en.Wedoany.com Reported - Recently, the first megawatt-class helium turbine test facility in China, built by CNNC Huaxing, successfully completed a hot-state power generation test. This test marks the first time in China that a high-power turbine has been driven by pure helium working fluid to achieve power generation, signifying a decisive step from theoretical validation to engineering demonstration in the field of core power equipment for gas-cooled microreactors.
The comprehensive performance test bench for the helium gas turbine is a closed Brayton cycle thermal-to-power conversion system using helium as the core working medium. Unlike traditional open-cycle systems that operate on a "use and discard" basis, this test bench acts as a meticulous and rigorous "energy dispatcher," circulating helium within a closed piping system, significantly enhancing work efficiency and stability. Facing a series of technical challenges, including multi-disciplinary cross-construction, complex civil engineering and special pipeline construction, and micron-level installation precision requirements, CNNC Huaxing overcame various construction difficulties through process optimization and technical breakthroughs, successfully completing the project construction.
Under the technical guidance of the "Joint Laboratory for Advanced Thermoelectric Conversion Devices for Fourth-Generation Reactors," jointly established by China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd., Shanghai Advanced Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shanghai Electric Group Co., Ltd., CNNC Huaxing has consistently adhered to the "customer-centric" business philosophy, actively allocating advantageous resources, meticulously organizing construction, and strictly controlling safety and quality. The project team demonstrated a spirit of overcoming difficulties, scientifically scheduling construction procedures, and completing the installation of the entire bench system with high quality, laying a solid hardware foundation for the research group to smoothly carry out cold-state, hot-state, and power generation tests.
