Transient Modeling of a Supercritical CO2 Power Cycle and Comparison With Test Data

Abstract

A transient model of a commercially-available 7.3MWe sCO2 power cycle was developed using an implicit 1-D Navier Stokes solver. The power cycle underwent extensive factory testing, which validated the component and system performance, and the design and performance of the control system. The model structure simulates the as-tested configuration of the power cycle, with major components consisting of water-cooled heat rejection heat exchanger, turbine-driven compressor, recuperator, primary heat exchanger, power turbine, gearbox and generator. Subsystem models are developed to validate individual component (compressor, drive turbine, power turbine, heat exchangers etc.) model performance against design data. The component models are then assembled into the full system model. For the system transient simulation, the input parameters (or boundary conditions) are taken from the test data. More than eight hours of test data is used in the present transient simulation. The simulation results, including thermodynamic state points, component performance and system performance, are compared against the corresponding test data.