Combining pinch analysis and superstructure optimization for easier design of sCO2 power cycles

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Superstructure optimization provides a systematic framework for identifying high-efficiency energy systems, but its application to power cycles remains challenging because explicit representation of integrated heat exchangers (IHXs) introduces strong nonlinear couplings and feasibility constraints. In superstructure-based cycle optimization, maximizing cycle efficiency requires evaluating the heat demand of each candidate topology. Instead of embedding thermal integrations within the superstructure, the proposed approach uses pinch-based energy targeting to estimate the minimum heat requirement independently of cycle topology, avoiding additional nonlinear constraints. The method is applied to supercritical CO 2 Brayton cycle design and compared with a classical superstructure optimization approach. A 53% efficiency threshold is reached after 740 iterations versus 10,000+ for the classical formulation. The method also reduces computational time by more than one order of magnitude, eliminates pinch-violating solutions, and identifies both conventional and non-intuitive optimal configurations. The approach enables exploration of broader cycle architectures and reveals high-performing configurations absent from the existing literature.