Multi-coupling liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of clean energy power generation and energy storage, and particularly relates to a multi-coupling liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system. The system comprises a liquid metal reactor module, a photo-thermal system module, a liquid metal energy storage module and an energy conversion module, the liquid metal reactor module is a core base load energy source of the system; the photo-thermal system module is used as peak regulation and supplementary energy; the liquid metal energy storage module serves as a shared energy storage unit of the nuclear energy and photo-thermal system. The problems that nuclear energy peak regulation flexibility is poor, photo-thermal power generation is intermittent, and a traditional molten salt system is limited in high-temperature performance and slow in response can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of clean energy power generation and energy storage technology, and specifically relates to a multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system. Background Technology

[0002] Achieving the "dual-carbon" target requires the energy system to transition to a high proportion of renewable energy. However, the large-scale integration of fluctuating power sources such as wind and solar power poses a significant challenge to grid stability, necessitating flexible peak-shaving power sources. Currently, peak-shaving tasks are mainly undertaken by coal-fired and gas-fired power units, which contradicts emission reduction targets. Although nuclear power is a zero-carbon energy source, traditional nuclear power units are designed primarily for baseload operation, resulting in poor peak-shaving capabilities. Frequent load changes increase operational complexity and impact economic efficiency. Concentrated solar power (CSP) has its own thermal storage system and possesses good peak-shaving capabilities, but its power generation capacity is limited by solar radiation conditions, and it cannot operate at night or on cloudy days.

[0003] Existing concentrated solar power (CSP) plants generally use molten salt as the heat transfer and storage medium. However, molten salt suffers from decomposition and strong corrosiveness at high temperatures (typically exceeding 600°C), limiting further improvements in system efficiency. Furthermore, the low thermal conductivity of molten salt results in slow system start-up and load response.

[0004] Therefore, providing a zero-carbon energy system that can simultaneously provide stable base load power, has rapid response and peak-shaving capabilities, and is more efficient and reliable has become an urgent technical problem to be solved in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem solved by this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system to solve the problems of poor flexibility in peak shaving of nuclear energy, intermittent solar thermal power generation, and the limited high-temperature performance and slow response of traditional molten salt systems.

[0006] The technical solution adopted in this invention is as follows:

[0007] A multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system includes a liquid metal reactor module, a solar thermal system module, a liquid metal energy storage module, and an energy conversion module; the liquid metal reactor module is the core baseload energy of the system; the solar thermal system module serves as peak shaving and supplementary energy; and the liquid metal energy storage module serves as a shared energy storage unit for both nuclear energy and solar thermal systems.

[0008] The reactor module is connected to the hot fluid inlet of the liquid metal energy storage module via a third pipeline; the outlet of the reactor module is connected to the outlet of the liquid metal energy storage module via a fourth pipeline.

[0009] The inlet of the solar thermal system module is connected to the hot fluid inlet of the liquid metal energy storage module through the fifth pipeline; the outlet of the solar thermal system module is connected to the outlet of the liquid metal energy storage module through the sixth pipeline.

[0010] The hot end outlet of the secondary side of the reactor module and the hot end outlet of the secondary side of the photothermal system module are both connected to the heat source inlet of the energy conversion module.

[0011] The liquid metal reactor module includes a pool-type container, a reactor core placed therein, in-core components, a first steam generator, and a submerged liquid metal electromagnetic pump. The in-core components create a certain flow channel in the pool-type container, allowing liquid metal to flow from top to bottom through the reactor core, be heated, enter the bottom lower chamber, and then flow upward through the first steam generator to release heat. Finally, the liquid metal is sent back to the top of the reactor core by the submerged liquid metal electromagnetic pump.

[0012] The solar thermal system module includes a concentrating collector, a second steam generator, and a liquid metal driven pump. The outlet of the concentrating collector is connected to the inlet of the second steam generator through a first pipe, and the outlet of the liquid metal driven pump is connected to the inlet of the concentrating collector through a second pipe. The cold fluid is heated by the concentrating collector and then enters the second steam generator, then enters the liquid metal driven pump and returns to the concentrating collector, forming one cycle.

[0013] The liquid metal energy storage module includes a single-tank thermal storage unit and an energy storage drive pump. The single-tank thermal storage unit is divided into a hot fluid zone and a cold fluid zone through temperature stratification, and is provided with a hot fluid inlet and a cold fluid outlet. The cold fluid outlet is connected to the inlet of the energy storage drive pump.

[0014] It also includes a central control system, which is communicatively connected to the valve group, reactor module, solar thermal system module and power grid load monitoring system, and is used to automatically switch the system's operating mode according to real-time power grid load demand commands.

[0015] The energy conversion module is either a Rankine cycle power generation system or a Brayton power generation system.

[0016] The first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth pipelines are all equipped with valve groups to control the on / off state and flow rate.

[0017] The pool-type container is made of low-carbon austenitic stainless steel and covered with high-purity argon protective gas. The reactor core uses metallic fuel or oxide fuel and is located at the center of the pool-type container, immersed in liquid sodium.

[0018] The first steam generator is a sleeve-type evaporator; the liquid metal electromagnetic pump is a sealless submersible electromagnetic induction pump.

[0019] The solar thermal system module is a tower-type concentrating system, and the concentrating collector is a cavity-type absorber arranged at the top of the tower. The absorber is made of high-temperature resistant nickel-based alloy tubes. The second heat exchanger is a printed circuit board type heat exchanger.

[0020] The top of the single-tank thermal storage tank is equipped with a hot fluid inlet, which uses a porous diffuser to allow the incoming high-temperature sodium to enter the hot zone slowly and evenly, avoiding severe erosion of the stratification interface. The upper part of the single-tank thermal storage tank is equipped with a hot fluid outlet, which also uses a diffuser structure to steadily extract high-temperature sodium. The bottom of the single-tank thermal storage tank is equipped with a cold fluid inlet to ensure that the incoming cold sodium enters the cold zone from the bottom. The very bottom of the single-tank thermal storage tank is equipped with a cold fluid outlet for extracting the lowest temperature sodium.

[0021] The energy conversion module mainly includes an sCO2 turbine, a compressor, a regenerator, a precooler, and a generator.

[0022] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0023] (1) The present invention provides a multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system with extremely high peak-shaving flexibility: through the complementarity of nuclear energy and solar thermal energy and the coupling of shared energy storage, the system can flexibly operate in multiple modes (nuclear energy as the main power supply, solar thermal energy as the main power supply, hybrid power supply, and energy storage discharge) according to the grid demand, which perfectly solves the problems of nuclear energy "unwilling to shave peaks" and solar thermal energy "unable to continuously shave peaks", and becomes an ideal zero-carbon peak-shaving power source.

[0024] (2) The multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system provided by this invention has high energy utilization and economy: excess heat from the reactor and photothermal system can be stored instead of wasted, and the stored heat can also be used for reactor preheating, reducing start-up energy consumption. Sharing a single energy storage system reduces equipment investment and floor space.

[0025] (3) The present invention provides a multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system with superior system performance: using liquid metal as the working fluid, its high thermal conductivity greatly improves the heat transfer efficiency and the system's response speed to load changes; its wide temperature range and high temperature stability allow the system to operate at higher temperatures, thereby improving power generation efficiency.

[0026] (4) The multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system provided by the present invention has high reliability: the primary circuit main pump adopts an electromagnetic pump without rotating parts, which greatly reduces the failure points and improves the inherent safety and maintainability of the system.

[0027] (5) The present invention provides a multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system that is completely green and zero carbon: the entire system does not require fossil fuels and achieves zero carbon emissions in the power generation process, which is in line with the future energy development direction.

[0028] (6) The present invention provides a multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system that efficiently couples the nuclear reactor loop, the photothermal heat collection loop and the energy storage loop through the pipeline and valve system, thereby realizing the photothermal complementarity of nuclear energy and solar energy.

[0029] (7) The present invention provides a multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system, which utilizes the characteristics of high thermal conductivity, wide operating temperature range and chemical stability of liquid metal to solve the problems of easy decomposition at high temperature and slow response speed of traditional molten salt system, and significantly improves the system’s flexibility, response speed and compactness in power grid load regulation.

[0030] (8) The present invention provides a multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system that can flexibly switch between nuclear power main supply, solar thermal power main supply or hybrid power supply mode according to the grid demand, and can store excess energy for subsequent power generation or reactor preheating. It effectively overcomes the defects of poor peak-shaving capability of nuclear power and intermittent solar thermal power generation. It is an efficient, stable and zero-carbon baseload and peak-shaving power supply solution. Attached Figure Description

[0031] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in describing the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments recorded in the present invention. Those skilled in the art can derive other drawings from the following drawings without any creative effort.

[0032] Figure 1 This invention provides a schematic diagram of a multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system.

[0033] In the diagram: 1. Pool container; 2. Core; 3. First steam generator or heat exchanger; 4. Submersible liquid metal electromagnetic pump; 5. In-core components; 6. Single-tank thermal storage tank; 7. Energy storage drive pump; 8. Liquid metal drive pump; 9. Second steam generator or heat exchanger; 10. Concentrating solar collector. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0035] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., refer to the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0036] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or a connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0037] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system, which mainly consists of four modules organically coupled through pipelines and valve groups. This embodiment uses metallic sodium as the primary loop and heat storage medium, and the system is designed with a thermal power of 100 MWe; however, the present invention is not limited to this scale.

[0038] Specifically, it includes a liquid metal reactor module, a solar thermal system module, a liquid metal energy storage module, and an energy conversion module; the liquid metal reactor module is the core baseload energy source of the system; the solar thermal system module serves as peak-shaving and supplementary energy; and the liquid metal energy storage module serves as a shared energy storage unit for both nuclear energy and the solar thermal system.

[0039] The liquid metal reactor module includes a pool container 1, a reactor core 2 placed therein, in-core components, a first steam generator 3, and a submerged liquid metal electromagnetic pump 4. The in-core components form a certain flow channel in the pool container 1, so that the liquid metal flows from top to bottom through the reactor core 2, is heated, enters the bottom lower chamber, flips and flows upward through the first steam generator 3 to release heat, and is then sent back to the top of the reactor core 2 by the submerged liquid metal electromagnetic pump 4.

[0040] The solar thermal system module includes a concentrating collector 10, a second steam generator 9, a liquid metal driven pump 8, pipes, and corresponding valves. The outlet of the concentrating collector 10 is connected to the inlet of the second steam generator 9 through a first pipe, and the outlet of the liquid metal driven pump 8 is connected to the inlet of the concentrating collector 10 through a second pipe. The cold fluid is heated by the concentrating collector 10 and then enters the second steam generator 9, then enters the liquid metal driven pump 8 and returns to the concentrating collector 10, forming one cycle.

[0041] The liquid metal energy storage module includes a single-tank thermal storage unit 6, an energy storage drive pump 7, pipelines and corresponding valves. The single-tank thermal storage unit 6 is divided into a hot fluid zone and a cold fluid zone through temperature stratification, and is provided with a hot fluid inlet and a cold fluid outlet. The cold fluid outlet is connected to the inlet of the energy storage drive pump 7.

[0042] The energy conversion module is a Rankine cycle power generation system or a Brayton power generation system;

[0043] The lower chamber of the pool-type vessel 1 of the reactor module is connected to the hot fluid inlet of the single-tank thermal accumulator 6 of the liquid metal energy storage module through a third pipeline; the outlet of the submerged liquid metal electromagnetic pump 4 of the reactor module is connected to the outlet of the energy storage drive pump 7 of the liquid metal energy storage module through a fourth pipeline.

[0044] The inlet of the second steam generator 9 of the solar thermal system module is connected to the hot fluid inlet of the single-tank thermal storage unit 6 of the liquid metal energy storage module through the fifth pipeline; the outlet of the liquid metal drive pump 8 of the solar thermal system module is connected to the outlet of the energy storage drive pump 7 of the liquid metal energy storage module through the sixth pipeline.

[0045] The hot end outlet of the secondary side of the first steam generator 3 of the reactor module and the hot end outlet of the secondary side of the second steam generator 9 of the solar thermal system module are both connected to the heat source inlet of the energy conversion module.

[0046] It also includes a central control system, which is communicatively connected to the valve group, reactor module, solar thermal system module and power grid load monitoring system, and is used to automatically switch the system's operating mode according to real-time power grid load demand commands.

[0047] The first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth pipelines are all equipped with valve groups to control the on / off state and flow rate.

[0048] The system can operate as an isolated power source or be connected to the regional power grid to provide baseload power and peak-shaving power.

[0049] The pool-type container 1 is made of low-carbon austenitic stainless steel and its design must comply with ASME B&PV Code Section III NB / NC standards. The container is designed for atmospheric pressure and is covered with a high-purity argon protective gas to prevent sodium from contacting air.

[0050] Core 2 uses either metallic fuel (U-Pu-Zr) or oxide fuel (UO2) and has a cylindrical structure with a designed thermal power of 250 MWth. Core 2 is located at the center of the pool vessel 1 and is submerged in liquid sodium. The internal components include the core support structure, radial reflector, and upper internal swivel, which together form a clear primary sodium flow path: cold sodium at 350°C is driven by a submerged liquid metallic electromagnetic pump 5, flowing in from the top of Core 2, forced downward through the fuel assembly channels, and heated to 550°C. This top-down flow design enhances the natural circulation capability in the event of coolant loss of flow. It also reduces the large temperature difference between the top cover gas and the liquid sodium in the pool vessel, avoiding significant thermal stress on the sidewalls of the pool vessel.

[0051] High-temperature sodium flows into the lower chamber at the bottom of the pool. The lower chamber ensures uniform mixing and diversion of the fluid. Subsequently, the sodium flow flips upward and flows through the microchannel compact heat exchanger 3. On the primary sodium side, the sodium undergoes efficient heat exchange with the flow within the rectangular channel, transferring heat to supercritical carbon dioxide or helium on the other side of the microchannel, while its own temperature drops to approximately 350°C. After cooling, the sodium flow converges again and is drawn in and pressurized by the liquid metal electromagnetic pump 5, then sent back to the top inlet of the core 2, completing a closed loop.

[0052] In another embodiment, the first steam generator 3 is a sleeve-type evaporator. On the primary sodium side, sodium laterally washes the tube bundle outside the tube, transferring heat to the water or organic working fluid flowing inside the tube, and its own temperature drops to about 350°C.

[0053] The liquid metal electromagnetic pump 5 is a seal-free submersible electromagnetic induction pump (EMP). Its operation is based on Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction, where a current-carrying conductor experiences a force in a magnetic field. This pump has no rotating mechanical parts, completely eliminating shaft seal leakage, a major risk point in the sodium circuit, and greatly improving reliability and maintainability. The pump's flow rate can be steplessly adjusted by regulating the input current.

[0054] The solar thermal system module is preferably a tower-type concentrating system. The concentrating collector 10 is a cavity-type receiver located at the top of the tower, and the receiver is made of high-temperature resistant nickel-based alloy tubing. Liquid sodium flows inside the tubing and is heated to 700°C by sunlight focused by the heliostat field. The liquid metal drive pump 8 is also an electromagnetic pump, which pumps liquid sodium at approximately 300°C from the single-tank thermal storage tank 6 of the liquid metal energy storage module into the concentrating collector 10. The heated high-temperature sodium then flows into the second steam generator 9.

[0055] The second heat exchanger 9 is a printed circuit board heat exchanger (PCHE), which is highly compact and has strong pressure resistance. Here, high-temperature sodium transfers heat to supercritical carbon dioxide. After cooling, it returns to the concentrating solar collector 10. The entire solar thermal circuit operates under a slightly positive pressure inert gas protection.

[0056] In another embodiment, the second steam generator 9 is a spiral coil heat exchanger with high compactness, where high-temperature sodium transfers heat to water or an organic working fluid.

[0057] The single-tank thermal storage tank 6 is made of the same material as the reactor vessel 1. The tank is approximately 25 meters high and 15 meters in diameter. It does not have physical partitions inside; thermodynamic stratification is achieved by relying on the sensible heat of sodium and the characteristic of its density changing with temperature (ρ = 10¹⁰ - 0.220 * T (kg / m³), where T is degrees Celsius).

[0058] The density of high-temperature sodium (~550℃) is about 858 kg / m3, and the density of low-temperature sodium (~300℃) is about 944 kg / m3. The huge density difference causes the high-temperature fluid to naturally be located in the upper part of the single-tank heat storage tank 6 to form a hot fluid zone, while the low-temperature fluid is located in the lower part to form a cold fluid zone.

[0059] The single-tank thermal storage tank 6 has a hot fluid inlet at the top, which uses a porous diffuser to allow the high-temperature sodium to flow in slowly and evenly into the hot zone, avoiding severe erosion of the stratification interface. The single-tank thermal storage tank 6 also has a hot fluid outlet at the top, which uses a diffuser structure to smoothly extract high-temperature sodium. The single-tank thermal storage tank 6 has a cold fluid inlet at the bottom to ensure that the cold sodium flows in from the bottom into the cold zone. The single-tank thermal storage tank 6 has a cold fluid outlet at the very bottom for extracting the lowest temperature sodium.

[0060] During a typical operating cycle, the thermal stratification interface of a single-tank thermal storage unit 6 will move up and down. By monitoring the temperature sensors at different heights of the tank, the real-time heat storage can be accurately calculated.

[0061] Given that both the reactor and the solar thermal system can provide high-temperature heat sources of 550°C, this embodiment preferably uses a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) Brayton cycle as the energy conversion module. The sCO2 cycle is more efficient than the steam Rankine cycle in the temperature range above 550°C, and the system is compact, making it more suitable for peak-shaving operation with frequent changes in operating conditions.

[0062] The energy conversion module mainly includes a CO2 turbine, a compressor, a regenerator, a precooler, and a generator. High-temperature CO2 working fluid (pressure ~20MPa, temperature ~500℃) flowing from the first heat exchanger 3, the second heat exchanger 9, or the hot fluid outlet drives the turbine to generate electricity. After the CO2 has done its work, it is cooled by the regenerator and precooler, then compressed by the compressor and preheated by the regenerator before re-entering the heat exchanger for reheating, completing the cycle.

[0063] Detailed control logic of system coupling and operating mode

[0064] The core of the system's intelligence lies in the flexible coupling of the aforementioned modules through valve assemblies and a central control system. The valve assembly includes gate valves and regulating valves, both designed for high temperatures.

[0065] The central control system receives grid dispatch instructions, real-time electricity price signals, solar radiation forecasts, reactor status parameters, and energy storage tank temperature field data, and executes the following optimized operation modes:

[0066] Mode 1: Baseload Operation (During Stable Grid Load Period)

[0067] Status: GLV2 and GLV5 valves are closed, and GLV1 and GLV4 valves are open.

[0068] Operation: The reactor has two operating modes: forced circulation with the submerged liquid metal electromagnetic pump activated, and natural circulation with the pump deactivated. During operation, most of the heat passing through the core is directly transferred to the sCO2 cycle for power generation via the first heat exchanger. Simultaneously, the energy storage drive pump of the energy storage module is activated to carry a small portion (e.g., 10-15%) of the heat from the core outlet into a single liquid metal tank for heat storage. The solar thermal system can operate at low power or be on standby as needed.

[0069] Objective: To operate the reactor with a base load while simultaneously storing energy for grid peak shaving.

[0070] Mode 2: Solar thermal power supply + charging (during peak electricity price periods, with ample sunshine)

[0071] Status: GLV1 and GLV4 valves are closed, and GLV2, GLV5, GLV3, and GLV6 valves are open.

[0072] Operation: The reactor power can be reduced to 50%. The solar thermal system operates at full power. A portion of the high-temperature sodium produced is used to generate electricity directly through the second heat exchanger. Simultaneously, the energy storage module's energy storage drive pump is activated to transfer heat from the collector outlet into a liquid metal single-tank thermal storage tank, maximizing the storage of solar energy.

[0073] Objective: To utilize free solar energy to meet peak demand, earn high electricity prices, and store energy.

[0074] Mode 3: Nuclear power as the main source of electricity + energy storage for discharge (during peak nighttime electricity price periods)

[0075] Status: GLV3 and GLV6 valves are closed, and GLV1, GLV2, GLV4, and GLV5 valves are open.

[0076] Operation: The reactor is restored to 100% power. Simultaneously, the energy storage drive pump is activated, pumping the high-temperature sodium stored in the single-tank thermal storage tank into the second heat exchanger of the sCO2 cycle, enabling it to generate electricity. At this time, the total heat input of the sCO2 cycle exceeds the rated value, and the power generation capacity can be temporarily overloaded to 110-120 MWe to meet peak nighttime demand.

[0077] Objective: To achieve "power enhancement" of nuclear power units and provide strong peak capacity.

[0078] Mode 4: Isolated Grid Operation / Reactor Shutdown Maintenance

[0079] Status: GLV1 and GLV4 valves are closed, and GLV2, GLV5, GLV3, and GLV6 valves are open.

[0080] Operation: During reactor shutdown for refueling or maintenance, the system relies entirely on the solar thermal system and individual thermal storage tanks for power. During the day, the solar thermal system generates electricity and charges the individual thermal storage tanks; at night or on cloudy days, the individual thermal storage tanks discharge to supply power. Furthermore, before a cold start-up of the reactor, GLV1 and GLV4 valves can be opened to activate the submersible liquid metal-driven pumps of the reactor modules. This pumps high-temperature sodium (e.g., 400°C) from the individual thermal storage tanks into pool-type containers, uniformly preheating the reactor core and internal components, significantly shortening start-up time, reducing thermal stress, and saving external energy required for start-up.

[0081] Objective: To ensure the continuity and reliability of energy supply and overcome the traditional drawback of uninterrupted nuclear power generation.

[0082] Safety and Maintenance

[0083] The entire primary loop system operates in an inert atmosphere, eliminating the risk of sodium fire. All sodium pipelines are equipped with double-walled pipes and leak detection systems. The use of electromagnetic pumps eliminates the risk of rotating component failure. Compared to a dual-tank system, the single-tank energy storage design reduces material costs and potential leak points. The system's modular design facilitates inspection and maintenance.

[0084] While those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that it can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention, the embodiments should be considered illustrative and non-limiting in all respects. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and therefore all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within the invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0085] Furthermore, it should be understood that although the present invention is described according to embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This way of describing the specification is only for clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system, comprising: The system comprises a liquid metal reactor module, a photo-thermal system module, a liquid metal energy storage module and an energy conversion module; the liquid metal reactor module is a core base load energy source of the system; the photo-thermal system module is used as a peak shaving and supplementary energy source; and the liquid metal energy storage module is used as a common energy storage unit of the nuclear energy and the photo-thermal system.

2. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 1, wherein, The reactor module is connected with a hot fluid inlet of the liquid metal energy storage module through a third pipeline; and an outlet of the reactor module is connected with an outlet of the liquid metal energy storage module through a fourth pipeline. An inlet of the photo-thermal system module is connected with the hot fluid inlet of the liquid metal energy storage module through a fifth pipeline; and an outlet of the photo-thermal system module is connected with the outlet of the liquid metal energy storage module through a sixth pipeline. A hot end outlet of a secondary side of the reactor module and a hot end outlet of a secondary side of the photo-thermal system module are connected with a heat source inlet of the energy conversion module.

3. The multi-coupled liquid metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 2, wherein, The liquid metal reactor module comprises a pool type container (1), a reactor core (2) arranged in the pool type container (1), an in-pile component (5), a first steam generator (3) and a submerged liquid metal electromagnetic pump (4); the in-pile component (5) forms a flow channel in the pool type container (1) so that the liquid metal flows from top to bottom through the reactor core (2) to be heated, enters a lower chamber at the bottom and flows upward through the first steam generator (3) to release heat, and is then sent back to a flow path at the top of the reactor core (2) by the submerged liquid metal electromagnetic pump (4).

4. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 3, wherein, The photo-thermal system module comprises a light condensing collector (10), a second steam generator (9) and a liquid metal driving pump (8); the outlet of the light condensing collector (10) is connected with the inlet of the second steam generator (9) through a first pipeline; the outlet of the liquid metal driving pump (8) is connected with the inlet of the light condensing collector (10) through a second pipeline; cold fluid is heated by the light condensing collector (10) and then enters the second steam generator (9), and then enters the liquid metal driving pump (8) to return to the light condensing collector (10), forming a primary circulation.

5. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 4, wherein, The liquid metal energy storage module comprises a single tank heat accumulator (6) and an energy storage driving pump (7); the single tank heat accumulator (6) is internally divided into a hot fluid area and a cold fluid area by temperature stratification, and is provided with a hot fluid inlet and a cold fluid outlet; the cold fluid outlet is connected with the inlet of the energy storage driving pump (7).

6. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 5, wherein, A central control system is further provided, which is in communication connection with the valve group, the reactor module, the photo-thermal system module and a power grid load monitoring system, and is used for automatically switching the operation mode of the system according to a real-time power grid load demand instruction.

7. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 6, wherein, The energy conversion module is a Rankine cycle power generation system or a Brayton power generation system.

8. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 7, wherein, Valve groups for controlling the on-off and flow rate are arranged on the first pipeline, the second pipeline, the third pipeline, the fourth pipeline, the fifth pipeline and the sixth pipeline.

9. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 8, wherein, The pool type container (1) is made of low-carbon austenitic stainless steel, and the upper part is covered with high-purity argon protective gas; the reactor core (2) adopts metal fuel or oxide fuel, and is arranged at the center of the pool type container (1) and immersed in liquid sodium.

10. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 9, wherein, The first steam generator (3) is a sleeve type evaporator; and the liquid metal electromagnetic pump (5) is a submerged electromagnetic induction pump without shaft seal.

11. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 10, wherein, The light-thermal system module is a tower type light condensing system, the light condensing collector (10) is a cavity type heat absorber arranged on the top of the tower, and the heat absorbing body is woven by a nickel-based alloy pipe with high temperature resistance; and the second heat exchanger (9) is a printed circuit board type heat exchanger.

12. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 11, wherein, The top of the single-tank heat accumulator (6) is provided with a hot fluid inlet, a porous diffuser is adopted, so that the inflowing high-temperature sodium slowly and uniformly enters the hot area, and violent scouring to the stratification interface is avoided; the upper portion of the single-tank heat accumulator (6) is provided with a hot fluid outlet, a diffuser structure is also adopted, so that the high-temperature sodium can be smoothly extracted; the bottom of the single-tank heat accumulator (6) is provided with a cold fluid inlet, so as to ensure that the inflowing cold sodium enters the cold area from the bottom; and the bottommost portion of the single-tank heat accumulator (6) is provided with a cold fluid outlet for extracting the lowest-temperature sodium.

13. The multiple-coupling liquid-metal thermoelectric conversion system of claim 12, wherein, The energy conversion module mainly comprises an sCO2 turbine, a compressor, a regenerator, a precooler and a generator.

Images