Abstract
A parametric study has been an effective tool in thermodynamic modeling and simulation for investigating the effect of individual variables on a complicated model. In this study, the parametric study is conducted on a novel Organic Regenerative Transcritical Cycle (ORTC) that is integrated with a Small Modular Reactor (SMR). The eight independent variables include: low-, mid-, and high-pressure mass ratios, low-, mid-, and high-pressure ratios, maximum temperature, and pressure, as well as the number of discretized sections in the primary heat exchanger. In order to focus on viable designs, the design space for each independent variable is limited to no and near-zero penalty domains. The results provide a clear trend on how each independent variable impacts the system’s net thermal energy into the power cycle, net power out, and the first and second-law efficiencies. In addition, the temperature profile in the primary heat exchanger for the current Regenerative Rankine Cycle is compared with that of the proposed ORTC. The effects of single and double-sized primary heat exchanger for both cycles are also compared. As the result, the proposed ORTC can potentially outperform the current Regenerative Rankine Cycle under the design conditions and provides an alternative option for small modular light-water reactors.
