction temperature and pressure were the major parameters which have significant effects on the extraction. While the static extraction time, dynamic extraction time, and recycle time had little influence on the compounds with low polarity. Under the optimized conditions, the relative extraction efficiencies of all the constituents reached 89.0-95.1%. The limits of quantification were in the range of 1.123-4.747 μg. The limits of detection were in the range of 0.3368-1.424 μg. The recoveries of the four analytes were in the range of 76.1-88.9%. The relative standard deviations of intra- and interday precision ranged from 4.2 to 7.6%. Compared with other off-line methods, the present method obtained higher extraction yields for all four aromatic constituents. Finally, this method has been applied to the analysis of vanilla from different sources. On the basis of the results, the on-line supercritical fluid extraction-supercritical fluid chromatography method shows great promise in the analysis of aromatic constituents in natural products. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Numerical analysis of air-foil shaped fin performance in printed circuit heat exchanger in a supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Tae Ho [Department of Mechanical Engineering, POSTECH, Pohang 790-784 (Korea, Republic of); Kwon, Jin Gyu [Division of Advanced Nuclear Engineering, POSTECH, Pohang 790-784 (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Sung Ho [Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control, Daejeon 305-348 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Hyun Sun, E-mail: hejsunny@postech.ac.kr [Division of Advanced Nuclear Engineering, POSTECH, Pohang 790-784 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Moo Hwan [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon 305-338 (Korea, Republic of); Cha, Jae Eun [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon 305-353 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-07-15

Highlights: • Staggered arrangement affects the pressure drop but does not significantly affect to the heat transfer. • The total pressure drop is reduced, but the amount of acceleration pressure drop increases while that of frictional pressure drop decreases as the horizontal number increases. • For the vertical number, the total pressure drop decreases more largely than the horizontal number. • The objective function shows that the fully staggered arrangement shows best performance. - Abstract: One of the key issues of the PCHE technology in the supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle is to achieve an efficient and compact designs to be able to enhance heat transfer and reduce pressure drop. The issue is challenging due to the complex configuration of micro-channels in the PCHE. In this study, an innovative micro-channel equipped with an array of airfoil fins is analyzed to evaluate its performance. In so doing, sensitivity analysis with various design parameters is performed to configure the optimal arrangement of airfoil fins by using CFD analysis for Supercritical Carbon dioxide Integral Experimental Loop (SCIEL) in Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). Dominant geometric parameters of the fin arrangement that affects to the thermal and hydraulic performances are the horizontal, vertical and staggered pitches. ANSYS ICEM CFD and ANSYS CFX are used for the grid generation and the computational calculation. CO{sub 2} properties are used by using REFPROF software database. The inlet temperature of the hot side is 618 K and that of the cold side is 585 K. The reference mass flow rate is set as 1.2 g/s for the vertical number of 2.0, which is the Reynolds number of about 30,000. The mass flow rate changes from 0.4 to 4.8 g/s in order to investigate the Reynolds number effect. The k-ε model is selected as the turbulence model. In conclusions, the results show that the optimal arrangement of airfoil fins can be examined in terms of an objective

Heat Transfer Phenomena of Supercritical Fluids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krau, Carmen Isabella; Kuhn, Dietmar; Schulenberg, Thomas [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2008-07-01

In concepts for supercritical water cooled reactors, the reactor core is cooled and moderated by water at supercritical pressures. The significant temperature dependence of the fluid properties of water requires an exact knowledge of the heat transfer mechanism to avoid fuel pin damages. Near the pseudo-critical point a deterioration of heat transfer might happen. Processes, that take place in this case, are not fully understood and are due to be examined systematically. In this paper a general overview on the properties of supercritical water is given, experimental observations of different authors will be reviewed in order to identify heat transfer phenomena and onset of occurrence. The conceptional design of a test rig to investigate heat transfer in the boundary layer will be discussed. Both, water and carbon dioxide, may serve as operating fluids. The loop, including instrumentation and safety devices, is shown and suitable measuring methods are described. (authors)

Upgrading of bitumen using supercritical water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kayukawa, T. [JGC Corp., Ibaraki (Japan)

2009-07-01

This presentation outlined the technical and economic aspects of thermal cracking by supercritical water. Supercritical water (SCW) is a commonly used method for upgrading heavy oil to produce pipeline-transportable oil from high-viscous bitumen. The process uses water and does not require hydrogen nor catalysts. Pre-heated bitumen and water enter a vertical reactor with flows of counter current at the supercritical point of water. The upgraded synthetic crude oil (SCO) and pitch are obtained from the top of the reactor when the bitumen is thermally cracked. Bench-scale studies have shown that Canadian oil sands bitumen can be converted to 80 volume per cent of SCO and 20 volume per cent of pitch. The SCO has satisfied Canadian pipeline specifications in terms of API gravity and kinetic viscosity. The kinetic viscosity of the pitch has also satisfied boiler fuel specifications. tabs., figs.

PCU arrangement of a supercritical CO{sub 2} cooled micro modular reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Seong Gu; Baik, Seungjoon; Cho, Seong Kuk; Oh, Bong Seong; Lee, Jeong Ik [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

As part of the SMR(Small Modular Reactor)s development effort, the authors propose a concept of supercritical CO{sub 2} (S-CO{sub 2}) cooled fast reactor combined with the S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle. The reactor concept is named as KAIST Micro Modular Reactor (MMR). The S-CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle has many strong points when it is used for SMR's power conversion unit. It occupies small footprints due to the compact cycle components and simple layout. Thus, a concept of one module containing the S-CO{sub 2} cooled fast reactor and power conversion system is possible. This module can be shipped via ground transportation (by trailer) or marine transportation. In this study, the authors propose a new conceptual layout for the S-CO{sub 2} cooled direct cycle while considering various issues for arranging cycle components. The new design has an improved cycle efficiency (from 31% to 34%) than the earlier version of MMR by reducing pressure drops in the heat exchangers. As a more efficient option, a recompression recuperated cycle was also designed. It improves 5% of thermal efficiency while 18tons of mass can be added in comparison to the simple recuperated cycle. Even if we adopt recompression cycle as a PCU, the weight of module (152tons) is less than the ground transportable limit (260tons)

A finite-dimensional reduction method for slightly supercritical elliptic problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riccardo Molle

2004-01-01

Full Text Available We describe a finite-dimensional reduction method to find solutions for a class of slightly supercritical elliptic problems. A suitable truncation argument allows us to work in the usual Sobolev space even in the presence of supercritical nonlinearities: we modify the supercritical term in such a way to have subcritical approximating problems; for these problems, the finite-dimensional reduction can be obtained applying the methods already developed in the subcritical case; finally, we show that, if the truncation is realized at a sufficiently large level, then the solutions of the approximating problems, given by these methods, also solve the supercritical problems when the parameter is small enough.

Development of Nuclear Decontamination Technology Using Supercritical Fluid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Wonyoung; Park, Kwangheon; Park, Jihye; Lee, Donghee [Kyunghee Univ., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

Soil cleaning technologies that have been developed thus far increase treatment costs in contaminated soil recovery processes because they generate large amounts of secondary wastes. In this respect, this study is intended to develop soil decontamination methods using CO{sub 2}, which is a nontoxic, environmentally friendly substance, in order to fundamentally suppress the generation of secondary wastes from the decontamination process and to create high added values. In this study, to develop decontamination methods for uranium-contaminated soil using supercritical CO{sub 2}, a soil decontamination system using supercritical CO{sub 2} was constructed. In addition, the basic principle of supercritical CO{sub 2} decontamination using a TBP-HNO3 complex was explained. According to the results of the study, sea-sand samples having the same degree of contamination showed different results of decontamination according to the quantities of the TBP-HNO3 complex used as an extraction agent, which resulted in high extraction rates. Thus far, a most widely used method of extracting uranium has been the dissolving of uranium in acids. However, this method has the large adverse effect of generating strong acidic wastes that cannot be easily treated. On the other hand, supercritical CO{sub 2} requires critical conditions that are no more difficult to meet than those of other supercritical fluids, since its density can be changed from a very low state close to that of an ideal gas to a high state close to that of liquids. The critical gas conditions are a pressure of 71 bar and a temperature of 31 .deg. C, both of which are inexpensive to achieve. Moreover, CO{sub 2} is a solvent that is not harmful to the human body and few effects on environmental pollution. Therefore, nontoxic and environment friendly processes can be developed using supercritical CO{sub 2}. Supercritical CO{sub 2}'s advantages over prevailing methods suggest its potential for developing innovative

Development of Nuclear Decontamination Technology Using Supercritical Fluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Wonyoung; Park, Kwangheon; Park, Jihye; Lee, Donghee

2014-01-01

Soil cleaning technologies that have been developed thus far increase treatment costs in contaminated soil recovery processes because they generate large amounts of secondary wastes. In this respect, this study is intended to develop soil decontamination methods using CO 2 , which is a nontoxic, environmentally friendly substance, in order to fundamentally suppress the generation of secondary wastes from the decontamination process and to create high added values. In this study, to develop decontamination methods for uranium-contaminated soil using supercritical CO 2 , a soil decontamination system using supercritical CO 2 was constructed. In addition, the basic principle of supercritical CO 2 decontamination using a TBP-HNO3 complex was explained. According to the results of the study, sea-sand samples having the same degree of contamination showed different results of decontamination according to the quantities of the TBP-HNO3 complex used as an extraction agent, which resulted in high extraction rates. Thus far, a most widely used method of extracting uranium has been the dissolving of uranium in acids. However, this method has the large adverse effect of generating strong acidic wastes that cannot be easily treated. On the other hand, supercritical CO 2 requires critical conditions that are no more difficult to meet than those of other supercritical fluids, since its density can be changed from a very low state close to that of an ideal gas to a high state close to that of liquids. The critical gas conditions are a pressure of 71 bar and a temperature of 31 .deg. C, both of which are inexpensive to achieve. Moreover, CO 2 is a solvent that is not harmful to the human body and few effects on environmental pollution. Therefore, nontoxic and environment friendly processes can be developed using supercritical CO 2 . Supercritical CO 2 's advantages over prevailing methods suggest its potential for developing innovative decontamination methods, as demonstrated

Study of characteristics of Th-U cycle in CANDU SCWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, J.; Shi, G.

2010-01-01

The flexibility of CANDU technology allows the use of different fuel cycles including various uranium-driven thorium cycles. Direct self-recycle method and heterogeneous cycle modes with supercritical water as coolant were studied for (U,Th)O 2 CANFLEX fuel bundle. Lattice pitch and enrichment of driver fuel were treated as independent variables, taking account of coolant void reactivity, fuel burnup, and linear power uneven factor. In the end, appropriate cycle mode and parameters of bundle were chosen for (U,Th)O 2 cycle in CANDU SCWR. Calculations were processed by the two-dimensional multigroup neutron transport code WIMS-AECL release 3.1.2.1. (author)

Electrodeposition of germanium from supercritical fluids.

Science.gov (United States)

Ke, Jie; Bartlett, Philip N; Cook, David; Easun, Timothy L; George, Michael W; Levason, William; Reid, Gillian; Smith, David; Su, Wenta; Zhang, Wenjian

2012-01-28

Several Ge(II) and Ge(IV) compounds were investigated as possible reagents for the electrodeposition of Ge from liquid CH(3)CN and CH(2)F(2) and supercritical CO(2) containing as a co-solvent CH(3)CN (scCO(2)) and supercritical CH(2)F(2) (scCH(2)F(2)). For Ge(II) reagents the most promising results were obtained using [NBu(n)(4)][GeCl(3)]. However the reproducibility was poor and the reduction currents were significantly less than the estimated mass transport limited values. Deposition of Ge containing films was possible at high cathodic potential from [NBu(n)(4)][GeCl(3)] in liquid CH(3)CN and supercritical CO(2) containing CH(3)CN but in all cases they were heavily contaminated by C, O, F and Cl. Much more promising results were obtained using GeCl(4) in liquid CH(2)F(2) and supercritical CH(2)F(2). In this case the reduction currents were consistent with mass transport limited reduction and bulk electrodeposition produced amorphous films of Ge. Characterisation by XPS showed the presence of low levels of O, F and C, XPS confirmed the presence of Ge together with germanium oxides, and Raman spectroscopy showed that the as deposited amorphous Ge could be crystallised by the laser used in obtaining the Raman measurements.

Chemical deposition methods using supercritical fluid solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Sievers, Robert E.; Hansen, Brian N.

1990-01-01

A method for depositing a film of a desired material on a substrate comprises dissolving at least one reagent in a supercritical fluid comprising at least one solvent. Either the reagent is capable of reacting with or is a precursor of a compound capable of reacting with the solvent to form the desired product, or at least one additional reagent is included in the supercritical solution and is capable of reacting with or is a precursor of a compound capable of reacting with the first reagent or with a compound derived from the first reagent to form the desired material. The supercritical solution is expanded to produce a vapor or aerosol and a chemical reaction is induced in the vapor or aerosol so that a film of the desired material resulting from the chemical reaction is deposited on the substrate surface. In an alternate embodiment, the supercritical solution containing at least one reagent is expanded to produce a vapor or aerosol which is then mixed with a gas containing at least one additional reagent. A chemical reaction is induced in the resulting mixture so that a film of the desired material is deposited.

Optical wave microphone measurements of laser ablation of copper in supercritical carbon dioxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mitsugi, Fumiaki, E-mail: mitsugi@cs.kumamoto-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555 (Japan); Ikegami, Tomoaki [Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555 (Japan); Nakamiya, Toshiyuki; Sonoda, Yoshito [Graduate School of Industrial Engineering, Tokai University, 9-1-1 Toroku, Kumamoto 862-8652 (Japan)

2013-11-29

Laser ablation plasma in a supercritical fluid has attracted much attention recently due to its usefulness in forming nanoparticles. Observation of the dynamic behavior of the supercritical fluid after laser irradiation of a solid is necessary for real-time monitoring and control of laser ablation. In this study, we utilized an optical wave microphone to monitor pulsed laser irradiation of a solid in a supercritical fluid. The optical wave microphone works based on Fraunhofer diffraction of phase modulation of light by changes in refractive index. We hereby report on our measurements for pulsed laser irradiation of a Cu target in supercritical carbon dioxide using an optical wave microphone. Photothermal acoustic waves which generated after single pulsed laser irradiation of a Cu target were detectable in supercritical carbon dioxide. The speed of sound around the critical point of supercritical carbon dioxide was clearly slower than that in gas. The optical wave microphone detected a signal during laser ablation of Cu in supercritical carbon dioxide that was caused by shockwave degeneration. - Highlights: • Photothermal acoustic wave in supercritical fluid was observed. • Sound speed around the critical point was slower than that in gas. • Optical wave microphone detected degeneration of a shockwave. • Ablation threshold of a solid in supercritical fluid can be estimated. • Generation of the second shockwave in supercritical phase was suggested.

Theoretical thermodynamic analysis of Rankine power cycle with thermal driven pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lakew, Amlaku Abie; Bolland, Olav; Ladam, Yves

2011-01-01

Highlights: → The work is focused on theoretical aspects of thermal driven pump (TDP) Rankine cycle. → The mechanical pump is replaced by thermal driven pump. → Important parameters of thermal driven pump Rankine cycle are investigated. → TDP Rankine cycle produce more power but it requires additional low grade heat. - Abstract: A new approach to improve the performance of supercritical carbon dioxide Rankine cycle which uses low temperature heat source is presented. The mechanical pump in conventional supercritical carbon dioxide Rankine cycle is replaced by thermal driven pump. The concept of thermal driven pump is to increase the pressure of a fluid in a closed container by supplying heat. A low grade heat source is used to increase the pressure of the fluid instead of a mechanical pump, this increase the net power output and avoid the need for mechanical pump which requires regular maintenance and operational cost. The thermal driven pump considered is a shell and tube heat exchanger where the working fluid is contained in the tube, a tube diameter of 5 mm is chosen to reduce the heating time. The net power output of the Rankine cycle with thermal driven pump is compared to that of Rankine cycle with mechanical pump and it is observed that the net power output is higher when low grade thermal energy is used to pressurize the working fluid. The thermal driven pump consumes additional heat at low temperature (60 o C) to pressurize the working fluid.

High Density Thermal Energy Storage with Supercritical Fluids

Science.gov (United States)

Ganapathi, Gani B.; Wirz, Richard

2012-01-01

A novel approach to storing thermal energy with supercritical fluids is being investigated, which if successful, promises to transform the way thermal energy is captured and utilized. The use of supercritical fluids allows cost-affordable high-density storage with a combination of latent heat and sensible heat in the two-phase as well as the supercritical state. This technology will enhance penetration of several thermal power generation applications and high temperature water for commercial use if the overall cost of the technology can be demonstrated to be lower than the current state-of-the-art molten salt using sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate eutectic mixtures.

Selective free radical reactions using supercritical carbon dioxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Cormier, Philip J; Clarke, Ryan M; McFadden, Ryan M L; Ghandi, Khashayar

2014-02-12

We report herein a means to modify the reactivity of alkenes, and particularly to modify their selectivity toward reactions with nonpolar reactants (e.g., nonpolar free radicals) in supercritical carbon dioxide near the critical point. Rate constants for free radical addition of the light hydrogen isotope muonium to ethylene, vinylidene fluoride, and vinylidene chloride in supercritical carbon dioxide are compared over a range of pressures and temperatures. Near carbon dioxide's critical point, the addition to ethylene exhibits critical speeding up, while the halogenated analogues display critical slowing. This suggests that supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent may be used to tune alkene chemistry in near-critical conditions.

using Supercritical Fluid Extraction

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Methods: Supercritical CO2 extraction technology was adopted in this experiment to study the process of extraction of volatile oil from Polygonatum odoratum while gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer ..... Saponin rich fractions from.

Catalyst retention in continuous flow with supercritical carbon dioxide

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stouten, S.C.; Noel, T.; Wang, Q.; Hessel, V.

2014-01-01

This review discusses the retention of organometallic catalysts in continuous flow processes utilizing supercritical carbon dioxide. Due to its innovative properties, supercritical carbon dioxide offers interesting possibilities for process intensification. As a result of safety and cost

Second law analysis of novel working fluid pairs for waste heat recovery by the Kalina cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eller, Tim; Heberle, Florian; Brüggemann, Dieter

2017-01-01

The organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and the Kalina cycle (KC) are potential thermodynamic concepts for decentralized power generation from industrial waste heat at a temperature level below 500 °C. The aim of this work is to investigate in detail novel zeotropic mixtures as working fluid for the KC and compare to sub- and supercritical ORC based on second law efficiency. Heat source temperature is varied between 200 °C and 400 °C. The results show that second law efficiency of KC can be increased by applying alcohol/alcohol mixtures as working fluid instead of ammonia/water mixtures; especially for heat source temperatures above 250 °C. Efficiency increase is in the range of 16% and 75%. Despite this efficiency improvements, ORC with zeotropic mixtures in sub- and supercritical operation mode proves to be superior to KC in the examined temperature range. Second law efficiency is up to 13% higher than for KC. A maximum second law efficiency of 59.2% is obtained for supercritical ORC with benzene/toluene 36/64 at 400 °C heat source temperature. The higher level of efficiency and the lower complexity of ORC in comparison to KC indicate that ORC with zeotropic mixtures offers the greater potential for waste heat recovery. - Highlights: • Kalina Cycle with novel alcohol mixtures as working fluid is investigated. • Results are compared to ammonia/water-Kalina Cycle and ORC. • Second law efficiency of Kalina Cycle can be increased by novel alcohol mixtures. • Efficiency increase is in the range of 16% and 75%. • ORC with zeotropic mixtures proves to be superior to Kalina Cycle.

Industrial applications and current trends in supercritical fluid technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gamse Thomas

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Supercritical fluids have a great potential for wide fields of processes Although CO2 is still one of the most used supercritical gases, for special purposes propane or even fluorinated-chlorinated fluids have also been tested. The specific characteristics of supercritical fluids behaviour were analyzed such as for example the solubilities of different components and the phase equilibria between the solute and solvent. The application at industrial scale (decaffeinating of tea and coffee, hop extraction or removal of pesticides from rice, activity in supercritical extraction producing total extract from the raw material or different fractions by using the fractionated separation of beverages (rum, cognac, whisky, wine, beer cider, of citrus oils and of lipids (fish oils, tall oil were also discussed. The main interest is still for the extraction of natural raw materials producing food ingredients, nutraceuticals and phytopharmaceuticals but also cleaning purposes were tested such as the decontamination of soils the removal of residual solvents from pharmaceutical products, the extraction of flame retardants from electronic waste or precision degreasing and cleaning of mechanical and electronic parts. An increasing interest obviously exists for impregnation purposes based on supercritical fluids behaviour, as well as for the dying of fibres and textiles. The production of fine particles in the micron and submicron range, mainly for pharmaceutical products is another important application of supercritical fluids. Completely new products can be produced which is not possible under normal conditions. Supercritical fluid technology has always had to compete with the widespread opinion that these processes are very expensive due to very high investment costs in comparison with classical low-pressure equipment. Thus the opinion is that these processes should be restricted to high-added value products. A cost estimation for different plant sizes and

Particle Formation by Supercritical Fluid Extraction and Expansion Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sujuan Pan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Supercritical fluid extraction and expansion (SFEE patented technology combines the advantages of both supercritical fluid extraction (SFE and rapid expansion of supercritical solution (RESS with on-line coupling, which makes the nanoparticle formation feasible directly from matrix such as Chinese herbal medicine. Supercritical fluid extraction is a green separation technology, which has been developed for decades and widely applied in traditional Chinese medicines or natural active components. In this paper, a SFEE patented instrument was firstly built up and controlled by LABVIEW work stations. Stearic acid was used to verify the SFEE process at optimized condition; via adjusting the preexpansion pressure and temperature one can get different sizes of particles. Furthermore, stearic acid was purified during the SFEE process with HPLC-ELSD detecting device; purity of stearic acid increased by 19%, and the device can purify stearic acid.

Destruction of polyphasic systems in supercritical water reaction media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leybros, A.

2009-12-01

Spent ion exchange resins (IER) are, hence, radioactive process wastes for which there is no satisfactory industrial treatment. Supercritical water oxidation offers a viable alternative treatment to destroy the organic structure of resins by using supercritical water properties. The reactor used in Supercritical Fluids and Membranes Laboratory is a double shell stirred reactor. Total Organic Carbon reduction rates higher than 99% were obtained thanks to POSCEA2 experimental set-up when using a co-fuel, isopropyl alcohol. Influence of operating parameters was studied. A detailed reactional mechanism for cationic and anionic resins is created. For the solubilization of the particles in supercritical water, a mechanism has been created with the identified rate determining species and implemented into Fluent software through the EDC approach. Experimental temperature profiles are well represented by EDC model. Reaction rates are hence controlled by the chemical species mixing. (author)

Performance Estimation of Supercritical Co2 Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) for Varying Cooling Air Temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, Yoonhan; Kim, Seong Gu; Cho, Seong Kuk; Lee, Jeong Ik

2015-01-01

A Small Modular Reactor (SMR) receives interests for the various application such as electricity co-generation, small-scale power generation, seawater desalination, district heating and propulsion. As a part of SMR development, supercritical CO2 Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) of 36.2MWth in power is under development by the KAIST research team. To enhance the mobility, the entire system including the power conversion system is designed for the full modularization. Based on the preliminary design, the thermal efficiency is 31.5% when CO2 is sufficiently cooled to the design temperature. A supercritical CO2 MMR is designed to supply electricity to the remote regions. The ambient temperature of the area can influence the compressor inlet temperature as the reactor is cooled with the atmospheric air. To estimate the S-CO2 cycle performance for various environmental conditions, A quasi-static analysis code is developed. For the off design performance of S-CO2 turbomachineries, the experimental result of Sandia National Lab (SNL) is utilized

Can supercritical oxidation of sewage sludge be an alternative for supercritical gasification?; Kan superkritische oxidatie van zuiveringsslib een alternatief zijn voor superkritische vergassing?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rulkens, W. [Wageningen UR, Wageningen (Netherlands); Wentink, J. [Horizon Solutions, Leiden (Netherlands)

2013-05-15

In the context of the development of The Energy Factory a number of technologies has been identified that may be interesting to develop further. Two of these techniques relate to the conversion of sludge in supercritical water: supercritical gasification of sludge and supercritical oxidation of sludge [Dutch] In het kader van de ontwikkeling van De Energiefabriek is een aantal technologieen geidentificeerd die mogelijk interessant zijn om verder te ontwikkelen. Twee van deze technieken hebben betrekking op de conversie van slib in superkritisch water: superkritische slibvergassing en superkritische sliboxidatie.

Destruction of energetic materials by supercritical water oxidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beulow, S.J.; Dyer, R.B.; Harradine, D.M.; Robinson, J.M.; Oldenborg, R.C.; Funk, K.A.; McInroy, R.E.; Sanchez, J.A.; Spontarelli, T.

1993-01-01

Supercritical water oxidation is a relatively low-temperature process that can give high destruction efficiencies for a variety of hazardous chemical wastes. Results are presented examining the destruction of high explosives and propellants in supercritical water and the use of low temperature, low pressure hydrolysis as a pretreatment process. Reactions of cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX), cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX), nitroguanidine (NQ), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) are examined in a flow reactor operated at temperatures between 400 degrees C and 650 degrees C. Explosives are introduced into the reactor at concentrations below the solubility limits. For each of the compounds, over 99.9% is destroyed in less than 30 seconds at temperatures above 600 degrees C. The reactions produce primarily N 2 , N 2 O,CO 2 , and some nitrate and nitrite ions. The distribution of reaction products depends on reactor pressure, temperature, and oxidizer concentration. Kinetics studies of the reactions of nitrate and nitrite ions with various reducing reagents in supercritical water show that they can be rapidly and completely destroyed at temperatures above 525 degrees C. The use of slurries and hydrolysis to introduce high concentrations of explosives into a supercritical water reactor is examined. For some compounds the rate of reaction depends on particle size. The hydrolysis of explosives at low temperatures (<100 degrees C) and low pressures (<1 atm) under basic conditions produces water soluble, non-explosive products which are easily destroyed by supercritical water oxidation. Large pieces of explosives (13 cm diameter) have been successfully hydrolyzed. The rate, extent, and products of the hydrolysis depend on the type and concentration of base. Results from the base hydrolysis of triple base propellant M31A1E1 and the subsequent supercritical water oxidation of the hydrolysis products are presented

Kinetic models for supercritical CO2 extraction of oilseeds - a review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Nagy

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The supercritical fluid extraction of oilseeds is gaining increasing interest in commercial application for the last few decades, most particularly thanks to technical and environmental advantages of supercritical fluid extraction technology compared to current extraction methods with organic solvents. Furthermore, CO2 as a solvent is generally recognized as safe (GRAS. At present moment, supercritical fluid extractions on a commercial scale are limited to decaffeination, production of soluble hops extracts, sesame seed oil production and extraction of certain petroleum products. When considering industrial application, it is essential to test the applicability of the appropriate model for supercritical fluid extraction of oilseeds used for scale up of laboratory data to industrial design purposes. The aim of this paper is to review the most significant kinetic models reported in the literature for supercritical fluid extraction.

Supercritical fluid chromatography for lipid analysis in foodstuffs.

Science.gov (United States)

Donato, Paola; Inferrera, Veronica; Sciarrone, Danilo; Mondello, Luigi

2017-01-01

The task of lipid analysis has always challenged separation scientists, and new techniques in chromatography were often developed for the separation of lipids; however, no single technique or methodology is yet capable of affording a comprehensive screening of all lipid species and classes. This review acquaints the role of supercritical fluid chromatography within the field of lipid analysis, from the early developed capillary separations based on pure CO 2 , to the most recent techniques employing packed columns under subcritical conditions, including the niche multidimensional techniques using supercritical fluids in at least one of the separation dimensions. A short history of supercritical fluid chromatography will be introduced first, from its early popularity in the late 1980s, to the sudden fall and oblivion until the last decade, experiencing a regain of interest within the chromatographic community. Afterwards, the subject of lipid nomenclature and classification will be briefly dealt with, before discussing the main applications of supercritical fluid chromatography for food analysis, according to the specific class of lipids. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Calculation of partial molar volume of components in supercritical ammonia synthesis system

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Cunwen WANG; Chuanbo YU; Wen CHEN; Weiguo WANG; Yuanxin WU; Junfeng ZHANG

2008-01-01

The partial molar volumes of components in supercritical ammonia synthesis system are calculated in detail by the calculation formula of partial molar volume derived from the R-K equation of state under different conditions. The objectives are to comprehend phase beha-vior of components and to provide the theoretic explana-tion and guidance for probing novel processes of ammonia synthesis under supercritical conditions. The conditions of calculation are H2/N2= 3, at a concentra-tion of NH3 in synthesis gas ranging from 2% to 15%, Concentration of medium in supercritical ammonia syn-thesis system ranging from 20% to 50%, temperature ran-ging from 243 K to 699 K and pressure ranging from 0.1 MPa to 187 MPa. The results show that the ammonia synthesis system can reach supercritical state by adding a suitable supercritical medium and then controlling the reaction conditions. It is helpful for the supercritical ammonia synthesis that medium reaches supercritical state under the conditions of the corresponding total pres-sure and components near the normal temperature or near the critical temperature of medium or in the range of tem-perature of industrialized ammonia synthesis.

Supercritical water decontamination of town gas soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kocher, B.S.; Azzam, F.O.; Lee, S.

1994-01-01

Town gas sites represent a large environmental problem that exists in more than 2,000 sites across North America alone. The major contaminants in town gas sods are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These are stable compounds that migrate deep into the soil and are traditionally very difficult to remove by conventional remediation processes. Supercritical fluids offer enhanced solvating properties along with reduced mass transfer resistances that make them ideal for removing compounds that are difficult or impossible to remove by conventional processes. Supercritical water is ideal for removing PAHs and other hydrocarbons from soil due to its high solvating power towards most hydrocarbon species. Supercritical water was investigated for its ability to remediate two different town gas sods containing from 3--20 wt% contamination. The sod was remediated in a 300-cc semi-continuous system to a more environmentally acceptable level

Probing the reheating temperature of the universe with a gravitational wave background

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakayama, Kazunori; Saito, Shun; Suwa, Yudai; Yokoyama, Jun'ichi

2008-01-01

The thermal history of the universe after big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is well understood both theoretically and observationally, and recent cosmological observations also begin to reveal the inflationary dynamics. However, the epoch between inflation and BBN is scarcely known. In this paper we show that the detection of the stochastic gravitational wave background around 1 Hz provides useful information about thermal history well before BBN. In particular, the reheating temperature of the universe may be determined by future space-based laser interferometer experiments such as DECIGO and/or BBO if it is around 10 6−9 GeV, depending on the tensor-to-scalar ratio r and dilution factor F

Hydrogenation of diesel aromatic compounds in supercritical solvent environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E.P. Martins

2000-09-01

Full Text Available Reactions under supercritical conditions have been employed in many processes. Furthermore, an increasing number of commercial reactions have been conducted under supercritical or near critical conditions. These reaction conditions offer several advantages when compared to conditions in conventional catalytic processes in liquid-phase, gas-liquid interface, or even some gas-phase reactions. Basically, a supercritical solvent can diminish the reactant’s transport resistance from the bulk region to the catalyst surface due to enhancement of liquid diffusivity values and better solubility than those in different phases. Another advantage is that supercritical solvents permit prompt and easy changes in intermolecular properties in order to modify reaction parameters, such as conversion or selectivity, or even proceed with the separation of reaction products. Diesel fractions from petroleum frequently have larger than desirable quantities of aromatic compounds. Diesel hydrogenation is intended to decrease these quantities, i.e., to increase the quantity of paraffin present in this petroleum fraction. In this work, the hydrogenation of tetralin was studied as a model reaction for the aromatic hydrogenation process. A conventional gas-liquid-solid catalytic process was compared with that of supercritical carbon dioxide substrate under similar conditions. Additionally, an equilibrium conversion diagram was calculated for this reaction in a wide range of temperature and reactant ratios, so as to optimize the operational conditions and improve the results of subsequent experiments. An increase in the rate of reaction at 493 K in supercritical fluid, as compared to that in the conventional process, was observed.

Supercritical solvent extraction of oil sand bitumen

Science.gov (United States)

Imanbayev, Ye. I.; Ongarbayev, Ye. K.; Tileuberdi, Ye.; Mansurov, Z. A.; Golovko, A. K.; Rudyk, S.

2017-08-01

The supercritical solvent extraction of bitumen from oil sand studied with organic solvents. The experiments were performed in autoclave reactor at temperature above 255 °C and pressure 29 atm with stirring for 6 h. The reaction resulted in the formation of coke products with mineral part of oil sands. The remaining products separated into SARA fractions. The properties of the obtained products were studied. The supercritical solvent extraction significantly upgraded extracted natural bitumen.

Investigation in justification of innovation supercritical water-cooled reactor - WWER-SCP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirillov, P.L.; Baranaev, Yu.D.; Bogoslovskaya, G.P.; Glebov, A.P.; Grabezhnaya, V.A.; Kartashov, K.V.; Klushin, A.V.; Popov, V.V.

2014-01-01

State-of-the-art, gathered experience and development prospects of water-cooled reactors of next generation are considered. It is pointed out that development of SCWR is more attractive from the viewpoint of the basis principle of infrastructure - NPP adaptation without excessive investments. The results of experimental and calculational study of reactor installations on supercritical parameters (SCP) of water and freon are given. Consideration is given to the data on heat transfer at SCP of coolant, optimization of thermodynamic cycle, codes for thermohydraulic calculations, processes of heat and mass transfer at SCP, mass transfer and corrosion in SCP water, fuel elements and martials [ru

Channel type reactors with supercritical water coolant. Russian experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuznetsov, Y.N.; Gabaraev, B.A.

2003-01-01

Transition to coolant of supercritical parameters allows for principle engineering-andeconomic characteristics of light-water nuclear power reactors to be substantially enhanced. Russian experience in development of channel-type reactors with supercritical water coolant has demonstrated advantages and practical feasibility of such reactors. (author)

Materials challenges for the supercritical water-cooled reactor (SCWR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baindur, S.

2008-01-01

This paper discusses the materials requirements of the Supercritical Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR) which arise from its severe expected operating conditions: (i) Outlet Temperature (to 650 C); (ii) Pressure of 25 MPa for the coolant containment, (iii) Thermochemical stress in the presence of supercritical water, and (iv) Radiative damage (up to 150 dpa for the fast spectrum variant). These operating conditions are reviewed; the phenomenology of materials in the supercritical water environment that create the materials challenges is discussed; knowledge gaps are identified, and efforts to understand material behaviour under the operating conditions expected in the SCWR are described. (author)

Supercritical extraction of lycopene from tomato industrial wastes with ethane.

Science.gov (United States)

Nobre, Beatriz P; Gouveia, Luisa; Matos, Patricia G S; Cristino, Ana F; Palavra, António F; Mendes, Rui L

2012-07-11

Supercritical fluid extraction of all-E-lycopene from tomato industrial wastes (mixture of skins and seeds) was carried out in a semi-continuous flow apparatus using ethane as supercritical solvent. The effect of pressure, temperature, feed particle size, solvent superficial velocity and matrix initial composition was evaluated. Moreover, the yield of the extraction was compared with that obtained with other supercritical solvents (supercritical CO₂ and a near critical mixture of ethane and propane). The recovery of all-E-lycopene increased with pressure, decreased with the increase of the particle size in the initial stages of the extraction and was not practically affected by the solvent superficial velocity. The effect of the temperature was more complex. When the temperature increased from 40 to 60 °C the recovery of all-E-lycopene increased from 80 to 90%. However, for a further increase to 80 °C, the recovery remained almost the same, indicating that some E-Z isomerization could have occurred, as well as some degradation of lycopene. The recovery of all-E-lycopene was almost the same for feed samples with different all-E-lycopene content. Furthermore, when a batch with a higher all-E-lycopene content was used, supercritical ethane and a near critical mixture of ethane and propane showed to be better solvents than supercritical CO₂ leading to a faster extraction with a higher recovery of the carotenoid.

Reheat cracking in austenitic stainless steels; Fissuration en relaxation des aciers inoxydables austenitiques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Auzoux, Q.; Allais, L. [CEA Saclay, Dept. des Materiaux pour le Nucleaire, DMN, 91 - Gif sur Yvette (France); Pineau, A.; Gourgues, A.F. [Centre des Materiaux Pierre-Marie Fourt UMR CNRS 7633, 91 - Evry (France)

2002-07-01

Intergranular cracking can occur in heat-affected zones (HAZs) of austenitic stainless steel welded joints when reheated in the temperature range from 500 to 700 deg C. At this temperature, residual stresses due to welding relax by creep flow. HAZ may not sustain this small strain if its microstructure has been sufficiently altered during welding. In order to precise which particular microstructure alteration causes such an intergranular embrittlement, type 316L(N) HAZs were examined by transmission electron microscopy. A marked increase in the dislocation density, due to plastic strain during the welding process, was revealed, which caused an increase in Vickers hardness. Type 316L(N) HAZ were then simulated by the following thermal-mechanical process: annealing treatment and work hardening (pre-strain). Creep rupture tests on smooth specimens were also carried out at 600 deg C on both base metal and simulated HAZ. Pre-straining increased creep strength but reduced ductility. Slow strain rate tests on CT specimens confirmed this trend as well as did relaxation tests on CT specimens, which led to intergranular crack propagation in the pre-strained material only. Metallography and fractography showed no qualitative difference between base metal and HAZs in the creep cavitation around intergranular carbides. Although quantitative study of damage development is not achieved yet, experiments suggest that uniaxial creep strain smaller than one percent could lead to cavity nucleation when the material is pre-strained. Pre-strain as well as stress triaxiality reduce therefore creep ductility and enhance the reheat cracking risk. (authors)

Observational signatures of the parametric amplification of gravitational waves during reheating after inflation

Science.gov (United States)

Kuroyanagi, Sachiko; Lin, Chunshan; Sasaki, Misao; Tsujikawa, Shinji

2018-01-01

We study the evolution of gravitational waves (GWs) during and after inflation as well as the resulting observational consequences in a Lorentz-violating massive gravity theory with one scalar (inflaton) and two tensor degrees of freedom. We consider two explicit examples of the tensor mass mg that depends either on the inflaton field ϕ or on its time derivative ϕ ˙, both of which lead to parametric excitations of GWs during reheating after inflation. The first example is Starobinsky's R2 inflation model with a ϕ -dependent mg, and the second is a low energy-scale inflation model with a ϕ ˙-dependent mg. We compute the energy density spectrum ΩGW(k ) today of the GW background. In the Starobinsky's model, we show that the GWs can be amplified up to the detectable ranges of both cosmic microwave background and DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory, but the bound from the big bang nucleosynthesis is quite tight to limit the growth. In low-scale inflation with a fast transition to the reheating stage driven by the potential V (ϕ )=M2ϕ2/2 around ϕ ≈Mpl (where Mpl is the reduced Planck mass), we find that the peak position of ΩGW(k ) induced by the parametric resonance can reach the sensitivity region of advanced LIGO for the Hubble parameter of order 1 GeV at the end of inflation. Thus, our massive gravity scenario offers exciting possibilities for probing the physics of primordial GWs at various different frequencies.

Stress corrosion cracking in superheater and reheater austenitic tubing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dooley, R. Barry [Structural Integrity Associates, Inc., Charlotte, NC (United States); Bursik, Albert [PowerPlant Chemistry GmbH, Neulussheim (Germany)

2011-02-15

University 101 courses are typically designed to help incoming first-year undergraduate students to adjust to the university, develop a better understanding of the college environment, and acquire essential academic success skills. Why are we offering a special Boiler and HRSG Tube Failures PPChem 101? The answer is simple, yet very conclusive: - There is a lack of knowledge on the identification of tube failure mechanisms and for the implementation of adequate counteractions in many power plants, particularly at industrial power and steam generators. - There is a lack of knowledge to prevent repeat tube failures. The vast majority of BTF/HTF have been, and continue to be, repeat failures. It is hoped that the information about the failure mechanisms of BTF supplied in this course will help to put plant engineers and chemists on the right track. The major goal of this course is the avoidance of repeat BTF. This eights lesson is focused on Stress Corrosion Cracking in Superheater and Reheater Austenitic Tubing. (orig.)

Method and apparatus for thermal power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mangus, J.D.

1979-01-01

A method is described for power generation from a recirculating superheat-reheat circuit with multiple expansion stages which alleviates complex control systems and minimizes thermal cycling of system components, particularly the reheater. The invention includes preheating cold reheat fluid from the first expansion stage prior to its entering the reheater with fluid from the evaporator or drum component

Design of experimental system for supercritical CO2 fracturing under confining pressure conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, H.; Lu, Q.; Li, X.; Yang, B.; Zheng, Y.; Shi, L.; Shi, X.

2018-03-01

Supercritical CO2 has the characteristics of low viscosity, high diffusion and zero surface tension, and it is considered as a new fluid for non-polluting and non-aqueous fracturing which can be used for shale gas development. Fracturing refers to a method of utilizing the high-pressure fluid to generate fractures in the rock formation so as to improve the oil and gas flow conditions and increase the oil and gas production. In this article, a new type of experimental system for supercritical CO2 fracturing under confining pressure conditions is designed, which is based on characteristics of supercritical CO2, shale reservoir and down-hole environment. The experimental system consists of three sub-systems, including supercritical CO2 generation system, supercritical CO2 fracturing system and data analysis system. It can be used to simulate supercritical CO2 fracturing under geo-stress conditions, thus to study the rock initiation pressure, the formation of the rock fractures, fractured surface morphology and so on. The experimental system has successfully carried out a series of supercritical CO2 fracturing experiments. The experimental results confirm the feasibility of the experimental system and the high efficiency of supercritical CO2 in fracturing tight rocks.

Efficiency enhancement of GT-MHRs applied on ship propulsion plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferreiro Garcia, Ramon, E-mail: ferreiro@udc.es [Dept. Industrial Engineering, University of A Coruna, ETSNM, C/Paseo de Ronda, 51, 15011 A Coruna (Spain); Carril, Jose Carbia; Catoira, Alberto DeMiguel; Romero Gomez, Javier [Dept. Energy and Propulsion, University of A Coruna ETSNM, C/Paseo de Ronda, 51, 15011 A Coruna (Spain)

2012-09-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Efficient ship propulsion system powered by HTRs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A conventional Rankine cycle renders high efficiency. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The intermediate heat exchanger isolates the nuclear reactor from the process heat application. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer An intermediate heat exchanger allows the system to be built to non-nuclear standards. - Abstract: High temperature reactors including gas cooled fast reactors and gas turbine modular helium reactors (GT-MHR) may operate as electric power suppliers to be applied on ship propulsion plants. In such propulsion systems performance enhancement can be achieved at effective cost under safety conditions using alternative cycles to the conventional Brayton cycle. Mentioned improvements concern the implementation of an ultra supercritical Rankine cycle, in which water is used as working fluid. The proposed study is carried out in order to achieve performance enhancement on the basis of turbine temperature increasing. The helium cooled high temperature reactor supplies thermal energy to the Rankine cycle via an intermediate heat exchanger (IHE) under safety conditions. The results of the study show that the efficiency of the propulsion plant using a multi-reheat Rankine cycle is significantly improved (from actual 48% to more than 55%) while keeping safety standards.

Reheating and dangerous relics in pre-big-bang string cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buonanno, Alessandra; Lemoine, Martin; Olive, Keith A.

2000-01-01

We discuss the mechanism of reheating in pre-big-bang string cosmology and we calculate the amount of moduli and gravitinos produced gravitationally and in scattering processes of the thermal bath. We find that this abundance always exceeds the limits imposed by big-bang nucleosynthesis, and significant entropy production is required. The exact amount of entropy needed depends on the details of the high curvature phase between the dilaton-driven inflationary era and the radiation era. We show that the domination and decay of the zero-mode of a modulus field, which could well be the dilaton, or of axions, suffices to dilute moduli and gravitinos. In this context, baryogenesis can be accommodated in a simple way via the Affleck-Dine mechanism and in some cases the Affleck-Dine condensate could provide both the source of entropy and the baryon asymmetry

Supercritical Water Mixture (SCWM) Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Hicks, Michael C.; Hegde, Uday G.

2012-01-01

The subject presentation, entitled, Supercritical Water Mixture (SCWM) Experiment, was presented at the International Space Station (ISS) Increment 33/34 Science Symposium. This presentation provides an overview of an international collaboration between NASA and CNES to study the behavior of a dilute aqueous solution of Na2SO4 (5% w) at near-critical conditions. The Supercritical Water Mixture (SCWM) investigation, serves as important precursor work for subsequent Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) experiments. The SCWM investigation will be performed in DECLICs High Temperature Insert (HTI) for the purpose of studying critical fluid phenomena at high temperatures and pressures. The HTI includes a completely sealed and integrated test cell (i.e., Sample Cell Unit SCU) that will contain approximately 0.3 ml of the aqueous test solution. During the sequence of tests, scheduled to be performed in FY13, temperatures and pressures will be elevated to critical conditions (i.e., Tc = 374C and Pc = 22 MPa) in order to observe salt precipitation, precipitate agglomeration and precipitate transport in the presence of a temperature gradient without the influences of gravitational forces. This presentation provides an overview of the motivation for this work, a description of the DECLIC HTI hardware, the proposed test sequences, and a brief discussion of the scientific research objectives.

Charting the Landscape of Supercritical String Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hellerman, Simeon; Swanson, Ian

2007-01-01

Special solutions of string theory in supercritical dimensions can interpolate in time between theories with different numbers of spacetime dimensions and different amounts of world sheet supersymmetry. These solutions connect supercritical string theories to the more familiar string duality web in ten dimensions and provide a precise link between supersymmetric and purely bosonic string theories. Dimension quenching and c duality appear to be natural concepts in string theory, giving rise to large networks of interconnected theories

Feasibility analysis of the modified ATHLET code for supercritical water cooled systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou Chong, E-mail: ch.zhou@sjtu.edu.cn [School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240 (China); Institute of Fusion and Reactor Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Vincenz-Priessnitz-Str. 3, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany); Yang Yanhua [School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240 (China); Cheng Xu [Institute of Fusion and Reactor Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Vincenz-Priessnitz-Str. 3, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2012-09-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Modification of system code ATHLET for supercritical water application. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Development and assessment of a heat transfer package for supercritical water. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Validation of the modified code at supercritical pressures with the theoretical point-hydraulics model and the SASC code. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Application of the modified code to LOCA analysis of a supercritical water cooled in-pile fuel qualification test loop. - Abstract: Since the existing thermal-hydraulic computer codes for light water reactors are not applicable to supercritical water cooled reactors (SCWRs) owing to the limitation of physical models and numerical treatments, the development of a reliable thermal-hydraulic computer code is very important to design analysis and safety assessment of SCWRs. Based on earlier modification of ATHLET for SCWR, a general interface is implemented to the code, which serves as the platform for information exchange between ATHLET and the external independent physical modules. A heat transfer package containing five correlations for supercritical water is connected to the ATHLET code through the interface. The correlations are assessed with experimental data. To verify the modified ATHLET code, the Edwards-O'Brian blow-down test is simulated. As first validation at supercritical pressures, a simplified supercritical water cooled loop is modeled and its stability behavior is analyzed. Results are compared with that of the theoretical model and SASC code in the reference and show good agreement. To evaluate its feasibility, the modified ATHLET code is applied to a supercritical water cooled in-pile fuel qualification test loop. Loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs) due to break of coolant supply lines are calculated for the loop. Sensitivity analysis of some safety system parameters is performed to get further knowledge about their influence on the function of the

3-D Transient Heat Transfer Analysis of Slab Heating Characteristics in a Reheating Furnace in Hot Strip Mills

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, J. Y.; Lee, Y. W.; Lin, C. N.; Wang, C. H.

2016-05-01

A three-dimensional mathematical transient heat transfer model for the prediction of temperature distribution within the slab has been developed by considering the thermal radiation in the walking-beam-type reheating furnace chamber. The steel slabs are heated up through the non-firing, preheating, 1st-heating, 2nd-heating, and soaking zones in the furnace, respectively, where the furnace wall temperature is function of time. Comparison with the in-situ experimental data from Steel Company in Taiwan shows that the present heat transfer model works well for the prediction of thermal behavior of the slab in the reheating furnace. The effects of different skid button height (H=60mm, 90mm, and 120mm) and different gap distance between two slabs (S=50mm, 75mm, and 100mm) on the slab skid mark formation and temperature profiles are investigated. It is found that the skid mark severity decreases with an increase in the skid button height. The effect of gap distance is important only for the slab edge planes, while it is insignificant for the slab central planes.

Specifics of forced-convective heat transfer in supercritical carbon dioxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saltanov, A.E.; Mann, B.D.; Harvel, C.G.; Pioro, D.I., E-mail: Eugene.saltanov@hotmail.com [University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON (Canada)

2015-07-01

The appropriate description of heat-transfer to coolants at supercritical state is one of the main challenges in development of supercritical-fluids applications for the Generation-IV reactors. In this paper the basis for comparison of relatively recent experimental data on supercritical carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) obtained at facilities of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is discussed, and a preliminary heat-transfer correlation for joint CRL and KAERI datasets is presented. (author)

Selective chelation-supercritical fluid extraction of metal ions from waste materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wai, C.N.; Laintz, K.E.; Yonker, C.R.

1993-01-01

The removal of toxic organics, metals, and radioisotopes from solids or liquids is a major concern in the treatment of industrial and nuclear wastes. For this reason, developing methods for selective separation of toxic metals and radioactive materials from solutions of complex matrix is an important problem in environmental research. Recent developments indicate supercritical fluids are good solvents for organic compounds. Many gases become supercritical fluids under moderate temperatures and pressures. For example, the critical temperature and pressure of carbon dioxide are 31 degrees C and 73 atm, respectively. The high diffusivity, low viscosity, and T-P dependence of solvent strength are some attractive properties of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). Since CO 2 offers the additional benefits of stability and non-toxicity, the SFE technique avoids generation of organic liquid waste and exposure of personnel to toxic solvents. While direct extraction of metal ions by supercritical fluids is highly inefficient, these ions when complexed with organic ligands become quite soluble in supercritical fluids. Specific ligands can be used to achieve selective extraction of metal ions in this process. After SFE, the fluid phase can be depressurized for precipitation of the metal chelates and recycled. The ligand can also be regenerated for repeated use. The success of this selective chelation-supercritical fluid extraction (SC-SFE) process depends on a number of factors including the efficiencies of the selective chelating agents, solubilities of metal chelates in supercritical fluids, rate of extraction, ease of regeneration of the ligands, etc. In this report, the authors present recent results on the studies of the solubilities of metal chelates in supercritical CO 2 , experimental ions from aqueous solution, and the development of selective chelating agents (ionizable crown ethers) for the extraction of lanthanides and actinides

Root cause analysis of oxide scale forming and shedding in high temperature reheater of a 200MW super high pressure boiler

Science.gov (United States)

Bo, Jiang; Hao, Weidong; Hu, Zhihong; Liu, Fuguo

2015-12-01

In order to solve the problem of over temperature tube-burst caused by oxide scale shedding and blocking tubes of high temperature reheater of a 200MW super high pressure power plant boiler, this paper expounds the mechanism of scale forming and shedding, and analyzes the probable causes of the tube-burst failure. The results show that the root cause of scale forming is that greater steam extraction flow after reforming of the second extraction leads to less steam flow into reheater, which causes over temperature to some of the heated tubes; and the root cause of scale shedding is that long term operation in AGC-R mode brings about great fluctuations of unit load, steam temperature and pressure, accelerating scale shedding. In conclusion, preventive measures are drawn up considering the operation mode of the unit.

A supercritical carbon dioxide plasma process for preparing tungsten oxide nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawashima, Ayato; Nomura, Shinfuku; Toyota, Hiromichi; Takemori, Toshihiko; Mukasa, Shinobu; Maehara, Tsunehiro

2007-01-01

A supercritical carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) plasma process for fabricating one-dimensional tungsten oxide nanowires coated with amorphous carbon is presented. High-frequency plasma was generated in supercritical carbon dioxide at 20 MPa by using tungsten electrodes mounted in a supercritical cell, and subsequently an organic solvent was introduced with supercritical carbon dioxide into the plasma. Electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy investigations of the deposited materials showed the production of tungsten oxide nanowires with or without an outer layer. The nanowires with an outer layer exhibited a coaxial structure with an outer concentric layer of amorphous carbon and an inner layer of tungsten oxide with a thickness and diameter of 20-30 and 10-20 nm, respectively

Development of life cycle water-demand coefficients for coal-based power generation technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, Babkir; Kumar, Amit

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We develop water consumption and withdrawals coefficients for coal power generation. • We develop life cycle water footprints for 36 coal-based electricity generation pathways. • Different coal power generation technologies were assessed. • Sensitivity analysis of plant performance and coal transportation on water demand. - Abstract: This paper aims to develop benchmark coefficients for water consumption and water withdrawals over the full life cycle of coal-based power generation. This study considered not only all of the unit operations involved in the full electricity generation life cycle but also compared different coal-based power generating technologies. Overall this study develops the life cycle water footprint for 36 different coal-based electricity generation pathways. Power generation pathways involving new technologies of integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) or ultra supercritical technology with coal transportation by conventional means and using dry cooling systems have the least complete life cycle water-demand coefficients of about 1 L/kW h. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to study the impact of power plant performance and coal transportation on the water demand coefficients. The consumption coefficient over life cycle of ultra supercritical or IGCC power plants are 0.12 L/kW h higher when conventional transportation of coal is replaced by coal-log pipeline. Similarly, if the conventional transportation of coal is replaced by its transportation in the form of a slurry through a pipeline, the consumption coefficient of a subcritical power plant increases by 0.52 L/kW h

Processes subject to integrated pollution control. Combustion processes: reheat and heat treatment furnaces 50 MW(th) and over

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

This document, part of a series offering guidance on pollution control regulations issued by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution, focuses on combustion processes involved with reheat and heat treatment furnaces of 50 MW (th) and over. Techniques for controlling releases into air, water and to land are detailed as are the various pollution monitoring strategies. (UK)

Study of steam, helium and supercritical CO2 turbine power generations in prototype fusion power reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishiyama, Shintaro; Muto, Yasushi; Kato, Yasuyoshi; Nishio, Satoshi; Hayashi, Takumi; Nomoto, Yasunobu

2008-01-01

Power generation systems such as steam turbine cycle, helium turbine cycle and supercritical CO 2 (S-CO 2 ) turbine cycle are examined for the prototype nuclear fusion reactor. Their achievable cycle thermal efficiencies are revealed to be 40%, 34% and 42% levels for the heat source outlet coolant temperature of 480degC, respectively, if no other restriction is imposed. In the current technology, however, low temperature divertor heat source is included. In this actual case, the steam turbine system and the S-CO 2 turbine system were compared in the light of cycle efficiency and plant cost. The values of cycle efficiency were 37.7% and 36.4% for the steam cycle and S-CO 2 cycle, respectively. The construction cost was estimated by means of component volume. The volume became 16,590 m 3 and 7240 m 3 for the steam turbine system and S-CO 2 turbine system, respectively. In addition, separation of permeated tritium from the coolant is much easier in S-CO 2 than in H 2 O. Therefore, the S-CO 2 turbine system is recommended to the fusion reactor system than the steam turbine system. (author)

Preliminary Design of S-CO2 Brayton Cycle for KAIST Micro Modular Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seong Gu; Kim, Min Gil; Bae, Seong Jun; Lee, Jeong Ik

2013-01-01

This paper suggests a complete modular reactor with an innovative concept of reactor cooling by using a supercritical carbon dioxide directly. Authors propose the supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycle (S-CO 2 cycle) as a power conversion system to achieve small volume of power conversion unit (PCU) and to contain the core and PCU in one vessel for the full modularization. This study suggests a conceptual design of small modular reactor including PCU which is named as KAIST Micro Modular Reactor (MMR). As a part of ongoing research of conceptual design of KAIST MMR, preliminary design of power generation cycle was performed in this study. Since the targets of MMR are full modularization of a reactor system with S-CO 2 coolant, authors selected a simple recuperated S-CO 2 Brayton cycle as a power conversion system for KAIST MMR. The size of components of the S-CO 2 cycle is much smaller than existing helium Brayton cycle and steam Rankine cycle, and whole power conversion system can be contained with core and safety system in one containment vessel. From the investigation of the power conversion cycle, recompressing recuperated cycle showed higher efficiency than the simple recuperated cycle. However the volume of heat exchanger for recompressing cycle is too large so more space will be occupied by heat exchanger in the recompressing cycle than the simple recuperated cycle. Thus, authors consider that the simple recuperated cycle is more suitable for MMR. More research for the KAIST MMR will be followed in the future and detailed information of reactor core and safety system will be developed down the road. More refined cycle layout and design of turbomachinery and heat exchanger will be performed in the future study

Continuous production of biodiesel under supercritical methyl acetate conditions: Experimental investigation and kinetic model.

Science.gov (United States)

Farobie, Obie; Matsumura, Yukihiko

2017-10-01

In this study, biodiesel production by using supercritical methyl acetate in a continuous flow reactor was investigated for the first time. The aim of this study was to elucidate the reaction kinetics of biodiesel production by using supercritical methyl. Experiments were conducted at various reaction temperatures (300-400°C), residence times (5-30min), oil-to-methyl acetate molar ratio of 1:40, and a fixed pressure of 20MPa. Reaction kinetics of biodiesel production with supercritical methyl acetate was determined. Finally, biodiesel yield obtained from this method was compared to that obtained with supercritical methanol, ethanol, and MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether). The results showed that biodiesel yield with supercritical methyl acetate increased with temperature and time. The developed kinetic model was found to fit the experimental data well. The reactivity of supercritical methyl acetate was the lowest, followed by that of supercritical MTBE, ethanol, and methanol, under the same conditions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Precipitation of fluticasone propionate microparticles using supercritical antisolvent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Vatanara

2009-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Background: The ability of supercritical fluids (SCFs, such as carbon dioxide, to dissolve and expand or extract organic solvents and as result lower their solvation power, makes it possible the use of SCFs for the precipitation of solids from organic solutions. The process could be the injection of a solution of the substrate in an organic solvent into a vessel which is swept by a supercritical fluid. The aim of this study was to ascertain the feasibility of supercritical processing to prepare different particulate forms of fluticasone propionate (FP, and to evaluate the influence of different liquid solvents and precipitation temperatures on the morphology, size and crystal habit of particles. Method: The solution of FP in organic solvents, was precipitated by supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2 at two pressure and temperature levels. Effects of process parameters on the physicochemical characteristics of harvested microparticles were evaluated. Results: Particle formation was observed only at the lower selected pressure, whilst at the higher pressure, no precipitation of particles was occurred due to dissolution of FP in supercritical antisolvent. The micrographs of the produced particles showed different morphologies for FP obtained from different conditions. The results of thermal analysis of the resulted particles showed that changes in the processing conditions didn't influence thermal behavior of the precipitated particles. Evaluation of the effect of temperature on the size distribution of particles showed that increase in the temperature from 40 oC to 50 oC, resulted in reduction of the mean particle size from about 30 µm to about 12 μm. ‍Conclusion: From the results of this study it may be concluded that, processing of FP by supercritical antisolvent could be an approach for production of diverse forms of the drug and drastic changes in the physical characteristics of microparticles could be achieved by changing the

High-potential Working Fluids for Next Generation Binary Cycle Geothermal Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zia, Jalal [GE Global Research; Sevincer, Edip; Chen, Huijuan; Hardy, Ajilli; Wickersham, Paul; Kalra, Chiranjeev; Laursen, Anna Lis; Vandeputte, Thomas

2013-06-29

A thermo-economic model has been built and validated for prediction of project economics of Enhanced Geothermal Projects. The thermo-economic model calculates and iteratively optimizes the LCOE (levelized cost of electricity) for a prospective EGS (Enhanced Geothermal) site. It takes into account the local subsurface temperature gradient, the cost of drilling and reservoir creation, stimulation and power plant configuration. It calculates and optimizes the power plant configuration vs. well depth. Thus outputs from the model include optimal well depth and power plant configuration for the lowest LCOE. The main focus of this final report was to experimentally validate the thermodynamic properties that formed the basis of the thermo-economic model built in Phase 2, and thus build confidence that the predictions of the model could be used reliably for process downselection and preliminary design at a given set of geothermal (and/or waste heat) boundary conditions. The fluid and cycle downselected was based on a new proprietary fluid from a vendor in a supercritical ORC cycle at a resource condition of 200°C inlet temperature. The team devised and executed a series of experiments to prove the suitability of the new fluid in realistic ORC cycle conditions. Furthermore, the team performed a preliminary design study for a MW-scale turbo expander that would be used for a supercritical ORC cycle with this new fluid. The following summarizes the main findings in the investigative campaign that was undertaken: 1. Chemical compatibility of the new fluid with common seal/gasket/Oring materials was found to be problematic. Neoprene, Viton, and silicone materials were found to be incompatible, suffering chemical decomposition, swelling and/or compression set issues. Of the materials tested, only TEFLON was found to be compatible under actual ORC temperature and pressure conditions. 2. Thermal stability of the new fluid at 200°C and 40 bar was found to be acceptable after 399

Thermal performance and efficiency of supercritical nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romney Duffey; Tracy Zhou; Hussam Khartabil

2009-01-01

The paper reviews the major advances and innovative aspects of the thermal performance of recent concepts for super-critical water-cooled nuclear reactors (SCWR). The concepts are based on the extensive experience in the thermal power industry with super and ultra-supercritical boilers and turbines. The challenges and goals of increased efficiency, reduced cost, enhanced safety and co-generation have been pursued over the last ten years, and have resulted both in viable concepts and a vibrant defined R and D effort. The supercritical concept has wide acceptance among industry, as it reflects standard engineering practices and current thermal plant technology that is being already deployed. The SCWR concept represents a continuous development of water-cooled reactor technology, which utilizes the best and latest advances made in the thermal power industry. (author)

Evaluation of supercritical CO2 centrifugal compressor experimental data by CFD analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takagi, Kazuhisa; Muto, Yasushi; Ishizuka, Takao; Watanabe, Noriyuki; Aritomi, Masanori

2011-01-01

A supercritical CO2 gas turbine of 20MPa is suitable to couple with the Na-cooled fast reactor since Na - CO2 reaction is mild at the outlet temperature of 800K, the cycle thermal efficiency is relatively high and the size of CO2 gas turbine is very compact. In this gas turbine cycle, a compressor operates near the critical point. The property of CO2 and then the behavior of compressible flow near the critical point changes very sharply. So far, such a behavior is not examined sufficiently. Then, it is important to clarify compressible flow near the critical point. In this paper, the experimental data of the centrifugal supercritical CO2 compressor have been evaluated by CFD analyses using a computer code 'CFX'. In the analyses, real gas properties of CO2 were achieved by simulating density. The test compressor consists of three kinds of impeller. First, impeller A has 16 blades and the overall diameter is 110mm. Second, impeller B has 16 blades and the overall diameter is 76mm. Third, impeller C has 12 blades and the overall diameter is 56mm. Each impeller has each diffuser. So, CFD analysis was conducted for each impeller and each diffuser. The results were compared and evaluated for the three different impeller and diffuser sets. Main output of calculation is a value of the total pressure at diffuser outlet, which agreed very well with that of the experiment. Total and static pressure distributions, relative velocity distributions and temperature distributions surrounding impeller and diffuser were obtained. Adiabatic efficiency was also evaluated. (author)

Thermodynamic analysis and numerical modeling of supercritical injection

OpenAIRE

Banuti, Daniel

2015-01-01

Although liquid propellant rocket engines are operational and have been studied for decades, cryogenic injection at supercritical pressures is still considered essentially not understood. This thesis intends to approach this problem in three steps: by developing a numerical model for real gas thermodynamics, by extending the present thermodynamic view of supercritical injection, and finally by applying these methods to the analysis of injection. A new numerical real gas thermodynamics mode...

Kinetics and mechanism of methane oxidation in supercritical water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rofer, C.K.; Streit, G.E.

1988-10-01

This project, is a Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program (HAZWRAP) Research and Development task being carried out by the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Its objective is to achieve an understanding of the technology for use in scaling up and applying oxidation in supercritical water as a viable process for treating a variety of Department of Energy Defense Programs (DOE-DP) waste streams. This report presents experimental results for the kinetics of the oxidation of methane and methanol in supercritical water and computer modeling results for the oxidation of carbonmonoxide and methane in supercritical water. The experimental and modeling results obtained to date on these one-carbon model compounds indicate that the mechanism of oxidation in supercritical water can be represented by free-radical reactions with appropriate modifications for high pressure and the high water concentration. If these current trends are sustained, a large body of existing literature data on the kinetics of elementary reactions can be utilized to predict the behavior of other compounds and their mixtures. 7 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs

Supercritical fluid chromatography-A Hybrid of GC and LC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neha Sethi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available High performance specifications and unique functionality of chromatographic techniques is a demand of pharmaceutical industry and research. This leads to the origin of Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC. It is a rapidly expanding analytical technique. The main feature that differentiates SFC from other chromatographic techniques is the replacement of either the liquid or gas mobile phase with a supercritical fluid mobile phase. It is considered a hybrid of GC and LC technique. High diffusion coefficient and low viscosity of supercritical fluids is responsible for high speed analysis, high efficiency and high sensitivity. Low mobile-phase flow rate, density programming and compatability with GC and LC detectors make SFC a versatile chromatographic technique in analytical re-search and development. It has a unique characteristic of analyzing thermo labile or non-volatile substances. This review highlights the role of supercritical fluid chromatography in the separation of polymers, thermally labile pesticides, fatty acids, metal chelates and organometallic compounds, chiral and achiral molecules, identification and analysis of polar samples, explosives, drugs of abuse and application of SFC in forensic science (fingerprint-ing.

Reheating-volume measure in the string theory landscape

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winitzki, Sergei

2008-01-01

I recently proposed the ''reheating-volume'' (RV) prescription as a possible solution to the measure problem in ''multiverse'' cosmology. The goal of this work is to extend the RV measure to scenarios involving bubble nucleation, such as the string theory landscape. In the spirit of the RV prescription, I propose to calculate the distribution of observable quantities in a landscape that is conditioned in probability to nucleate a finite total number of bubbles to the future of an initial bubble. A general formula for the relative number of bubbles of different types can be derived. I show that the RV measure is well defined and independent of the choice of the initial bubble type, as long as that type supports further bubble nucleation. Applying the RV measure to a generic landscape, I find that the abundance of Boltzmann brains is always negligibly small compared with the abundance of ordinary observers in the bubbles of the same type. As an illustration, I present explicit results for a toy landscape containing four vacuum states, and for landscapes with a single high-energy vacuum and a large number of low-energy vacua.

Zone modelling of the thermal performances of a large-scale bloom reheating furnace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, Chee-Keong; Jenkins, Joana; Ward, John; Broughton, Jonathan; Heeley, Andy

2013-01-01

This paper describes the development and comparison of a two- (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) mathematical models, based on the zone method of radiation analysis, to simulate the thermal performances of a large bloom reheating furnace. The modelling approach adopted in the current paper differs from previous work since it takes into account the net radiation interchanges between the top and bottom firing sections of the furnace and also allows for enthalpy exchange due to the flows of combustion products between these sections. The models were initially validated at two different furnace throughput rates using experimental and plant's model data supplied by Tata Steel. The results to-date demonstrated that the model predictions are in good agreement with measured heating profiles of the blooms encountered in the actual furnace. It was also found no significant differences between the predictions from the 2D and 3D models. Following the validation, the 2D model was then used to assess the impact of the furnace responses to changing throughput rate. It was found that the potential furnace response to changing throughput rate influences the settling time of the furnace to the next steady state operation. Overall the current work demonstrates the feasibility and practicality of zone modelling and its potential for incorporation into a model based furnace control system. - Highlights: ► 2D and 3D zone models of large-scale bloom reheating furnace. ► The models were validated with experimental and plant model data. ► Examine the transient furnace response to changing the furnace throughput rates. ► No significant differences found between the predictions from the 2D and 3D models.

Use of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taniguchi, Masayuki (Niigata Univ., Faculty of Engineering, Niigata, (Japan))

1989-09-25

Supercritical fluid extraction is a novel diffusion and separation technique which exploits simultaneously the increase of vapor pressure and the difference of chemical affinities of fluids near the critical point. A solvent which is used as the supercritical fluid has the following features: the critical point exists in the position of relatively ease of handling, the solvent is applicable to the extraction of a physiological active substance of thermal instability. Carbon dioxide as the solvent is non-flammable, non-corrosive, non-toxic, cheap, and readily available of high purity. The results of studies on the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO{sub 2}) as a solvent for natural products in the fermentation and food industries, were collected. SC-CO{sub 2} extraction are used in many fields, examples for the application are as follows: removal of organic solvents from antibiotics; extraction of vegetable oils contained in wheat germ oil, high quality mustard seeds, rice bran and so on; brewing of sake using rice and rice-koji; use as a non-aqueous medium for the synthesis of precursors of the Aspartame; and use in sterilization. 66 refs., 17 figs., 21 tabs.

Production of FAME by palm oil transesterification via supercritical methanol technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, Kok Tat; Lee, Keat Teong; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman

2009-01-01

The present study employed non-catalytic supercritical methanol technology to produce biodiesel from palm oil. The research was carried out in a batch-type tube reactor and heated beyond supercritical temperature and pressure of methanol, which are at 239 o C and 8.1 MPa respectively. The effects of temperature, reaction time and molar ratio of methanol to palm oil on the yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) or biodiesel were investigated. The results obtained showed that non-catalytic supercritical methanol technology only required a mere 20 min reaction time to produce more than 70% yield of FAME. Compared to conventional catalytic methods, which required at least 1 h reaction time to obtain similar yield, supercritical methanol technology has been shown to be superior in terms of time and energy consumption. Apart from the shorter reaction time, it was found that separation and purification of the products were simpler since no catalyst is involved in the process. Hence, formation of side products such as soap in catalytic reactions does not occur in the supercritical methanol method.

Use and practice of achiral and chiral supercritical fluid chromatography in pharmaceutical analysis and purification.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemasson, Elise; Bertin, Sophie; West, Caroline

2016-01-01

The interest of pharmaceutical companies for complementary high-performance chromatographic tools to assess a product's purity or enhance this purity is on the rise. The high-throughput capability and economic benefits of supercritical fluid chromatography, but also the "green" aspect of CO2 as the principal solvent, render supercritical fluid chromatography very attractive for a wide range of pharmaceutical applications. The recent reintroduction of new robust instruments dedicated to supercritical fluid chromatography and the progress in stationary phase technology have also greatly benefited supercritical fluid chromatography. Additionally, it was shown several times that supercritical fluid chromatography could be orthogonal to reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and could efficiently compete with it. Supercritical fluid chromatography is an adequate tool for small molecules of pharmaceutical interest: synthetic intermediates, active pharmaceutical ingredients, impurities, or degradation products. In this review, we first discuss about general chromatographic conditions for supercritical fluid chromatography analysis to better suit compounds of pharmaceutical interest. We also discuss about the use of achiral and chiral supercritical fluid chromatography for analytical purposes and the recent applications in these areas. The use of preparative supercritical fluid chromatography by pharmaceutical companies is also covered. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

CMB constraints on the inflaton couplings and reheating temperature in α-attractor inflation

Science.gov (United States)

Drewes, Marco; Kang, Jin U.; Mun, Ui Ri

2017-11-01

We study reheating in α-attractor models of inflation in which the inflaton couples to other scalars or fermions. We show that the parameter space contains viable regions in which the inflaton couplings to radiation can be determined from the properties of CMB temperature fluctuations, in particular the spectral index. This may be the only way to measure these fundamental microphysical parameters, which shaped the universe by setting the initial temperature of the hot big bang and contain important information about the embedding of a given model of inflation into a more fundamental theory of physics. The method can be applied to other models of single field inflation.

Optimal set values of zone modeling in the simulation of a walking beam type reheating furnace on the steady-state operating regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Zhi; Luo, Xiaochuan

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The adjoint equation is introduced to the PDE optimal control problem. • Lipschitz continuity for the gradient of the cost functional is derived. • The simulation time and iterations reduce by a large margin in the simulations. • The model validation and comparison are made to verify the proposed math model. - Abstract: In this paper, this study proposed a new method to solve the PDE optimal control problem by introducing the adjoint problem to the optimization model, which was used to get the reference values for the optimal furnace zone temperatures and the optimal temperature distribution of steel slabs in the reheating furnace on the steady-state operating regime. It was proved that the gradient of the cost functional could be written via the weak solution of this adjoint problem and then Lipschitz continuity of the gradient was derived. Model validation and comparison between the mathematics model and the experiment results indicated that the present heat transfer model worked well for the prediction of thermal behavior about a slab in the reheating furnace. Iterations and simulation time had shown a significant decline in the simulations of 20MnSi slab, and it was shown by numerical simulations for 0.4 m thick slabs that the proposed method was better applied in the medium and heavy plate plant, leading to better performance in terms of productivity, energy efficiency and other features of reheating furnaces.

Reaction kinetics of cellulose hydrolysis in subcritical and supercritical water

Science.gov (United States)

Olanrewaju, Kazeem Bode

The uncertainties in the continuous supply of fossil fuels from the crisis-ridden oil-rich region of the world is fast shifting focus on the need to utilize cellulosic biomass and develop more efficient technologies for its conversion to fuels and chemicals. One such technology is the rapid degradation of cellulose in supercritical water without the need for an enzyme or inorganic catalyst such as acid. This project focused on the study of reaction kinetics of cellulose hydrolysis in subcritical and supercritical water. Cellulose reactions at hydrothermal conditions can proceed via the homogeneous route involving dissolution and hydrolysis or the heterogeneous path of surface hydrolysis. The work is divided into three main parts. First, the detailed kinetic analysis of cellulose reactions in micro- and tubular reactors was conducted. Reaction kinetics models were applied, and kinetics parameters at both subcritical and supercritical conditions were evaluated. The second major task was the evaluation of yields of water soluble hydrolysates obtained from the hydrolysis of cellulose and starch in hydrothermal reactors. Lastly, changes in molecular weight distribution due to hydrothermolytic degradation of cellulose were investigated. These changes were also simulated based on different modes of scission, and the pattern generated from simulation was compared with the distribution pattern from experiments. For a better understanding of the reaction kinetics of cellulose in subcritical and supercritical water, a series of reactions was conducted in the microreactor. Hydrolysis of cellulose was performed at subcritical temperatures ranging from 270 to 340 °C (tau = 0.40--0.88 s). For the dissolution of cellulose, the reaction was conducted at supercritical temperatures ranging from 375 to 395 °C (tau = 0.27--0.44 s). The operating pressure for the reactions at both subcritical and supercritical conditions was 5000 psig. The results show that the rate-limiting step in

Geological model of supercritical geothermal reservoir related to subduction system

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuchiya, Noriyoshi

2017-04-01

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power station on 3.11 (11th March) 2011, geothermal energy came to be considered one of the most promising sources of renewable energy for the future in Japan. The temperatures of geothermal fields operating in Japan range from 200 to 300 °C (average 250 °C), and the depths range from 1000 to 2000 m (average 1500 m). In conventional geothermal reservoirs, the mechanical behavior of the rocks is presumed to be brittle, and convection of the hydrothermal fluid through existing network is the main method of circulation in the reservoir. In order to minimize induced seismicity, a rock mass that is "beyond brittle" is one possible candidate, because the rock mechanics of "beyond brittle" material is one of plastic deformation rather than brittle failure. Supercritical geothermal resources could be evaluated in terms of present volcanic activities, thermal structure, dimension of hydrothermal circulation, properties of fracture system, depth of heat source, depth of brittle factures zone, dimension of geothermal reservoir. On the basis of the GIS, potential of supercritical geothermal resources could be characterized into the following four categories. 1. Promising: surface manifestation d shallow high temperature, 2 Probability: high geothermal gradient, 3 Possibility: Aseismic zone which indicates an existence of melt, 4 Potential : low velocity zone which indicates magma input. Base on geophysical data for geothermal reservoirs, we have propose adequate tectonic model of development of the supercritical geothermal reservoirs. To understand the geological model of a supercritical geothermal reservoir, granite-porphyry system, which had been formed in subduction zone, was investigated as a natural analog of the supercritical geothermal energy system. Quartz veins, hydrothermal breccia veins, and glassy veins are observed in a granitic body. The glassy veins formed at 500-550 �

Exergetic comparison of two different cooling technologies for the power cycle of a thermal power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanco-Marigorta, Ana M.; Victoria Sanchez-Henriquez, M.; Pena-Quintana, Juan A.

2011-01-01

Exergetic analysis is without any doubt a powerful tool for developing, evaluating and improving an energy conversion system. In the present paper, two different cooling technologies for the power cycle of a 50 MWe solar thermal power plant are compared from the exergetic viewpoint. The Rankine cycle design is a conventional, single reheat design with five closed and one open extraction feedwater heaters. The software package GateCycle is used for the thermodynamic simulation of the Rankine cycle model. The first design configuration uses a cooling tower while the second configuration uses an air cooled condenser. With this exergy analysis we identify the location, magnitude and the sources or thermodynamic inefficiencies in this thermal system. This information is very useful for improving the overall efficiency of the power system and for comparing the performance of both technologies.

Solubility of 1:1 Alkali Nitrates and Chlorides in Near-Critical and Supercritical Water : 1 Alkali Nitrates and Chlorides in Near-Critical and Supercritical Water

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leusbrock, Ingo; Metz, Sybrand J.; Rexwinkel, Glenn; Versteeg, Geert F.

2009-01-01

To increase the available data oil systems containing supercritical water and inorganic compounds, all experimental setup was designed to investigate the solubilities of inorganic compounds Ill supercritical water, In this work, three alkali chloride salts (LiCl, NaCl, KCl) and three alkali nitrate

The effect of low-concentration inorganic materials on the behaviour of supercritical water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Imre, A.R., E-mail: imre@aeki.kfki.h [KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, POB 49, Budapest (Hungary); Hazi, G.; Horvath, A.; Maraczy, Cs. [KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, POB 49, Budapest (Hungary); Mazur, V.; Artemenko, S. [Odessa State Academy of Refrigeration, 1/3 Dvoryanslaya Str., 65026, Odessa (Ukraine)

2011-01-15

Research highlights: Small amount of inorganic materials (like corrosion products) can be dissolved in the supercritical water. Pseudo-critical temperature and other properties will be changed. Thermal and hydraulic behaviours of the SCW with small amount of contaminants differ in great extent from the behaviour of pure SCW. - Abstract: Supercritical water is a promising working fluid in the new Generation IV nuclear power plants. Due to the presence of the pseudo-critical line, the thermo-hydraulics (thermal and flow properties) and the physical chemistry of the supercritical water differ significantly from the pressurized hot water used in pressurized water reactors. In this study we would like to analyse the effect of small amount of inorganic material on the thermo-hydraulics of the supercritical water cooled nuclear reactors and other, non-nuclear supercritical water loops.

Supercritical Fluid Chromatography/Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Of Food Components

Science.gov (United States)

Calvey, Elizabeth M.; Page, Samuel W.; Taylor, Larry T.

1989-12-01

Supercritical fluid (SF) technologies are being investigated extensively for applications in food processing. The number of SF-related patents issued testifies to the level of interest. Among the properties of materials at temperatures and pressures above their critical points (supercritical fluids) is density-dependent solvating power. Supercritical CO2 is of particular interest to the food industry because of its low critical temperature (31.3°C) and low toxicity. Many of the components in food matrices react or degrade at elevated temperatures and may be adversely affected by high temperature extractions. Likewise, these components may not be amenable to GC analyses. Our SF research has been in the development of methods employing supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and extraction (SFE) coupled to a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer to investigate food composition. The effects of processing techniques on the isomeric fatty acid content of edible oils and the analysis of lipid oxidation products using SFC/FT-IR with a flow-cell interface are described.

Effects of Supercritical CO 2 Conditioning on Cross-Linked Polyimide Membranes

KAUST Repository

Kratochvil, Adam M.; Koros, William J.

2010-01-01

The effects of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) conditioning on high-performance cross-linked polyimide membranes is examined through gas permeation and sorption experiments. Under supercritical conditions, the cross-linked polymers do not exhibit a

Method and apparatus for thermal power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

A thermal power plant reheat cycle system is described in which the discharge from a first expansion stage is reheated prior to expansion in a subsequent expansion stage. The primary coolant has a high sheet transfer rate and can accommodate temperature changes in the reheat vapor. (U.K.)

Stein industrie moisture separator reheaters in 900 MW and 1300 MW PWR units behaviour and feedback

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guignard, S.; Gabrel, J.; Marceau, J.; Gauchet, J.P.

1990-01-01

Various metallurgical investigations were carried out with a view to making technological modifications to the Stein Industrie designed moisture separator reheaters of the 900 MW CP0/CP1 and 1300 MW P4/P'4 plant series. Dismantling and assessment of four reheater bundles from the CP0/CP1 plants revealed tube leaks at the bends and in the straight part of the bundle due chiefly to erosion-corrosion. In addition, thickness losses due to the same phenomenon were observed on the inner walls of the vessels and internal hardware in contact with wet steam. The assessments and inspections carried out in the field on the MSR bundles of the CP0 and CP1 plants confirmed the presence of erosion-corrosion, virtually stabilized to date, and revealed fouling of bends by sequestration of particles in the circuit with presence of some pitting. Fatigue cracking of the last support plate of certain MSRs of the CP0 series was also revealed. Adoption of finned tubes of 18% chrome ferritic stainless steel (Z 2 CT 18) for spare bundles and new MSRs, protection of vessels by austenitic and/or martensitic stainless steel internal hardware, modification of water conditioning in the steam-water circuit, and implementation of some technological modifications should guarantee the longterm resistance of the MSRs [fr

Injection of Fluids into Supercritical Environments

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Oschwald, M

2004-01-01

This paper summarizes and compares the results of systematic research programs at two independent laboratories regarding the injection of cryogenic liquids at subcritical and supercritical pressures...

ENGINEERING BULLETIN: SUPERCRITICAL WATER OXIDATION

Science.gov (United States)

This engineering bulletin presents a description and status of supercritical water oxidation technology, a summary of recent performance tests, and the current applicability of this emerging technology. This information is provided to assist remedial project managers, contractors...

Experimental study on the liquefaction of cellulose in supercritical ethanol

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jinxing; Liu, Xinyuan; Bao, Zhenbo

2018-03-01

Cellulose is the major composition of solid waste for producing biofuel; cellulose liquefaction is helpful for realizing biomass supercritical liquefaction process. This paper is taking supercritical ethanol as the medium, liquefied cellulose with the intermittence installation of high press cauldron. Experiments have studied technical condition and the technology parameter of cellulose liquefaction in supercritical ethanol, and the pyrolysis mechanism was analysed based on the pyrolysis product. Results show that cellulose can be liquefied, can get good effect through appropriate technology condition. Under not catalyst, highest liquefaction rate of cellulose can reach 73.5%. The composition of the pyrolysis product was determined by GC-MS.

Study on specifics of thermophysical properties of supercritical fluids in power engineering applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mann, David; Pioro, Igor

2015-01-01

SuperCritical Pressures (SCPs) and SuperCritical Fluids (SFCs) are widely used in many industries worldwide. The largest application of SCPs is in the power industry in advanced coal-fired power plants. It is well-known that moving from subcritical-pressure power plants to SCP power plants increases gross thermal efficiency from 38-42% to about 50-55%. Despite all advances in thermal power-plants design and operation worldwide, they are still considered as not “environmentally friendly” due to significant carbon-dioxide emissions and air pollution as a result of the combustion process. In addition, coal-fired power-plants also produce virtual mountains of slag and ash, and other gas emissions that may contribute to acid rains. Therefore, the demand for clean, non-fossil-based electricity is growing. Due to this, nuclear power is considered as a basis for future electricity generation in the world. One of the major problems with current fleet of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) is their relatively low thermal efficiencies, especially, of water-cooled-reactor NPPs (the vast majority of NPPs) (30-36%), compared to those of advanced thermal power plants (55-62%). Based on that, next generation or Generation-IV reactors corresponding to those NPPs should definitely be more efficient. Higher level of thermal efficiencies can be reached only due to higher temperatures and, in some cases, higher pressures inside reactors and, especially, in power cycles of Generation-IV NPPs. Analysis of the six concepts of Generation-IV reactors and NPPs shows that three reactor concepts will use SCFs as reactor coolants (helium and water) and all concepts can be linked to SCFs as working fluids in power cycles (SC helium and /or carbon dioxide in the Brayton gas-turbine cycle, and SC water in the Rankine steam-turbine cycle). Therefore, the exact knowledge of specifics of thermophysical properties of SC helium, water and carbon dioxide is very important for any advances in these new

Automatic Generation Control Study in Two Area Reheat Thermal Power System

Science.gov (United States)

Pritam, Anita; Sahu, Sibakanta; Rout, Sushil Dev; Ganthia, Sibani; Prasad Ganthia, Bibhu

2017-08-01

Due to industrial pollution our living environment destroyed. An electric grid system has may vital equipment like generator, motor, transformers and loads. There is always be an imbalance between sending end and receiving end system which cause system unstable. So this error and fault causing problem should be solved and corrected as soon as possible else it creates faults and system error and fall of efficiency of the whole power system. The main problem developed from this fault is deviation of frequency cause instability to the power system and may cause permanent damage to the system. Therefore this mechanism studied in this paper make the system stable and balance by regulating frequency at both sending and receiving end power system using automatic generation control using various controllers taking a two area reheat thermal power system into account.

SUPERCRITICAL FLUID EXTRACTION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON MIXTURES FROM CONTAMINATED SOILS

Science.gov (United States)

Highly contaminated (with PAHs) topsoils were extracted with supercritical CO2 to determine the feasibility and mechanism of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). Effect of SCF density, temperature, cosolvent type and amount, and of slurrying the soil with water were ...

Coiled tubing drilling with supercritical carbon dioxide

Science.gov (United States)

Kolle , Jack J.

2002-01-01

A method for increasing the efficiency of drilling operations by using a drilling fluid material that exists as supercritical fluid or a dense gas at temperature and pressure conditions existing at a drill site. The material can be used to reduce mechanical drilling forces, to remove cuttings, or to jet erode a substrate. In one embodiment, carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) is used as the material for drilling within wells in the earth, where the normal temperature and pressure conditions cause CO.sub.2 to exist as a supercritical fluid. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC--CO.sub.2) is preferably used with coiled tube (CT) drilling equipment. The very low viscosity SC--CO.sub.2 provides efficient cooling of the drill head, and efficient cuttings removal. Further, the diffusivity of SC--CO.sub.2 within the pores of petroleum formations is significantly higher than that of water, making jet erosion using SC--CO.sub.2 much more effective than water jet erosion. SC--CO.sub.2 jets can be used to assist mechanical drilling, for erosion drilling, or for scale removal. A choke manifold at the well head or mud cap drilling equipment can be used to control the pressure within the borehole, to ensure that the temperature and pressure conditions necessary for CO.sub.2 to exist as either a supercritical fluid or a dense gas occur at the drill site. Spent CO.sub.2 can be vented to the atmosphere, collected for reuse, or directed into the formation to aid in the recovery of petroleum.

Stability analysis of a heated channel cooled by supercritical water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magni, M. C.; Delmastro, D. F; Marcel, C. P

2009-01-01

A simple model to study thermal-hydraulic stability of a heated cannel under supercritical conditions is presented. Single cannel stability analysis for the SCWR (Supercritical Water Cooled Reactor) design was performed. The drastic change of fluid density in the reactor core of a SCWR may induce DWO (Density Wave Oscillations) similar to those observed in BWRs. Due to the similarities between subcritical and supercritical systems we may treat the supercritical fluid as a pseudo two-phase system. Thus, we may extend the modeling approach often used for boiling flow stability analysis to supercritical pressure operation conditions. The model developed in this work take into account three regions: a heavy fluid region, similar to an incompressible liquid; a zone where a heavy fluid and a light fluid coexist, similar to two-phase mixture; and a light fluid region which behaves like superheated steam. It was used the homogeneous equilibrium model (HEM) for the pseudo boiling zone, and the ideal gas model for the pseudo superheated steam zone. System stability maps were obtained using linear stability analysis in the frequency domain. Two possible instability mechanisms are observed: DWO and excursive Ledinegg instabilities. Also, a sensitivity analysis showed that frictions in pseudo superheated steam zone, together with acceleration effect, are the most destabilizing effects. On the other hand, frictions in pseudo liquid zone are the most important stabilizing effect. [es

Control of Canadian once-through direct cycle supercritical water-cooled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Peiwei; Wang, Baosheng; Zhang, Jianmin; Su, Guanghui

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Dynamic characteristics of Canadian SCWR are analyzed. • Hybrid feedforward and feedback control is adopted to deal with cross-coupling. • Gain scheduling control with smooth weight is applied to deal with nonlinearity. • It demonstrates through simulation that the control requirements are satisfied. - Abstract: Canadian supercritical water-cooled reactor (SCWR) can be modelled as a Multiple-input Multiple-output (MIMO) system. It has a high power-to-flow ratio, strong cross-coupling and high degree of nonlinearity in its dynamic characteristics. Among the outputs, the steam temperature is strongly affected by the reactor power and the most challenging to control. It is difficult to adopt a traditional control system design methodology to obtain a control system with satisfactory performance. In this paper, feedforward control is applied to reduce the effect on steam temperature from the reactor power. Single-input Single-output (SISO) feedback controllers are synthesized in the frequency domain. Using the feedforward controller, the steam temperature variation due to disturbances at the reactor power has been significantly suppressed. The control system can effectively maintain the overall system stability and regulate the plant around a specified operating condition. To deal with the nonlinearities, gain scheduling control strategy is adopted. Different sets of controllers combined by smooth weight functions are used for the plant at different load conditions. The proposed control strategies have been evaluated under various operating scenarios. Simulation results show that satisfactory performance can successfully achieved by the designed control system

Development status and application prospect of supercritical-pressure light water cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Manchang; Wang Mingli

2006-01-01

The Supercritical-pressure Light Water Cooled Reactor (SCWR) is selected by the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) as one of the six Generation IV nuclear systems that will be developed in the future, and it is an innovative design based on the existing technologies used in LWR and supercritical coal-fired plants. Technically, SCWR may be based on the design, construction and operation experiences in existing PWR and supercritical coal-fired plants, which means that there is no insolvable technology difficulties. Since PWR technology will be adopted in the near term and medium term projects in China, and considering the sustainable development of the technology, it is an inevitable choice to research and develop the nuclear system of supercritical light water cooled reactor. (authors)

Extraction/fractionation and deacidification of wheat germ oil using supercritical carbon dioxide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Zacchi

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Wheat germ oil was obtained by mechanical pressing using a small-scale screw press and by supercritical extraction in a pilot plant. With this last method, different pressures and temperatures were tested and the tocopherol concentration in the extract was monitored during extraction. Then supercritical extracted oil as well as commercial pressed oil were deacidified in a countercurrent column using supercritical carbon dioxide as solvent under different operating conditions. Samples of extract, refined oil and feed oil were analyzed for free fatty acids (FFA and tocopherol contents. The results show that oil with a higher tocopherol content can be obtained by supercritical extraction-fractionation and that FFA can be effectively removed by countercurrent rectification while the tocopherol content is only slightly reduced.

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide–Based Sterilization of Decellularized Heart Valves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryan S. Hennessy, MD

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Summary: Sterilization of grafts is essential. Supercritical carbon dioxide, electrolyzed water, gamma radiation, ethanol-peracetic acid, and hydrogen peroxide techniques were compared for impact on sterility and mechanical integrity of porcine decellularized aortic valves. Ethanol-peracetic acid– and supercritical carbon dioxide–treated valves were found to be sterile using histology, microbe culture, and electron microscopy assays. The cusp tensile properties of supercritical carbon dioxide–treated valves were higher compared with valves treated with other techniques. Superior sterility and integrity was found in the decellularized valves treated with supercritical carbon dioxide sterilization. This sterilization technique may hold promise for other decellularized soft tissues. Key Words: decellularized, decontamination, heart valve, tensile properties, tissue engineering

Design and analysis of an axial bypass compressor blade in a supercritical CO2 gas turbine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishizuka, Takao; Muto, Yasushi; Aritomi, Masanori; Tsuzuki, Nobuyoshi; Kikura, Hiroshige

2010-01-01

A supercritical carbon dioxide gas turbine can generate power at a high cycle thermal efficiency, even at modest temperatures of 500-550degC. Consequently, a more reliable and economically advantageous power generation system is achieved by coupling with a Na-cooled fast reactor. This paper mainly describes the bypass compressor (a key component) design and thermal hydraulic analysis using CFD (with FLUENT code). Fluid conditions of the bypass compressor are determined by the cycle calculation of this system. Aerodynamic design was conducted using the loss model described by Cohen et al., which enables the use of several stages while providing total adiabatic efficiency of 21 and 87%, respectively. Blade shapes were prepared based on flow angles and chord length obtained for the aerodynamic design. In the CFD analysis, the calculated value of the mass flow rate for each stage was adjusted to that of the design. The value of the design outlet pressure was reached at stage No. 16, which is fewer stages than that for design, No. 21. The difference between these stage numbers is attributed to the three-dimensional effect in design. If these effects are eliminated, then the design calculation yields an almost identical number of stages. Therefore, it was concluded that the existing design method is applicable to the supercritical CO 2 bypass compressor. Furthermore, CFD analysis appears to be an effective aerodynamic design tool, but these conclusions should be verified experimentally. (author)