Chinese helium turbine test facility completes hot testing

The helium turbine comprehensive performance test bench is a closed-loop Brayton cycle heat-work conversion system with helium as the core working medium.

The Brayton cycle is a thermodynamic cycle that models the workings of gas turbine engines and jet engines, consisting of four main processes: isentropic compression, constant-pressure heat addition, isentropic expansion, and constant-pressure heat rejection. It functions by drawing in and pressurising a gas, heating it, expanding it to do work, and cooling it back down. In a closed-loop Brayton cycle, a clean working fluid (such as helium) stays trapped inside a loop and is cooled and reheated using external heat exchangers.

"This test marks the first time in China that a high-power turbine has been driven by pure helium as the working fluid to achieve power generation, signifying a decisive step forward for China in the field of core power equipment for gas-cooled microreactors, moving from theoretical verification to engineering demonstration," CNNC said.

It added: "The project team, demonstrating a spirit of overcoming difficulties, scientifically arranged construction procedures and completed the installation of the entire test bench system with high quality, laying a solid hardware foundation for the smooth conduct of cold, hot, and power generation tests by the research group."

In December 2023, the demonstration High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor - Pebble-bed Module (HTR-PM) in Shidao Bay (also known as Shidaowan) in China entered commercial operation. The HTR-PM features two small reactors that drive a single 210 MWe steam turbine.