空间堆氦氙布雷顿循环研究进展

Advances in the Study of He-Xe Brayton Cycle in Space Reactors

氦氙混合物为工质的布雷顿循环具有循环效率高、系统结构紧凑、化学稳定性好等优势,适合作为空间核反应堆的能量转换系统。在深入调研空间堆氦氙布雷顿循环发展历史和国内外研究进展的基础上,对其关键技术问题和重点研究方向的相关研究进展进行了综述,发现主要研究方向包括氦氙混合物工质特性、氦氙布雷顿循环关键部件、循环性能提升、循环动态特性及控制策略等方面;而有待继续深入研究的关键技术问题包括不同比例氦氙工质的高精度物性及流动传热模型、高性能叶轮及高效紧凑式换热器设计及试验、不同功率等级下系统全工况优化、耦合反应堆的系统全局动态特性及控制策略等。分析结果可为推动空间堆氦氙布雷顿循环技术发展提供参考。

The Brayton cycle with He-Xe mixture as the working medium has many advantages,including high cycle efficiency,compact system structure,and good chemical stability,making it suitable for energy conversion systems in space nuclear reactors.This paper reviews the development history and research progress of the He-Xe Brayton cycle in space reactors and summarizes the research progress of key technical problems and key research directions.The current research mainly focuses on the characteristics of He-Xe mixture working medium,the key components of the He-Xe Brayton cycle,the performance improvement of the cycle,and the dynamic characteristics and control strategy of the cycle.The key technical issues to be further investigated include high precision physical properties and flow heat transfer modeling of helium-xenon working medium with different helium-xenon ratios,the design and testing of high-performance impellers and high-efficiency compact heat exchangers,optimization of the whole working condition of the system under different power levels,and the global dynamic characteristics and control strategy of the coupled reactor system.The analysis results provide a reference for advancing the development of the He-Xe Brayton cycle in space reactors.