The Development of a Small High Speed Steam Microturbine Generator System

9th International Conference on Compressors and their Systems

Alford, Adrian^1 ; Nichol, Philip^1 ; Frisby, Ben^2

Corac Energy Technologies, Stirling Road, Slough

SL1 4ST, United Kingdom^1

Spirax Sarco Ltd, Runnings Road, Cheltenham

GL51 9NQ, United Kingdom^2

关键词: Aerodynamic designs;    Efficient use of energy;    Electricity grids;    Material selection;    Microturbine generator systems;    Microturbine generators;    Pressure reduction;    Small-scale systems;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/90/1/012062/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1757-899X/90/1/012062

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

The efficient use of energy is paramount in every kind of business today. 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. This can be accomplished using steam turbines driving alternators on large scale systems. 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 gave rise to a number of challenges which are described with the solutions adopted. The challenges included aerodynamic design of high efficiency impellers, sealing of a high speed shaft, thrust control and material selection to avoid steam erosion. The machine was packaged with a sophisticated control system to allow connection to the electricity grid. Some of the challenges in packaging the machine are also described. The Spirax Sarco TurboPower has now concluded performance and initial endurance tests which are described with a summary of the results.