Cost performance design for high temperature helium heat transport piping of GTHTR300C and HTTR-GT/H₂ plants

This paper presents the cost performance design of heat transport piping systems for the Gas Turbine High Temperature Reactor cogeneration (GTHTR300C) plant and the High Temperature engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) gas turbine cogeneration test plant (HTTR-GT/H₂ plant). Two types of pipe structure are designed and compared in terms of cost performance. Relative to the coaxial double-pipe structure, the insulated single pipe structure is found to have the advantage in overall cost performance considering both the material quantity and the heat loss because it reduces the quantity of steel used for construction. Furthermore it is possible to reduce the heat loss and temperature reduction of hot helium gas by the attachment of the external insulation. The pressure tube made of type-316 stainless steel with high-temperature strength is possible to achieve the same temperature reduction by smaller diameter than that made of 2 1/4Cr-1Mo steel. It contributes to the reduction of the quantity of steel. Specifications of heat transport piping systems for both plants are determined according to these study results. (author)