Influence of cooling water temperature on performance of EPR nuclear power plant
Wpływ temperatury wody chłodzącej na osiągi elektrowni jądrowej z reaktorem EPR
Rafał Laskowski, Adam Smyk, Nikołaj Uzunow
Streszczenie
The paper analyses how cooling water temperature affects the performance of an EPR nuclear power plant.
At higher cooling water temperatures, the power output and efficiency of the system are lower. One of the factors that
influence the performance of a nuclear power plant is its geographical location, since mean water temperatures are lower in
the northern part of Europe than in its southern part. Although the nature of changes and the trend related to the effect of
cooling water temperatures are known, the quantitative effect has to be determined on a case-by-case basis. A power plant
with most likely pressurized water reactors (PWR) is to be built in Poland, which is why a state-of-the-art EPR pressurized
water reactor design was selected as a subject of the present analysis. Depending on the location of this power plant, various
cooling water temperatures to cool down its condensers, and therefore various operating conditions of the cooling system can
be achieved. It is important to note that due to the smaller available enthalpy drop in the turbine of an EPR unit compared to
the turbines of conventional units, steam cooling conditions play a vital role in this case. To analyze how the temperature
affects the performance of the power unit, a model of an EPR power plant was developed using the Ebsilon software
At higher cooling water temperatures, the power output and efficiency of the system are lower. One of the factors that
influence the performance of a nuclear power plant is its geographical location, since mean water temperatures are lower in
the northern part of Europe than in its southern part. Although the nature of changes and the trend related to the effect of
cooling water temperatures are known, the quantitative effect has to be determined on a case-by-case basis. A power plant
with most likely pressurized water reactors (PWR) is to be built in Poland, which is why a state-of-the-art EPR pressurized
water reactor design was selected as a subject of the present analysis. Depending on the location of this power plant, various
cooling water temperatures to cool down its condensers, and therefore various operating conditions of the cooling system can
be achieved. It is important to note that due to the smaller available enthalpy drop in the turbine of an EPR unit compared to
the turbines of conventional units, steam cooling conditions play a vital role in this case. To analyze how the temperature
affects the performance of the power unit, a model of an EPR power plant was developed using the Ebsilon software