A Preliminary Exergy Analysis of the EU DEMO Fusion Reactor

Purpose of the present study is the exergy analysis of EU DEMO pulsed fusion power plant considering the Primary Heat Transfer Systems, the Intermediate Heat Transfer System (IHTS) including the Energy Storage System (ESS) as a first option to ensure the continuity of electric power released to the grid. A second option here considered is a methane fired auxiliary boiler replacing the ESS. The Power Conversion System (PCS) performance is evaluated as well in the overall balance. The performance analysis is based on the exergy method to specifically assess the amount of exergy destruction determined by irreversible phenomena along the whole cyclic process. The pulse and dwell phases of the reactor operation are evaluated considering the state of the art of the ESS adopting molten salts alternate heating and storage in a hot tank followed by a cooling and recovery of molten salt in a cold tank to ensure the continuity of power release to the electrical grid. The second option of the plant configuration is evaluated on the basis of an auxiliary boiler replacing the ESS with a 10% of the power produced by the reactor during both pulse and dwell modes

Maximum power, ecological function and efficiency of an irreversible Carnot cycle. A cost and effectiveness optimization

In this work we include, for the Carnot cycle, irreversibilities of linear finite rate of heat transferences between the heat engine and its reservoirs, heat leak between the reservoirs and internal dissipations of the working fluid. A first optimization of the power output, the efficiency and ecological function of an irreversible Carnot cycle, with respect to: internal temperature ratio, time ratio for the heat exchange and the allocation ratio of the heat exchangers; is performed. For the second and third optimizations, the optimum values for the time ratio and internal temperature ratio are substituted into the equation of power and, then, the optimizations with respect to the cost and effectiveness ratio of the heat exchangers are performed. Finally, a criterion of partial optimization for the class of irreversible Carnot engines is herein presented.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Energy Convers. Manag

Energy conversion in isothermal nonlinear irreversible processes - struggling for higher efficiency

First we discuss some early work of Ulrike Feudel on structure formation in nonlinear reactions including ions and the efficiency of the conversion of chemical into electrical energy. Then we give some survey about energy conversion from chemical to higher forms of energy like mechanical, electrical and ecological energy. We consider examples of energy conversion in several natural processes and in some devices like fuel cells. Further, as an example, we study analytically the dynamics and efficiency of a simple "active circuit" converting chemical into electrical energy and driving currents which is roughly modeling fuel cells. Finally we investigate an analogous ecological system of Lotka - Volterra type consisting of an "active species" consuming some passive "chemical food". We show analytically for both these models that the efficiency increases with the load, reaches values higher then 50 percent in a narrow regime of optimal load and goes beyond some maximal load abrupt to zero.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure

Exergy efficiency optimization for gas turbine based cogeneration systems

Energy degradation can be calculated by the quantification of entropy and loss of work and is a common approach in power plant performance analysis. Information about the location, amount and sourc es of system deficiencies are determined by the exergy analysis, which quantifies the exergy destruction. Micro - gas turbines are prime movers that are ideally suited for cogeneration applications due to their flexibility in providing stable and reliable power. This paper presents an exergy analysis by means of a numerical simulation of a regenerative micro - gas turbine for cogeneration applications . The main objective is to study the best configuration of each system component , considering the minimization of the system irreversibilities . Each component of the system was evaluated considering the quantitative exergy balance . Subsequently the optimization procedure was applied to the mathematical model that describes the full system. The rate of irreversibility, efficiency and flaws are highlighted for each system component and for the whole system. The effect of turbine inlet temperature change on plant exergy destruction was also evaluated . The results disclose that considerable exergy destruction occurs in the combustion chamber. Also, it was revealed that the exergy efficiency is expressively dependent on the changes of the turbine inlet temperature and increases with the latter .The authors would like to express their acknowledgments for the support given by the Portuguese F01mdation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the PhD grant SFRH/BD/62287/2009. This work was financed by National Funds-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Strategic Project and PEst-OE/EME/UI0252/2011 and also the PEst-C/EME/UI4077/2011

Stagnation Hugoniot Analysis for Steady Combustion Waves in Propulsion Systems

The combustion mode in a steady-flow propulsion system has a strong influence on the overall efficiency of the system. To evaluate the relative merits of different modes, we propose that it is most appropriate to keep the upstream stagnation state fixed and the wave stationary within the combustor. Because of the variable wave speed and upstream stagnation state, the conventional Hugoniot analysis of combustion waves is inappropriate for this purpose. To remedy this situation, we propose a new formulation of the analysis of stationary combustion waves for a fixed initial stagnation state, which we call the stagnation Hugoniot. For a given stagnation enthalpy, we find that stationary detonation waves generate a higher entropy rise than deflagration waves. The combustion process generating the lowest entropy increment is found to be constant-pressure combustion. These results clearly demonstrate that the minimum entropy property of detonations derived from the conventional Hugoniot analysis does not imply superior performance in all propulsion systems. This finding reconciles previous analysis of flowpath performance analysis of detonation-based ramjets with the thermodynamic cycle analysis of detonation-based propulsion systems. We conclude that the thermodynamic analysis of propulsion systems based on stationary detonation waves must be formulated differently than for propagating waves, and the two situations lead to very different results

Improving of Brayton cycle for aero gas turbine

Tato Prace je vyzkum o Braytonuv Obeh. Obsahuju ruzne metody, jak zvisit ucinnost obeh. Take vysvetluje jednu z techto metod presneji a popisuje ruzne moznosti, jako je IRA (Mezichladicem Recuperancni Aeroengine), coz je project z Technicke University v Mnichove. Vyvetluje ruzne studie o tepelnych vymeniku a jak tyto zmeny by mohly prispet ke slepseni spotreby paliva.This thesis is a research about Brayton cycle. It contains different methods on how to improve the efficiency of the cycle. Also it explains one of these methods more precisely and describes different options such as IRA (Intercooled Recuperative Aeroengine) which is a project from Munich Technical University. Besides it explains different studies about heat exchangers and how these modifications could help to improve fuel economy.

Energy and Exergy Investigations of a 972mw Based Steam Parameters Thermal Power Plant in Nigeria

The generation of electricity is critical to the expansion of the economy and the improvement of people's standard of living. Scientists from all over the world find themselves increasingly aware of the impact of power plants as a result of the expanding human population and the ever-increasing demand for dependable sources of energy. The construction of about 95% of power plants is carried out in accordance with energy performance requirements, which take into account only the first law of thermodynamics. It is not possible to use the first equation of thermodynamics to compute the actual effective energy loss since it does not differentiate between the quantity and quality of energy.Calculating energy and exergy based on the properties of the steam was at the focus of the investigation into the energy and exergy efficiency of the plant. According to the findings, an increase in the parameters governing the scalding steam caused an increase in both the system's efficiency and its enthalpy. The boiler has the highest exergy efficiency (59.66%), whereas the condenser has the highest energy efficiency (48.10%). The investigation proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the boiler was the principal cause of the system's irreversibility. &nbsp