Design and performance evaluation of a heat exchanger network for a co-generation SMR to various thermal utilization applications

Small modular nuclear reactor (SMR), with 300-400 MWe electricity output, is an innovative design concept for nuclear power plant. It has some merits over large nuclear power plants, such as lower initial capital investment, flexibility, enhanced safety and security, etc. In previous applications, the balance of plant (BOP) system of the SMR was designed for supplying just electricity. In this study, the co-generation SMR which supplies both electricity and heat is under investigation. The heat exchanger network, mainly consisting of the BOP heat exchanger, water pump, and the heat exchangers that deliver heat to the thermal utilization (TU) applications, must operate in an efficient way to keep the overall system costs low. In this paper, a heat exchanger network for all end users which require the same or similar quality of energy is investigated. Numerical model for heat exchanger networks is built on the TRNSYS simulation software. Sensitivity studies are performed to estimate the energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of the whole heat exchanger network under different design and operating conditions (i.e. different temperatures, flow rates and heat exchanger effectiveness). Important design and operating parameters, which significantly impact the performance of the network, are evaluated and presented. (author)