Abstract
Dual-pressure steam cycles like those developed for the Calder Hall power station are being employed for the early British civil nuclear power stations. Subsequent developments in fuel element design and pressure vessel technology have led to the adoption of higher reactor-gas inlet as well as gas outlet temperatures in the stations which are still (1963) under construction. However, straightforward dual-pressure steam cycles for these gas temperatures give excessive moisture levels in the low-pressure stages of the steam turbines. There are a number of methods of modifying the steam cycle to produce more acceptable conditions in the turbine low-pressure cylinder, and these are considered in the paper, both from the aspect of the problems of plant design and cycle efficiency. For the analysis a single gas-temperature line—boiler inlet 775°F and boiler outlet 475°F—is used and the alternative approaches are discussed in terms of this gas line.
A short section considers steam-cycle problems of other reactor systems.
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