Study of the thermodynamic system calculations for the secondary circuit of a pressurized water reactor

In the light of the specific features of the secondary circuit of a PWR (pressurized water reactor) nuclear power plant, a conception is proposed of the most simplified thermodynamic system of a PWR secondary circuit. Through a method based on the steam share to be determined and the iteration of programming cycles, calculations were performed of the shares of steam extracted at the various stages of the above system and of the positive and negative thermal balance. On this basis and after a detailed analysis of the supplementary items of the nuclear power system, a basic thermodynamic-calculation method both straightforward and precise was developed for the nuclear power plant by way of adding consecutively each supplementary item to the most simplified nuclear power system.