The development of a control system for a small high speed steam microturbine generator system

9th International Conference on Compressors and their Systems

Alford, A.^1 ; Nichol, P.^1 ; Saunders, M.^1 ; Frisby, B.^2

Corac Energy Technologies Ltd., Sterling Road, Slough, Berkshire

SL1 4ST, United Kingdom^1

Spirax Sarco Ltd., Runnings Road, Cheltenham

GL51 9NQ, United Kingdom^2

关键词: Control valves;    Grid frequency;    High pressure;    Microturbine generator systems;    Microturbine generators;    Pressure reduction;    Small-scale systems;    Turbo machines;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/90/1/012067/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1757-899X/90/1/012067

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Steam is a widely used energy source. In many situations steam is generated at high pressures and then reduced in pressure through control valves before reaching point of use. An opportunity was identified to convert some of the energy at the point of pressure reduction into electricity. To take advantage of a market identified for small scale systems, a microturbine generator was designed based on a small high speed turbo machine. This machine was packaged with the necessary control valves and systems to allow connection of the machine to the grid. Traditional machines vary the speed of the generator to match the grid frequency. This was not possible due to the high speed of this machine. The characteristics of the rotating unit had to be understood to allow a control that allowed export of energy at the right frequency to the grid under the widest possible range of steam conditions. A further goal of the control system was to maximise the efficiency of generation under all conditions. A further complication was to provide adequate protection for the rotating unit in the event of the loss of connection to the grid. The system to meet these challenges is outlined with the solutions employed and tested for this application.