Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Multi-objective optimization application for a coupled light water small modular reactor-combined heat and power cycle (cogeneration) systems

  • Seong Woo Kang (Risk Assessment Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI)) ;
  • Man-Sung Yim (Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST))
  • Received : 2023.09.20
  • Accepted : 2023.12.07
  • Published : 2024.05.25
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Abstract

The goal of this research is to propose a way to maximize small modular reactor (SMR) utilization to gain better market feasibility in support of carbon neutrality. For that purpose, a comprehensive tool was developed, combining off-design thermohydraulic models, economic objective models (levelized cost of electricity, annual profit), non-economic models (saved CO2), a parameter input sampling method (Latin hypercube sampling, LHS), and a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (Non-dominated Sorting Algorithm-2, NSGA2 method) for optimizing a SMR-combined heat and power cycle (CHP) system design. Considering multiple objectives, it was shown that NSGA2+LHS method can find better optimal solution sets with similar computational costs compared to a conventional weighted sum (WS) method. Out of multiple multi-objective optimal design configurations for a 105 MWe design generation rating, a chosen reference SMR-CHP system resulted in its levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) below $60/MWh for various heat prices, showing economic competitiveness for energy market conditions similar to South Korea. Examined economic feasibility may vary significantly based on CHP heat prices, and extensive consideration of the regional heat market may be required for SMR-CHP regional optimization. Nonetheless, with reasonable heat market prices (e.g. district heating prices comparable to those in Europe and Korea), SMR can still become highly competitive in the energy market if coupled with a CHP system.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by National Nuclear R&D Program through the National Research Foundation of the Republic of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (NRF2021M2D1A1084847). It was also supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (No. 20224B10200050).

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