Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2012

GT2012
June 11-15, 2012, Copenhagen, Denmark

GT2012-68407

HELIUM BRAYTON CYCLES WITH SOLAR CENTRAL RECEIVERS: THERMODYNAMIC AND

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Karsten Kusterer, René Braun, Dieter Bohn

Norbert Moritz, Gang Lin RWTH Aachen University
B&B-AGEMA GmbH Templergraben 55
Jülicher Straße 338 D-52056 Aachen, Germany
D-52070 Aachen, Germany dieter.bohn@rwth-aachen.de
kusterer@bub-agema.de

ABSTRACT The results show that thermal efficiencies of approximately

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies are 46.6 % (and higher) can be reached with a Helium Brayton
considered to provide a major contribution for the electric Cycle. One important parameter is the turbine inlet gas
power production in the future. Several technologies for such temperature, which is not less than 900 °C. This means that the
kind of power plants are already in operation. Parabolic pressurized receiver for this technology has to bear even higher
troughs, parabolic dishes, Fresnel multi-facet reflectors or temperatures.
heliostats in combination with a central receiver are applied for Furthermore, the paper deals with design considerations for
concentration of the solar irradiation. The energy conversion compressor and turbine within the closed Helium Brayton
cycles usually are water/steam cycles (Rankine cycles), but also Cycle. Based on dimensionless parameters, the major
open gas turbine cycles (Brayton cycle) or combined cycles are parameters like stage types, number of stages, rotational speed
possible. One option is to apply closed Brayton cycles using etc. are determined and discussed.
fluids like carbon dioxide or helium.
With respect to commercial considerations, the main NOMENCLATURE
parameter driving the decision on which cycle to apply for P [MW] power
energy conversion is the thermal efficiency of the process. This Q [MW] thermal heat
is due to the fact, that in case of a power plant without R [J/(kg K) specific gas constant
additional fuel supply, no fuel costs have to be considered to T [K] temperature
determine the levelized electricity costs (LEC). Thus, in the Z [-] compressibility factor
first place the capital costs determine the LEC. In CSP plants cm [m/s] meridional velocity
one main driver for the capital costs are the heliostats and the cp [J/(kg K) specific heat capacity
mirror size, which are necessary to generate the desired amount h [J/kg] specific enthalpy
of electric power. The necessary solar aperture area directly kv [-] isentropic volume exponent
depends on the thermal efficiency of the energy conversion kT [-] isentropic temperature exponent
cycle. nT [-] polytropic temperature exponent
In this paper different closed Helium Brayton Cycles for nv [-] polytropic volume exponent
application with solar central receivers are analyzed p [Pa] pressure
thermodynamically. The thermodynamic calculations are s [J/(kg s)] specific entropy
performed by application of a self-developed thermodynamic u [m/s] circumferential velocity
calculation software, which considers the real gas properties of v [m3/kg] specific volume
the fluid. The software calculates the cycle’s thermodynamic yp [J/(kg K)] polytropic head
diagrams (e.g. T-s-, h-s-diagrams) and determines its efficiency. ηp [-] static polytropic efficiency

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 ηth [-] thermal efficiency
Π [-] pressure ratio
φ [-] flow coefficient
Ψh [-] stage loading
SUBSCRIPTS
1 inlet
2 outlet
C compressor
R receiver
T turbine
s at constant entropy
ABBREVIATION
CSP Concentrated Solar Power
DLR German Aerospace Center
HBC Helium Brayton Cycle
LEC levelized electricity costs
ppi pores per inch
rpm revolutions per minute
INTRODUCTION
CSP technologies
Renewable energy becomes more important worldwide
based on sustainable energy politics of governments as well as
protection of natural resources and reduction of carbon dioxide
emission.
Solar thermal power plant technology offers a high potential
for power plants in regions of high direct solar radiation. For
the enhancement of the available solar heat, the solar radiation
is concentrated. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies
include parabolic trough, central receiver, Fresnel multi-facet
reflector and solar dish systems. Parabolic trough plants have
already been installed and operated on a commercial level for
several years [1]. The Andasol 3 power plant [2], which started
operation in 2011 in the south of Spain, is claimed to have a
peak thermal efficiency of 40 % for its thermal cycle.
Central receiver plants usually consist of an area filled with
heliostats (mirrors), which track the sun position and
concentrate the solar radiation at a solar receiver located at the
top of a tall tower (power tower system). The solar heat is then
transferred from the receiver directly or indirectly (by a heat
transfer fluid) to a thermal cycle, which is usually a
water/steam Rankine cycle. Advantages of this configuration
over the parabolic trough are minimization of thermal loss
caused by long ducts in parabolic trough applications.
Moreover, the thermal oil, which is usually the thermal heat
transport fluid in the ducts, is not needed.
In a molten-salt power tower (e.g. the GEMASOLAR
power tower [3]), liquid salt (40 % potassium salt, 60 % sodium
nitrate) circulates between a cold and a hot storage tank. The
molten salt is pumped from a cold salt storage tank at 290 °C
through the receiver and back to the hot storage tank. Inside the
solar receiver the salt is heated up to 565 °C. The hot molten
salt is used in a heat exchanger to heat up and boil the water of
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the Rankine cycle. Due to higher operating temperatures
compared to the parabolic trough system, thermal efficiencies
of 42 % and higher are expected [4]. A further advantage of this
type of CSP technology is the possibility of heat storage
without any expensive storage medium by using the molten
salt. At the GEMASOLAR power tower plant, the storage
capacity is designed for an operation of the steam cycle for 15
hours without additional feed-in of solar heat. A disadvantage
of CSP plants using Rankine cycles is the need of a certain
amount of fresh water.
Open Brayton cycle applications
As best locations for CSP plants are very often at dry
regions, the availability of fresh water as working fluid for the
thermal cycle itself and as cooling medium becomes an
important issue. Thus, the gas turbine application (open
Brayton cycle), where the pressurized air is heated up in the
solar receiver, received more and more attention in the R&D for
the power tower systems.
Another important reason is due to the thermodynamic laws
for thermal cycles. The solar fuel itself is for free but the rather
high costs of capital, equipment and installation dominate the
financial attractiveness of the CSP projects for investors. High
thermal cycle efficiencies reduce significantly these costs, in
particular for the expensive heliostats as less of them are
needed for a designated installed power capacity. Due to the
Carnot thermal cycle efficiency law, the increase in the upper
temperature level of the process is of advantage. Such higher
temperatures can be applied in the case of the gas turbine cycle.
However, for the ideal solar heat engine efficiency also the
black body radiation of the receiver has to be taken into account
as explained by Dickey [5]. Thus, Dickey identified a working
fluid temperature of approximately 1000 °C as ideal
temperature for the selected turbine engine. As the open
Brayton cycle is limited in its efficiency by the ambient
conditions, the combined cycle approach with a bottoming
Rankine cycle becomes necessary to reach higher thermal
efficiencies and to make use of the increased upper temperature
level. Such combined cycle system has been investigated
intensively by Heide et al. [6] with respect to design and
operational aspects. In their concept studies they referred to the
THM1304 gas turbine because of its availability for solar
hybrid operation, which means operation by solar heat and
additional fuel. Due to its comparable low turbine inlet design
temperature of 975 – 1100 °C only few additional fuel is
necessary for the design operation point. Hybrid gas turbine
operations for small engines in the range of 100 kW to 250 kW
have already been performed successfully in the projects
SOLGATE [7] and SOLHYCO [8, 9] funded by the European
Commission.
Presently, the SOLUGAS project [10], which is also funded
by the European Commission, aims to apply a modified
MercuryTM 50 gas turbine for the solar hybrid operation. The
expected thermal efficiency of the cycle is 38.5 % and future
plans include also an additional Rankine cycle for the
demonstration of the combined cycle operation. Fluctuations of
2 Copyright © 2012 by ASME
 the solar input have to be considered for operation scheme of
the solar-thermal gas turbine systems. The use of variable guide
vanes in solar-powered gas turbines allows a degree of
flexibility as it has been investigated by Kitzmiller and Miller
[11].
Closed Brayton cycle applications
A concept of a closed Brayton cycle for CSP application can
be presented as alternative solution to both, the Rankine cycle
and in particular to the open Brayton cycle application with air
as working fluid. Thus, it becomes possible to make advantage
of special thermodynamic properties of the operational fluid
and of the special system configuration. Muto et al. [12] have
shown in their work on the application of a supercritical carbon
dioxide gas turbine that their cycle can produce power at high
thermal cycle efficiency of 43.4 % even at comparable low
temperature of 650 °C. However, such cycle requires high
operating pressures and a further increase in temperature is
difficult due to beginning dissociation of the gas and reaction
with the materials.
There has been huge experience with helium as working
fluid in closed cycles, in particular for high-temperature gas-
cooled reactors. A review of the helium gas turbine technology
for that application is given by No et al. [13]. For the closed
Brayton cycle application, helium has been considered because
of its major advantages: (i) high specific heat, (ii) high thermal
heat conductivity and (iii) non-corrosive behavior. Thus, this
means that theoretically high cycle efficiencies can be reached
and the heat transfer in the solar receiver can be improved. The
typical temperatures at the turbine inlet of such Helium Brayton
Cycles are in the range of 850 – 950 °C, which are ideal for
CSP plant application. The respective thermal cycle efficiencies
are calculated to be over 47 % [14, 15]. Furthermore, the non-
corrosive behavior of the helium should contribute to an
increase in lifetime for the hot section components.
The major disadvantages of helium are: (i) small molecular
weight and (ii) small gas density. Thus, increased leakage
effects are usually assumed and high-pressure operation with
compressor outlet pressures of more than 30 bars is requested
for a compact power conversion system. The later one is a
challenge for the CSP application because pressurized
receivers, which are usually applied for air operation at these
high temperatures, are presently limited in operating pressures
because of thermo-mechanic considerations. Thus, the major
aims of this paper are to investigate about the thermodynamic
parameters and cycle efficiencies in the case of helium as
working fluid of the cycles with solar heat feed-in and to
consider about basic design parameters for the compressor and
turbine taking into account realistic operation pressure for the
pressurized receiver.
PRESSURIZED AIR RECEIVER
Receivers for pressurized air for use in solar Brayton cycles
are being continuously developed and tested in several projects.
Conceptual designs and basic features of receiver
configurations for usage in a Helium Brayton Cycle are given
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by a pressurized volumetric air receiver and a pressurized air
metal tube receiver, Figure 1 shows examples of both.
Metal tube air receivers absorb the concentrated solar
radiation at the outer surface of the absorber tubes and transfer
the heat to the air by convection. Within recent experiences
(e.g. SOLHYCO) air temperatures of approximately 800 °C
[6, 9] have been obtained. The axial cross section of the
absorber tube is approximately elliptical which guaranties a
relatively homogenous solar flux density distribution over the
absorber tubes.
Metal Tube Receiver
Secondary Quartz
Concentrator Window
Isolation
Inlet
Outlet
Absorber Vessel
Concentrated
Solar radiation
Volumetric Receiver
Figure 1: Pressurized Air Receiver [16]
For high temperatures the volumetric receiver is preferred.
To withstand high temperatures, the absorber is built as ceramic
foam of SiC with a porosity of 20 ppi. The absorber is mounted
with a fiber-reinforced alumina-based construction.
Experiences with those receivers are made within the REFOS
project, which was co-funded by the European Commission.
Thereby, a cluster of one volumetric receiver as a high
temperature module and two metal tube receivers for low
temperatures has been implemented. Heller et al. [7] reported
that a permanent outlet temperature of the cluster of 800 °C in
the first test phase and a maximum outlet temperature of 960 °C
during test phase 2 were obtained. The efficiency of the REFOS
receiver cluster was in the range of 76 % to 80 % during the
first test phase. The receiver cluster of the SOLGATE [16]
project was constructed, based on experiences made in the
REFOS project. A low and medium temperature module (both
3 Copyright © 2012 by ASME
 pressurized air metal tube receivers) as well as a high • Isentropic temperature exponent kT:
temperature receiver (pressurized volumetric air receiver) are 1 (2)
combined in a honeycomb-like arrangement. kT =
p  ∂T 
Current R&D projects using volumetric air receivers aim for 1 −  
outlet temperatures higher than 1000 °C at a pressure of 15 bars T  ∂p  s
(e.g. Heide et al. [6]). • Polytropic volume exponent nv:
Hischier et al. [17] offered an alternative study of receiver n v − 1 k v − 1 1 − ηp k T − 1 (3)
technology by indirect solar irradiation. The design consists of = +
nv kv ηp kT
annular reticulate porous ceramic foam bounded by two
concentric cylinders. The solar radiation is introduced by a • Polytropic temperature exponent nT:
small aperture on the inner cylinder. A test case has shown a n T − 1 ZR  1 − η p  k T − 1 (4)
= +
thermal efficiency of 78 % and an outlet air temperature of nT c p  η p  kT
1000 °C at a pressure of 10 bars [17].
Here v denotes the specific volume, Z the compressibility
A concept discussed by Wilson and Baker [18] provides a
direct combination for the heat flux of solar radiation within a factor and η p the static polytropic efficiency defined by:
permanently rotating regenerator as a third section. This offers p2

an optimization of the heat exchange in the gas turbine cycle. ∫ v dp

Especially for low pressure ratio a high efficiency of the heat
exchanger is necessary for high thermal cycle efficiencies.
Due to the high achievable outlet air temperature of
pressurized volumetric air receivers and the test experiences,
those kinds of receivers should be considered for a Helium
Brayton Cycle. Values, given in several Literatures, of actual
receiver efficiencies, offer a range from 80 %, e.g. Romero et
al. [19], to higher than 90 % [10].
THERMODYNAMIC DESIGN TOOL
The thermodynamic calculations of the Helium Brayton
Cycle (HBC) have been performed by the “Thermodynamic
Design Tool” (TDT) application, developed by B&B-AGEMA.
TDT supports the design and calculation of energetic processes
based on a 1D thermodynamic approach, using different fluids
selected by the user. The TDT software is a very fast and
efficient thermodynamic design tool for complex compression
processes or full cycles as steam cycles. It comprises real gas
behavior of several gases (e.g. CO2, hydrogen, water/steam, air,
helium etc.) and mixtures. Thermodynamic processes can be
visualized as parametric thermodynamic diagrams, e.g.
enthalpy/entropy, temperature/pressure, including precisely
tabulated thermodynamic values. The calculation method for
compression and expansion processes under real gas behaviour
is based on Lüdtke [20] and shortly explained in the following
section.
Once the thermodynamic properties can be determined
precisely by using direct equations or their inversion, methods
to determine the change of properties during processes are
needed in order to calculate a compression or expansion
process. Lüdtke proposed an advanced model to estimate the
outlet (index 2) temperature (T2) and the polytropic head (y)
according to inlet (index 1) temperature (T1), inlet pressure (p1)
and outlet pressure (p2). As described in [20], he derived and
used for the compression approach the following parameters:
• Isentropic volume exponent kv:
v  ∂p  (1)
kv = −  
p  ∂v  s
ηp =
p1
(5)
h 2 − h1
Using these definitions, the following expressions can be
derived:
• Polytropic head yp:
n v  nv 
n v −1
y p = Z1 RT1 Π − 1 (6)
n v − 1  
• Outlet Temperature T2:
n T −1
T2 = T1Π nT (7)
where the pressure ratio Π is given by Π = p 2 p1 . In order to
make full use of this approach, TDT divides every compression
partial process (or expansion process) into multiple substeps
and performs for each one the above given relations.
HBC THERMODYNAMIC PROCESS STUDY
Process Study
Three kinds of process configurations for closed Brayton
cycles are calculated thermodynamically with a variation of the
pressure levels and are presented in this chapter. The simplest
of the calculated cycles is schematically shown in Figure 2.
The cycle in Figure 2 consists of one compression and one
expansion unit (1C-1T). The turbine exhaust flow (5) streams
through a recuperator, where it is used to preheat the
compressor outlet (2) before it enters the solar receiver (3). The
cycle is operated as a closed cycle, so that it is necessary to
cool down the helium after the recuperator (6) to compressor
inlet conditions (1). The cooler can be operated as a dry cooling
system, so that the water consumption of the cycle can be
minimized. The compressor inlet temperature is 303.15 K and
the pressure ratio is 2.53. The compressor inlet temperature has
been set higher than the ISO standard conditions, so that the
calculations take into account, that ambient temperatures in
regions of high solar radiation are typically higher than the ISO
standard temperature of 288.15 K. However, in further

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 investigations the influence of the compressor inlet temperature
on the cycle performance shall be analyzed. The mentioned
boundary conditions are constant for all cycles that have been
calculated within the process configuration study.
1C 1T G Helium Brayton Cycle, as it is shown in the T-s-diagram in
4
1 2
5 compensate the pressure loss in the intercooler, each
Receiver
Cooler
6 the first compressor unit (2) is cooled down again to an inlet
Solar
Recuperator Field
3
Figure 2: Flow scheme 1C-1T
The turbine inlet temperature is also selected as a constant
boundary condition and set to 900 °C. This assumes a solar
receiver outlet temperature of more than 900 °C. At present
state of this study, consideration of the heat losses inside the
tower as well as between receiver outlet and turbine inlet is
difficult, due to their strong dependency on the detailed
construction of the tower and the duct system. In case of a best
practice design, only a minor influence of theses losses on the
thermal efficiency is expected, so that they are yet not taken
into account.
The turbine pressure ratio is constrained to the closed
Brayton cycle and calculated with TDT. For all calculations
within the process configuration study, the compressor units are
calculated with a static polytropic efficiency of 86 % and the
turbines with an efficiency of 89 %. In all heat exchangers
(cooler, recuperator, receiver) a pressure loss of 2 % is
considered.
The 1C-1T-cycle is calculated once with a compressor inlet
pressure of 1.5 bars and once with 5.9 bars. Within this simple
cycle high thermal efficiencies are reached in spite of a
conservative consideration of component efficiencies and
pressure loss in heat exchangers. For a compressor inlet
pressure of 1.5 bars, a thermal efficiency of 43.02 % is
calculated. Increasing the inlet pressure to 5.9 bar results in a
thermal efficiency of 42.97 %. The thermal efficiency of the
process is defined by:
PT + PC
η th =
QR
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where PT is the calculated power of the turbine, PC the power
consumption of the compressor and QR the transferred thermal
heat of the receiver to the cycle.
Within a wide pressure and temperature range helium can
be considered as an ideal gas due to its nearly constant gas
properties. Thus, the selection of the process pressure level has
negligible influence on the thermal efficiency of the closed
Annex 1.
To increase the efficiency, the compression is split in two
compressor units with an interstage cooling (see Figure 3). To
compressor unit has a pressure ratio of 1.6. Thus, the entire
pressure ratio is also 2.53. All other values are the same as in
the 1C-1T calculation. Within the intercooler the outlet flow of
temperature of 303.15 K for the second compressor unit (3).
Intercooler
2 3
1C 2C 1T G
1 6
4
Receiver
7
Cooler
8
Solar
Field
Recuperator
5
Figure 3: Flow scheme 2C-1T
The efficiency of the adjusted cycle is 46.67 % at a
compressor inlet pressure of 1.5 bars. Thus, by implementation
of one intercooler an improvement of the thermal cycle of
3.5 %pts can be reached.
A calculation for a pressure level of 5.9 bars has also been
performed within TDT and generates a thermal efficiency of
46.63 %. Again, due to the gas properties of helium, a
modification of the pressure level results in nearly identical
process efficiencies (cf. Annex 2).
Helium compressors need a large number of stages for just a
small pressure ratio, as it is presented later in this paper. Thus,
an additional split of the compression would result in a third
(8) multistage compressor. Furthermore, a second split generates an
additional improvement of the cycle of only 0.51 %pts. Thus,
with respect to practicability and cost effectiveness, another
split of the compression section is not favorable.
5 Copyright © 2012 by ASME
 A further possibility to increase the thermal efficiency is to the cycle efficiency, although the turbine efficiency is assumed
split the expansion process and include a sequential heating to be higher than the compressor efficiency.
(see Figure 4).
0,48

Receiver

Thermal Efficiency [-]

0,47
Solar 8
2 3
Field 7

0,46

1C 2C 1T 2T G

1 4 6 0,45
0,83 0,84 0,85 0,86 0,87 0,88 0,89 0,90 0,91 0,92
Receiver
Cooler 9
Component Polytropic Efficiency [-]

Solar Variation Compressor by constant Turbine

10 Variation Turbine by constant Compressors

Field reference values
Recuperator
Figure 5: Sensitivity analysis on the influence of
different polytropic efficiencies
5
To determine the full range of thermal efficiencies, a
calculation of the best and the worst combination of polytropic
Figure 4: Flow Scheme HBC 2C-2T
efficiencies has been performed. Thus, the outcome is a range
For the 2C-2T process, shown in Figure 4, the calculated from 45.37 % to 48.29 % for the Helium Brayton Cycle.
thermal efficiency is 49.24 % at a pressure level of 1.5 bars.
The pressure ratio of the two turbines in this process is 0.9 %
0,55
lower than in process 1C-1T and 2C-1T, due to the additional
pressure losses in the second receiver. However, such an
Thermal Efficiency [-]

upgrade results in an improvement of the thermal cycle 0,50

efficiency of 2.51 %pts.
In spite of the mentioned improvement, a sequential heating 0,45
is not recommended. A second heating requires a second
expensive receiver aperture, as well as a second duct system for
hot gas inside the tower. Thus, a split of the expansion section 0,40

would require additional high economical costs, which are out

of proportion to the benefit of 2.51 %pts. 0,35
By comparison of the three reported cycles, the 2C-1T-cycle 650 700 750 800 850 900 950 1000 1050

should be preferred for a Helium Brayton Cycle. The choice of
the compressor inlet pressure is 1.5 bars and so the maximum
pressure of the cycle is 3.8 bars. The selection of the lower
pressure level is a result of the design consideration, as
discussed later.
Sensitivity analysis by variation of polytropic efficiencies
The selected cycle has been calculated with polytropic
efficiencies of 86 % and 89 % for the compressors and the
turbine, respectively. These values are assumptions, based on
experiences and not given by existing machines. To show the
influences of different polytropic efficiencies, calculations of
the 2C-1T-cycle are done by variations of the polytropic
efficiencies of +/- 2 %. Once the compressor efficiency is
varied by holding the turbine efficiency constant and once
conversely. The results are shown in Figure 5. It can be seen
that the change of turbine efficiency has a higher influence on
Inlet Temperature [°C]
Figure 6: Sensitivity analysis on the influence of the
turbine inlet temperature
Sensitivity analysis by variation of the turbine inlet temperature
The thermal efficiency of the closed HBC is directly
addicted to the turbine inlet temperature. In all previous
calculations a permanent turbine inlet temperature of 900 °C
was considered. To show the influence of the inlet temperature,
the thermal efficiencies for an inlet temperature range from
700 °C to 1000 °C are given in Figure 6. The variation of the
inlet temperature has been performed for polytropic efficiencies
of 86 % and 89 % for the compressors and the turbine,
respectively. As it can be seen in Figure 6, the calculated
temperature range results in a thermal efficiency span of more
than 10 %pts. Thus, the thermal efficiency of the closed cycle is

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 basically dominated by the turbine inlet temperature and cm
ϕ = (10)
consequently by the outlet temperature of the receiver.
u
where u is the circumferential velocity of the blade outlet, cm
DESIGN CONSIDERATION OF COMPRESSOR AND the velocity of the flow in the meridian section and ∆h the
TURBINE UNITS difference of the specific enthalpy between outlet and inlet of
This section gives an overview on a first concept of a the stage. The range of the characteristic parameters for each
compressor and turbine design. A simple 1D design approach unit is given in Table 1.
has been applied to show the practicability of the previously In Table 2 the maximum and minimum length of the blades
described thermodynamic considerations. The thermodynamic of the first and last stage of each compressor and turbine unit is
calculations have shown that a cycle with two compression shown. The final contours of all units are shown in Figure 7, 8
processes and one expansion process at a pressure ratio of 2.53 and 9. There, the diameters of the casing and the hub are given
is preferred for a Helium Brayton Cycle. for every stage.
Table 1: Range of stage load
Compressor 1
Compressor 1 Compressor 2 Turbine
0.6418 0.7495 2.5091 1,24
ψh 0.6180 0.5340 2.2512 1,22

0.6600 0.6689 0.5558 1,20

Diameter [m]
ϕ
0.6147 0.5956 0.4771 1,18 hub
1,16 casing

1,14
Table 2: Blade size 1,12

Compressor 1 Compressor 2 Turbine 1,10

0 2 4 6 8 10
Max. (m) 0.050 0.050 0.113 Stage
Min. (m) 0.037 0.035 0.080
Figure 7: Contour of compressor 1
A first design draft of the two compressor units has been
done based on 1D machine characteristic parameters, which
have been evaluated by comparison with the Cordier diagram. Compressor 2

The characteristic parameters have been calculated with a 1,02

helium mass flow of 20 kg/s. For the compressor inlet pressure 1,00
of 5.9 bars and a rotational speed of 3000 rpm, this evaluation 0,98
Diameter [m]

showed that both compressor units would require to be 0,96 hub

constructed as multistage radial compressors with 5 to 8 stages. 0,94 casing
To achieve a conventional axial design for the two compressors 0,92
it is necessary to reduce the compressor inlet pressure to 0,90
1.5 bars, although this leads to larger diameters and even more 0,88
stages per compressor. Therefore, the rotational speed has been 0 5 10 15
increased to 6000 rpm, so that the number of stages could be Stage
reduced into the range of design experience. The increased
rotational speed leads to the necessity of using a gearbox, Figure 8: Contour of compressor 2
which is a small disadvantage with respect to the plant
efficiency. However, the application of a gearbox gives the
Turbine
additional advantage that the adaptation of the power plant to
different grid frequency can be achieved only by changing the 1,50

gearbox and without changing the compressors and the turbine. 1,45
The final 1D-design considerations result in a 9-stage
Diameter [m]

1,40
compressor as the first compressor unit and in a 14-stage hub
1,35
compressor as the second. The turbine unit is considered as an casing
1,30
8-stage axial turbine. These numbers of stages is comparable to
the designs for nuclear applications (see [13 – 15]). 1,25

The load of each stage is characterized by the characteristic 1,20

parameters: 0 2 4 6 8 10
Stage
∆h (9)
ψh = 2 1
u 2 Figure 9: Contour of the turbine

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 For the design helium mass flow of 20 kg/s the turbine
power output is 33.1 MW. The amount of power consumption
of both compressors together is 15.4 MW, so that a shaft power
of 17.7 MW for the Helium Brayton Cycle at a thermal
efficiency of 46.67 % can be reached at the theoretical design
point.
EXTENSION OF THE HBC TO AN ENTIRE CSP PLANT
In the Table 3, the efficiencies of the additionally required
components for an entire CSP plant are summarized. The
values have been selected based on published data from other
researchers and on the knowledge about the existing
components for the power range investigated in this study. With
theses component efficiencies, an overall efficiency, i.e. solar-
to-electric efficiency, of 21.18 % for the entire CSP plant can be
expected. If as an example, using the same component
efficiencies for the SOLUGAS project with an expected
thermal efficiency of 38.5 % yields in an overall efficiency of
17.46 %. This indicates that the HBC has the potential to
exceed the performance of current CSP projects.
Unit Efficiency
Gear 98 %
Generator 99 %
Solar Receiver 85 %
Heliostat Field 55 %
Table 3: Assumptions for CSP plant component’s
efficiencies
CONCLUSIONS
Different process configurations of closed Helium Brayton
Cycles have been calculated thermodynamically for an
implementation in a power plant based on Concentrated Solar
Power technology. It has been shown, that thermal efficiencies
of the HBC of more than 46 % can be reached by
implementation of one intercooler and splitting the compression
into two units. Based on the thermodynamic calculations, a 1D
design consideration has been performed and the basic
parameters have been determined. For a CSP plant using this
closed Helium Brayton Cycle a solar-to-electric efficiency of
more than 21 % can be expected.
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8 Copyright © 2012 by ASME
 ANNEX

Annex 1: 1C-1T T-s-diagram

Annex 2: 2C-1T T-s-diagram

9 Copyright © 2012 by ASME

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