A review of research on turbines for supercritical carbon dioxide power systems

Abstract

Supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) Brayton cycle has been known as a potential power cycle technology because of its high efficiency, compact structure and suitability for different heat sources. As one of the key components in the cycle, the turbine has an important impact on the cycle efficiency. Compared with traditional steam and gas turbines, S-CO2 turbines have high working pressure and small size. The internal flow characteristics are significantly different. In this paper, the research progress of S-CO2 turbines in recent years is reviewed. The design and performance evaluation methods for S-CO2 turbines of different types and power levels are summarized, and research on loss correlations and optimization algorithms are introduced. The features of flow field in S-CO2 turbines are discussed. Current studies mainly evaluate the flow field and flow losses through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), and some studies further analyze the influencing mechanism of turbine geometric parameters on flow characteristics. The applications of multi-physical field analysis on S-CO2 turbines are also reviewed. The construction and operation of S-CO2 test loops, and relevant turbine experimental study findings are introduced. Future research directions of S-CO2 turbines are proposed.