1. Consultant for ARIES Project/UCSD/DOE
Response on TPE Graph
Action Item
L. Waganer
Consultant for ARIES Project/UCSD/DOE
ARIES Project Meeting
27-28 July 2011
Gaithersburg, MD
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2. TPE Graph Action Item
Redraw the existing graph of TPE cost vs. thermal power and efficiencies to indicate TPE cost vs. electric power (thought current figure may be misleading)
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3. Turbine-Generator Plant Equipment Costs
This account includes the costs for the Turbine Plant Equipment to transport the thermal energy from the intermediate heat exchanger and convert it into electrical energy.
This system can either be an advanced Rankine (steam) or a Brayton (helium or other gas) turbine fluid or maybe a combined gas cycle turbine.
The costs included are shown on the next slide.
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4. TPE Cost Accounts and Rationale
Subsystem costs relate to:
Turbines : input thermal power; temperature and pressure of the heat transfer media; HT Media
Generators: gross electric power
Thermal power handled; temperature and pressure of the heat transfer media; HT Media
Rejected thermal power handled (efficiency of turbine cycle); HT Media
Efficiency of turbine cycle determines power level and complexity; HT Media
Probably the same as Turbines : input thermal power; temperature and pressure of the heat transfer media; HT Media
Probably constant for individual HT Media
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5. Proposed T-G Cost Algorithms
To better represent and parametrically scale T-G costs, these algorithms were proposed:
C23 = $350M x (Pth gross/2620) Rankine
= $360M x (Pth gross/2000)0.80 x (ηth gross/.60) Brayton
Prior Graph
ARIES-ST, η=45%
ARIES-RS, η=46%
ARIES-AT, η=59%
ARIES-CS, η=43%
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6. Proposed T-G Cost Algorithms
This illustrates the same data scaling, plotted as a function of gross electric power, incorporating gross thermal power and cycle efficiency.
However the curves are bunched up with the higher efficiency curves moved up and to the right. See the next page for an overlay of the constant thermal power curves.
ARIES-AT, η=59%
ARIES-CS, η=43%
ARIES-ST, η=45%
ARIES-RS, η=46%
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7. Proposed T-G Cost Algorithms
The lines of constant thermal power have been added to the curves (cyan lines).
1500 MWth
2000 MWth
2500 MWth
3000 MWth
3500 MWth
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8. Conclusions
The TPE subsystems tend to be influenced more by thermal power, efficiency (thermal constraints) and the heat transfer media (high pressure water or high pressure gas). Only the generator subsystem is influenced by Gross Electric Power.
Graphing the TPE cost by Gross Electric Power tends to flatten the curves and obscures the cost drivers.
Recommend retaining the cost algorithms as shown.
However, remember these cost algorithms represent a very high level “model” and it does not reflect an actual cost estimate – it is just a parametric cost model of the perceived cost drivers that is fitted to prior conceptual cost estimates.
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