Thermodynamic Analysis of a Supercritical Water Reactor

Abstract

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°C.