Thermodynamic feasibility of alternative supercritical CO2 Brayton cycles integrated with an ejector

Supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle has emerged as an alternative power block for Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) systems and nuclear plants. In order to optimise the thermal performance of the Supercritical CO2 Brayton cycles, a combination of high pressure and temperature are required. The high pressure of the S-CO2 Brayton cycles has a remarkable effect on not only the thermal performance of the cycle but also the thermodynamic and mechanical performance of the solar receiver. In this paper, three S-CO2 Brayton cycle configurations without reheat are proposed by introducing an ejector prior the heater, which reduces the pressure at the solar receiver.