# Research on Integrated Modularization of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide System for Aircraft Carrier Nuclear Power

## TL;DR

This paper proposes a new nuclear-powered energy system for aircraft carriers using supercritical carbon dioxide, which is more efficient and compact than traditional systems.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is an integrated modular supercritical CO2 system for aircraft carrier nuclear power, optimized for thermodynamic, economic, and compactness performance.

## Key findings

- The system achieves an exergy efficiency of 45%.
- The system has a heat transfer area per unit power output of 0.168 m² kW⁻¹.
- The levelized energy cost is 2.1 cents/(kW·h).

## Abstract

This paper innovatively presents an integrated nuclear-powered supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) system for aircraft carriers, replacing the conventional secondary-loop steam Rankine cycle with a regenerative S-CO2 power cycle. The system comprises two modules: a nuclear reactor module and a S-CO2 power module. Comprehensive thermodynamic, economic, and compactness analyses were conducted, using exergy efficiency, levelized energy cost (LEC), and heat transfer area per unit power output (APR) as objective functions for optimization. Parameter analysis revealed the influence of key operating parameters on system performance, and a multi-objective optimization approach based on genetic algorithms was employed to determine optimal system parameters. The results indicate that the system achieves an exergy efficiency of 45%, an APR of 0.168 m2 kW−1, and an LEC of 2.1 cents/(kW·h). This high compactness, combined with superior thermodynamic and economic performance, underscores the feasibility of the S-CO2 system for integration into nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, offering significant potential to enhance their overall performance and operational efficiency.