HTGR Combined Cycle Power Plant Simulator

A Python-based simulation designed to model the thermal transients of a High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) and its associated power conversion systems. The model integrates a primary Brayton Gas Cycle with a bottoming Rankine Steam Cycle to analyze overall plant performance.

The simulation models a triple-loop energy conversion system. Heat generated in the nuclear core is transferred through a series of thermodynamic cycles to maximize total plant efficiency.

Core Features

• Thermal Transient Modeling: Simulates reactor power and temperature changes during startup and operation.
• Combined Cycle Analysis: Models energy transfer between the gas-cooled core and the dual-cycle power generation system.
• Performance Optimization: Includes optimized steam property lookups (IAPWS-97) and configurable simulation time-steps for efficient execution.
• PEP 8 & Type Hinting: Adheres to PEP 8 formatting standards and utilizes PEP 484 type hints to ensure codebase consistency and robust static analysis.

How it Works

The simulator models the flow of energy through three primary stages, following the path shown in the architecture diagram:

1. Heat Generation (The Core)

The simulation begins in the Reactor Core.

• Startup Physics: The reactor follows a flow-driven startup where the helium mass flow increases first, followed by a delayed increase in thermal power.
• Energy Transfer: The core heats the circulating helium gas to a target temperature. This thermal power is the "input" for the rest of the system.

2. Primary Power (Brayton Cycle)

The hot helium from the core enters the Brayton Cycle (Gas Turbine).

• Work Extraction: The gas expands through a turbine to generate electricity based on the cycle's pressure ratio and thermal efficiency.
• Heat Recovery: The exhaust heat leaving the gas turbine is recovered and passed down to the next stage to avoid energy waste.

3. Secondary Power (Rankine Cycle)

The Rankine Cycle (Steam Turbine) acts as a "bottoming cycle" to capture the remaining energy.

• Steam Generation: The hot exhaust from the gas cycle is used to boil water into high-pressure steam.
• Final Conversion: This steam spins a second turbine to generate additional power, increasing total plant efficiency.

4. Heat Rejection

Any final leftover heat is rejected through a cooling system, which incurs a small "parasitic" power penalty for running fans.

Installation & Usage

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/ibaadm/HTGR-Simulator.git
   cd HTGR-Simulator

2. Create and activate a virtual environment:

   python -m venv .venv
   # Windows:
   .venv\Scripts\activate
   # Mac/Linux:
   source .venv/bin/activate

3. Install dependencies:

   # Standard Setup (For Users)
   pip install .
   # Development Setup (For Contributors)
   pip install -e ".[dev]"

4. Execute the simulation and generate results:

   python main.py