Advanced Modeling of Thermodynamic Cycles of Nuclear Power Plants

Advanced Modeling of Thermodynamic Cycles of Nuclear Power Plants offers a comprehensive resource on Thermodynamic Cycles of Nuclear Power Plants (TCNPPs) modeling and provides detailed studies of TCNPPs for current and emerging reactors, including Small Modular Reactors.

After covering reactor physics and operating principles, this book examines water‑steam cycles using advanced tools like the pinch method and exergy balances to optimize performance. Subsequent chapters cover gas turbine and supercritical CO2 cycles, combined cycles, and nuclear applications, including desalination, hydrogen production, and cogeneration installations achieving superior efficiencies. Using Thermoptim software’s systemic modeling approach, readers can accurately represent nuclear energy system peculiarities.

This book will benefit mechanical, nuclear, and energy engineering researchers, professionals and graduate students in the fields of applied thermodynamics, nuclear power plants, and energy systems.

Renaud Gicquel served as a Full Professor and later a Distinguished Professor at PSL University, France, directing its Centre for Energy Studies (1987–2004). A graduate of École des Mines de Paris, France, with a doctorate from Paris VI University, France, Dr. Gicquel’s passion for integrating technology with thermodynamics education led him to develop Thermoptim, an innovative software widely used for energy system simulation and teaching, and he is the author of over 80 papers and three books. He has also created three MOOCs, democratizing access to advanced energy concepts globally. Dr. Gicquel’s career spans numerous notable international roles: Special Assistant to the UN Secretary General for the Conference on New and Renewable Energy Sources (1980), senior positions at France’s Ministry for Research and the National and CNRS, and co‑founding the Mediterranean Energy Observatory (1986).