Research on Integrated Modularization of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide System for Aircraft Carrier Nuclear Power

This paper innovatively presents an integrated nuclear-powered supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) system for aircraft carriers, replacing the conventional secondary-loop steam Rankine cycle with a regenerative S-CO2 power cycle. The system comprises two modules: a nuclear reactor module and a S-CO2 power module. Comprehensive thermodynamic, economic, and compactness analyses were conducted, using exergy efficiency, levelized energy cost (LEC), and heat transfer area per unit power output (APR) as objective functions for optimization. Parameter analysis revealed the influence of key operating parameters on system performance, and a multi-objective optimization approach based on genetic algorithms was employed to determine optimal system parameters. The results indicate that the system achieves an exergy efficiency of 45%, an APR of 0.168 m2 kW−1, and an LEC of 2.1 cents/(kW·h). This high compactness, combined with superior thermodynamic and economic performance, underscores the feasibility of the S-CO2 system for integration into nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, offering significant potential to enhance their overall performance and operational efficiency.