The high efficiency of supercritical steam thermal power plants reduces the environmental impact, while producing more electricity. The paper uses a numerical model to simulate its performance, considering the thermodynamic scheme of the cycle and the strong interdependency between the parameters and the restrictive technical constraints. The model is used to maximize the net power produced by the thermal cycle, by a simultaneous optimization of the reheat pressure and of the preheating line. Depending on the reheat pressure, different configurations are found, each of them permitting the production of a maximum net power. However, the maximum power obtained within specific constraints, does not necessarily match to the optimum value obtained without the main constraints. A synthesis diagram of different possible solutions is given.

Keywords: Power generation, Supercritical steam cycle, Reheat pressure, Preheating line, Optimization