ADVERTORIAL FEATURE | ENEXSA
Do you have questions? Process simulation may have the answers.
These are interesting times for the nuclear industry, as traditional technologies compete with new concepts – most prominently small modular reactors (SMR) and fusion – to fill the gap in the worldwide transition from fossil to renewable energy sources
Heat balance diagram for nuclear cycle with two molten salt loops and thermal storage between the primary reactor coolant and the steam cycle. Source: ENEXSA GmbH
ALONG WITH THE QUEST FOR the best technology with respect to safety, feasibility, efficiency, cost, resilience and geopolitical considerations, the timeline to make new technologies commercially available gives rise to another challenge. Specifically, the extension of the lifetime and/ or capacity enhancements of the existing fleet of nuclear power plants. In such interesting times, many varied questions arise.
These are questions that process modelling and simulation are well suited to explore and answer. Questions regarding
new technologies may include the following: ● What is the effect of the application of new heat transfer media such as molten salts or metals on the power generation cycle? Which process design measures must be taken to ensure safe operation within given boundaries?
● When applying gas coolant conversion to power via Brayton cycle, what is the optimal configuration of the process? What are the benefits of open/closed gas cycles? Which is the right gas to use?
● Can the process cycle be combined with heat storage technologies to allow for better accommodation of the intermittent generation from solar and wind farms?
● If the process includes multiple connected heat transfer fluid loops from reactor core to power generation cycle, how can this chain be controlled during start-up and how does it respond to operational transients?
● What is the optimal power conversion cycle design for higher working fluid pressures and temperatures arising from higher reactor coolant temperatures? Supercritical CO2 cycles with or without recompression, open or closed Brayton cycles with air, helium, argon, etc, working fluids? Steam turbines with or without reheat and moisture removal features?
● What are the impacts of dry cooling on the power conversion cycle during every hour of the year?
30 | April 2025 |
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For existing plants, your questions may concern some
of these: ● What are the current bottlenecks for potential capacity enhancements? What are the options for increasing steam cycle performance?
● Can upgrades to the plant’s cooling system(s) improve the situation?
● How to improve wet steam management? ● Understanding the interplay of reactor transient with steam cycle/power block transient operation
● How to optimize BWR and PWR cycles to enhance plant flexibility?
● How is the quality of the instrumentation? Are the plant sensors still reliable?
● Are the existing HVAC systems for critical control and safety cabinets sufficient and reliable enough to prevent unplanned outages at existing, potentially uprated plants?
The laws of physics combined with proper engineering
assumptions for unavoidable non-idealities in form of thermal and mechanical losses or achievable approach temperatures (if not available from OEM information) will produce comprehensive and unambiguous information that will help you answer such questions. Both, fundamental questions on the feasibility of the process as well as the quantification of the impact of modifications on the overall process efficiency can be addressed. Of course, there are many more factors for a decision
to invest time and money into a new idea, but there is one important message to give with respect to all plant concepts under consideration. It is the simple fact (to be understood based on experience, not as a law of nature) that if you can’t model the process, you will most probably not be able to implement or run it. ■
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