• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.40 no.10
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• pp.673-679
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• 2016

Because of the growing interest in supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle technology owing to its potential enhancement in compactness and efficiency, supercritical carbon dioxide cycles have been studied in the fields of nuclear power, concentrated solar power (CSP), and fossil fuel power generation. This study introduces the current status of the research project on the supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle by Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER). During the first phase of the project, the un-recuperated supercritical Brayton cycle test loop was built and tested. In phase two, researchers are designing and building a supercritical carbon dioxide dual Brayton cycle, which utilizes two turbines and two recuperators. Under the simulation condition considered in this study, it was confirmed that the design parameter has an optimal value for maximizing the net power in the supercritical carbon dioxide dual cycle.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.297-302
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• 2019

In this paper, the power generation efficiency increase has been studied for a Rankine cycle using both supercritical carbon dioxide as a working fluid and LNG as a coolant with PRO/II with PROVISION release 10.0 from Aveva company. Peng-Robinson equation of the state model with Twu's alpha function was selected for the modeling of the power generation cycle using LNG cold heat. Power generation efficiency was increased from 24.82% to 57.76% when using LNG as a coolant for supercritical carbon dioxide power generation cycle.

• Plant Journal
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.42-45
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• 2019

The molten carbonate fuel cell has a high temperature of waste heat and can constitute a bottoming cycle to increase the efficiency. Previous study used a bottoming cycle as steam turbine cycle. In this study, we are going to replace the bottoming cycle with a supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle. The system power was compared to consider replacing the bottoming cycle. As a result, the power of the supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle at the present development stage is lower than that of the steam turbine cycle, but theoretically, the power can be larger than the steam turbine cycle. If the supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle improves the isentropic efficiency of the turbine by 89%, the isentropic efficiency of the compressor by 83%, and the effectiveness of the recuperator by 0.9, the power can be same to the steam turbine cycle.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3540-3550
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• 2022

The supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO₂) Brayton cycle is an important energy conversion technology for the fourth generation of nuclear energy. Since the printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) used in the S-CO₂ Brayton cycle has narrow channels, Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) convection is likely to exist in the tiny channels. However, there are very few studies on RB convection in supercritical fluids. Current research on RB convection mainly focuses on conventional fluids such as water and air that meet the Boussinesq assumption. It is necessary to study non-Boussinesq fluids. PRB convection refers to RB convection that is affected by horizontal incoming flow. In this paper, the computational fluid dynamics simulation method is used to study the PRB convection phenomenon of non-Boussinesq fluid-supercritical carbon dioxide. The result shows that the inlet Reynolds number (Re) of the horizontal incoming flow significantly affects the PRB convection. When the inlet Re remains unchanged, with the increase of Rayleigh number (Ra), the steady-state convective pattern of the fluid layer is shown in order: horizontal flow, local traveling wave, traveling wave convection. If Ra remains unchanged, as the inlet Re increases, three convection patterns of traveling wave convection, local traveling wave, and horizontal flow will appear in sequence. To characterize the relationship between traveling wave convection and horizontal incoming flow, this paper proposes the relationship between critical Reynolds number and relative Rayleigh number (r).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.1254-1266
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• 2024

This study investigates the application of supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO₂) direct-cycle micro modular reactors (MMRs) in primary frequency control (PFC), which is a scenario characterized by significant load fluctuations that has received less attention compared to secondary load-following. Using a modified GAMMA + code and a deep neural network-based turbomachinery off-design model, the authors conducted an analysis to assess the behavior of the reactor core and fluid system under different PFC scenarios. The results indicate that the acceptable range for sudden relative electricity output (REO) fluctuations is approximately 20%p which aligns with the performance of combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) and open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs). In S-CO₂ direct-cycle MMRs, the control of the core operates passively within the operational range by managing coolant density through inventory control. However, when PFC exceeds 35%p, system control failure is observed, suggesting the need for improved control strategies. These findings affirm the potential of S-CO₂ direct-cycle MMRs in PFC operations, representing an advancement in the management of grid fluctuations while ensuring reliable and carbon-free power generation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.65-74
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• 2017

Supercritical carbon dioxide power system is the next generation electricity technology expected to be highly developed. The power system can improve net efficiency, simplify cycle configuration, and downsize equipment compared to conventional steam power system. In order to dominate the new market in advance, it is required to found Front End Engineering Design (FEED) Framework of the system. Therefore, this study developed the FEED framework including design processes for the supercritical carbon dioxide power system, information elements for each process, and relationships for each element. The developed FEED framework is expected to be able to secure systematic technological capabilities by establishing a common understanding and perspective among multi-field engineers participating in the design.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06e
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• pp.524-529
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• 2001

Because of the ozone layer depletion and global wanning, new alternative refrigerants are being developed. Among them, HFC refrigerants are thought promising, but some European countries are arguing that these refrigerants are also harmful to the global wanning. Therefore, natural refrigerants should be considered as an eventual alternative in refrigerators and heat pumps. In the present study, the supercritical gas cooling process are computationally analysed by employing various turbulence models of carbon dioxide in a trans critical refrigeration cycle. The gas cooling process near the critical point experiences a drastic change in thermodynamic and transport properties, thus the heat transfer characteristics would be different from those of two or single phases. Based on the computational results, the correlations to estimate the near-critical heat transfer characteristics will are obtained.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.785-796
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• 2009

A KALIMER-600 concept which is a type of sodium-cooled fast reactor, has been developed at KAERI. It uses sodium as a primary coolant and is a pool-type reactor to enhance safety. Also, a supercritical carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) Brayton cycle is considered as an alternative to an energy conversion system to eliminate the sodium water reaction and to improve efficiency. In this study, a simplified model for analyzing the thermodynamic performance of the KALIMER-600 coupled with a supercritical $CO_2$ Brayton cycle was developed. To develop the analysis model, a commercial modular modeling system (MMS) was adopted as a base engine, which was developed by nHance Technology in USA. It has a convenient graphical user interface and many component modules to model the plant. A new user library for thermodynamic properties of sodium and supercritical $CO_2$ was developed and attached to the MMS. In addition, some component modules in the MMS were modified to be appropriate for analysis of the KALIMER-600 coupled with the supercritical $CO_2$ cycle. Then, a simplified performance analysis code was developed by modeling the KALIMER-600 plant with the modified MMS. After evaluating the developed code with each component data and a steady state of the plant, a simple power reduction and recovery event was evaluated. The results showed an achievable capability for a performance analysis code. The developed code will be used to develop the operational strategy and some control logics for the operation of the KALIMER-600 with a supercritical $CO_2$ Brayton cycle after further studies of analyzing various operational events.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.787-793
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• 2015

In response to the growing interest in supercritical carbon dioxide ($S-CO_2$) power cycle technology because of its potential enhancement in compactness and efficiency, the $S-CO_2$ cycles have been studied intensively in the fields of nuclear power, concentrated solar power (CSP), and fossil fuel power generation. Despite this interest, there are relatively few studies on waste heat recovery applications. In this study, the $S-CO_2$ cycle that has a split flow with preheating was modeled and simulated. The variation in the power was investigated with respect to the changes in the value of a design parameter. Under the simulation conditions considered in this study, it was confirmed that the design parameter has an optimal value that can maximize the power in the $S-CO_2$ power cycle that has a split flow with preheating.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.109-118
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• 2006

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 $550^{\circ}C$, (2) advanced design with turbine inlet temperature of $650^{\circ}C$ 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.