Rotating-Plate Radial Turbine in Gas-Turbine-Cycle Configurations

Abstract

A novel power-producing concept is disclosed, employing a rotating-plate radial gas turbine in various gas-turbine cycle configurations. The “rotating-plate radial gas turbine” is a rotating barrel with robust rectangular plates fitted into the turbine rotor, performing the function and the role of turbine blades, contained within a motionless rigid horizontal cylinder (casing). Combustion can take place in the spaces confined between adjacent rotating plates and the static cylinder, thus enabling a practical achievement of the Atkinson cycle (constant-volume heat addition) with improved cycle thermal efficiency. Alternatively, two or more compressor stages can be combined to feed a single rotating-plate radial gas turbine in cascades, thus gradually increasing pressure of working gas within a volume bordered by adjacent un-cooled rotating plates of the radial gas turbine and the casing. Alternatively, a single compressor may be combined with one or more stages of an axial turbine for cascade feeding of a single rotating-plate radial gas turbine. This “isochoric stuffing” effect enables achievement of significantly and even drastically improved gas-turbine-cycle thermal efficiencies. Cycle heat addition may be either isobaric or isochoric in either an open-cycle or a closed-cycle configuration. Using a sufficiently efficient radial gas turbine, it is theoretically possible to obtain 100% cycle thermal efficiency in a simple radial-gas-turbine configuration with appropriately chosen compressor-stages compression pressure ratios.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The concept disclosed in this invention relates to a means or a device (gas-turbine power plant) and method for generating of power from heat by employing an improved component—rotating-plate radial gas turbine. The concept has a potential to enable achievement of significantly and even drastically improved gas-turbine-cycle thermal efficiencies.[0002]In today's conditions of an ongoing and growing energy crisis and recently increased and accelerating global climate changes and global warming phenomena, world's governments, large companies and engineers / scientists are intensely interested in developing more energy-efficient and improved power-producing systems. Increased concentration of CO2-gas in the atmosphere is today recognized as the main culprit of global warming phenomena. Together with water vapor (H2O), CO2 represents the main and an unavoidable ingredient of flue gases resulting from combustion of fossil fuels (coal, fuel oil / petroleum, na...

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Benefits of technology

[0008]Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of using said rotating-plate radial gas turbine by employing two or more compressor stages to jointly feed the single said rotating-plate radial gas turbine in cascades from the radial direction, thus gradually increasing working-gas pressure across the volume of the said radial gas turbine for achievement of a greater cycle output and a higher cycle thermal efficiency.

[0009]Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of using said rotating-plate radial gas turbine by employing two or more axial turbine stages and a single-stage compressor to jointly feed the single said rotating-plate radial gas turbine in cascades from the radial direction, thus gradually increasing working-gas pressure across the volume of the said radial-gas-turbine for achievement of a greater cycle output and a higher cycle thermal efficiency.

[0011]Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of using said rotating-plate radial gas turbine by employing two or more compressor stages to jointly feed the single said rotating-plate radial gas turbine in cascades from the radial direction (gradually increasing working-gas pressure across the volume of the said radial gas turbine) without any heat input / addition, thus potentially achieving the highest possible cycle thermal efficiency of 100%.

[0015]Provided it proves to be technically / technologically valid and feasible, this very efficient (in some special instances close to 100%) and conditionally zero-fuel-input power-generation concept would result in potentially huge cycle thermal efficiency improvements and hence likely in dramatic consequences in the future of energy supply & energy prices at the planet Earth. In addition, it could also become a very efficient means for reducing of greenhouse gases emissions and indirect establishing of their normal natural quantities in the Earth's atmosphere.

Problems solved by technology

However, with steam-boiler losses, the overall maximum steam-turbine cycle thermal efficiency is ˜45%.

Energy efficiency situation is particularly unenviable in the transportation sector, where gas turbines are typically used for propelling of aircrafts and internal-combustion reciprocating engines are typically used for propelling of motor vehicles.

In addition, internal-combustion reciprocating engines are much more complex in their design / construction.

Although modern power-producing systems achieve ever-increasing cycle thermal efficiencies, it appears that these improvements are not sufficient to enable converting bulk of Earth's fossil-fuels reserves into mechanical / electrical energy in an efficient, enough technically simple and enough cheap manner.

With current trend, future of our planet seems to be doomed, unfortunately.

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