Disc rotor turbine for utilizing the kinetic and thermal energy of a warm fluid flow

Abstract

Disc rotor turbine (1) for utilizing the kinetic and thermal energy of a warm fluid flow, comprising: - several parallel disks (2) arranged at intervals from one another for absorbing the kinetic energy of a warm fluid flow directed tangentially thereon, - a shaft (3) for rotatably fixing the parallel disks (2) relative to a housing, - a base body (11) arranged between the shaft (3) and the disks (2), rotating together with the disks (2), wherein - the base body (11) has a heat exchanger arrangement (4) for guiding a heat exchange medium at least sectionally within the base body (11) for absorbing thermal energy from the warm fluid flow coming from the parallel disks (2), - an inlet (5) for the still cold heat exchange medium on one side of the base body (11),- an outlet (6) for the heat exchange medium heated and / or evaporated by heat exchange with the warm fluid flow, and - one or more outlet openings (7) for the fluid flow coming from the parallel disks (2) in a gas flow direction behind the heat exchanger arrangement (4) and / or in the area of ​​the base body (11).

Description

The invention relates to a disc rotor turbine for utilizing the kinetic and thermal energy of a warm fluid flow, a system for generating electricity with a particularly high efficiency, and a method for operating a disc rotor turbine. Disc rotor turbines, also known as Tesla turbines, have a long history of invention. For example, US 1 061 206 A by Nikola Tesla from 1909 already describes such a turbine. A disc rotor turbine is a bladeless turbine that instead has a multitude of smooth, circular, and closely spaced parallel discs. A gas flows over these discs, transferring kinetic energy to them due to viscosity and adhesion. However, such a disc rotor turbine is unable to utilize all the energy of the gas, and in particular the thermal energy remains entirely unused. As a result, only a small portion of the total energy contained in a flowing, warm gas is effectively utilized. Furthermore, a steam turbine consisting of a rotor, a runner, and a nozzle attached to the rotor is already known from JP 2007-198 333 A. The steam expelled from the nozzle can strike the rotor runner in a predetermined direction, with the steam inflow direction to the rotor always set to an optimal value to maintain the maximum impact force transferred to the rotor by the steam. This increases the efficiency of the steam turbine, allowing its size to be reduced and its structure simplified. Furthermore, DE 198 19 267 A1 discloses a turbomachine, such as a centrifugal pump, a radial compressor, or a side-channel compressor, for transferring energy to a working medium, such as a liquid or a gas. The turbomachine has an impeller with radially outward-facing blades, which rotates about a central axis of rotation. To achieve advantageous cooling of the turbomachine or the working medium driving the turbomachine, it is proposed that the impeller be cooled radially inward and / or that the working medium be cooled by a cooling pipe freely passing through the side channel. The invention is based on the objective of creating a disc rotor turbine, a system for generating electricity and a method for operating a disc rotor turbine that have a high efficiency with a simple design and can utilize not only the kinetic energy but also the thermal energy of a warm gas. The object of the invention is achieved by a disc rotor turbine for utilizing the kinetic and thermal energy of a warm fluid flow according to claim 1, by a system for generating electricity with a particularly high efficiency according to claim 10, and by a method for operating a disc rotor turbine according to claim 13. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims. The disc rotor turbine according to the invention, for utilizing the kinetic and thermal energy of a warm primary medium or a warm primary fluid, in particular a warm liquid flow or a warm gas flow, comprises several parallel disks arranged at intervals from one another for absorbing the kinetic energy of the warm fluid flow directed tangentially thereon, a shaft for rotatably fixing the parallel disks relative to a housing, and a base body arranged between the shaft and the disks, rotating together with the disks, wherein the base body includes a heat exchanger arrangement for guiding a heat exchange medium as a secondary medium or secondary fluid at least sectionally within the base body for absorbing thermal energy from the warm fluid flow coming from the parallel disks.Furthermore, the disc rotor turbine includes an inlet for the still cold heat exchange medium on one side of the base body, an outlet for the heat exchange medium heated and / or evaporated by heat exchange with the warm fluid flow, and one or more outlet openings for the fluid flow coming from the parallel discs in a gas flow direction behind the heat exchanger arrangement and / or in the area of ​​the base body. The system according to the invention for generating electricity with a particularly high efficiency comprises at least one disc rotor turbine according to the invention, wherein a generator for generating electrical energy is provided on the shaft of the disc rotor turbine and preferably a means for converting the energy of the evaporated heat exchange medium into electrical energy, in particular a steam turbine or a Heron's ball with a generator, is arranged on the shaft or a second shaft. Finally, the inventive method for operating a disc rotor turbine and / or a system according to the invention comprises, as process steps, supplying a cold heat exchange medium via the inlet, guiding the heat exchange medium in counterflow to the warm fluid flow coming from the discs through the heat exchanger arrangement, and subsequently supplying the heated and / or evaporated heat exchange medium via the outlet to a means for generating electrical energy, in particular a steam turbine. The inventive design of the disc rotor turbine with a heat exchanger arrangement makes it possible, in a structurally simple manner, to utilize not only the kinetic energy of a fluid flow, but also its thermal energy. Furthermore, arranging the heat exchanger arrangement directly on the disc rotor turbine, and in particular rotating together with the parallel discs to utilize the kinetic energy, has the advantage that the thermal energy is used immediately after the kinetic energy has been utilized and simultaneously in a single process. Moreover, this ensures complete separation of the subsequent energy utilization from the primary medium, which in many cases is contaminated or toxic, or contains interfering substances and materials such as oil vapor or solid particles. A disc rotor turbine is generally understood to be a device in which a fluid flow transfers at least a portion of its kinetic energy to one or more discs due to viscosity and adhesion. Preferably, the disc rotor turbine has no significant rotating components other than the shaft, the discs, and the base body, including the heat exchanger assembly. In particular, the disc rotor turbine is preferably bladeless. Furthermore, it is preferred that all components of the disc rotor turbine are either static, i.e., fixed relative to the housing, or rotate together with the shaft, the discs, and the base body. To interact with the warm fluid flow, the disc rotor turbine according to the invention has several parallel discs arranged at intervals from one another. Preferably, all discs have identical diameters and / or are completely round. Particularly preferably, all discs are identical. The discs can, in principle, be made of any material, such as a composite material, a carbon fiber reinforced material, metal, or plastic. However, preferably, the discs are made essentially of a single material, particularly preferably a material with high thermal conductivity and / or a low coefficient of thermal expansion, and most preferably a metal or a metal alloy. Aluminum or steel, or a corresponding alloy of one of these metals, is particularly preferred.Furthermore, the disks are preferably thin, with the material thickness of the disk preferably being less than 5% of the radius, particularly preferably less than 1% of the radius, most preferably less than 0.5% of the radius, and particularly preferably less than 0.1% of the radius. It is also preferred that the disks extend completely in one plane and / or have a smooth and / or completely closed surface. According to the invention, the disks are also arranged at intervals from one another, preferably in that several disks, in particular all disks, have an identical distance from one another, or the space between adjacent, parallel disks is identical for all disks. However, it is also conceivable that the disks are arranged in groups, in particular with an identical space width within the group and with a different distance between the disks of two adjacent groups. To drive the disks, at least one warm fluid stream is directed tangentially onto them. This fluid stream can be directed across the entire width, i.e., onto all parallel disks simultaneously. Alternatively, a fluid stream can be directed onto only a portion of the disks, particularly exactly one group of disks. Furthermore, it is conceivable to direct a fluid stream onto the disks at at least two positions along the disk's circumference, and optionally at more positions, with the direction preferably being tangential. The warm fluid stream is preferably directed tangentially onto the parallel disks by means of one or more nozzles. To enable the parallel disks to be rotatably mounted on the housing, at least one shaft, and preferably exactly one shaft, is provided, wherein at least some of the disks, and preferably all disks, rotate about the central longitudinal axis of the shaft. The shaft can, in principle, be formed as a component or as an assembly of several parts made of any material, although again a metal, a composite material, a carbon fiber reinforced material, and / or a plastic is preferred. A metal, particularly aluminum, an aluminum alloy, steel, or a corresponding alloy, is especially preferred. The rotatable mounting of the shaft to the housing or to a component connected to the housing is preferably achieved by means of bearings, in particular ball or roller bearings, with at least one bearing being arranged on the shaft on each side of the base body being particularly preferred. Furthermore, according to the invention, a base body is arranged between the shaft and the parallel disks, preferably extending exclusively in the area between the outer surface of the shaft and / or the inner surface of the parallel disks. It is particularly preferred that the base body does not project into the area of ​​the parallel disks. The primary function of the base body is to secure and rotate the functional components, such as the heat exchanger assembly and the parallel disks. Although the base body can have any shape, it is preferably disc-shaped and / or cylindrical. It is again preferred that the base body is made of a metal, a composite material, a carbon fiber reinforced material, and / or a plastic.However, a metal, especially aluminium, an aluminium alloy, steel or a corresponding alloy or alternatively a material with high thermal conductivity is particularly preferred. In addition to its function as the basic component of the disc rotor turbine or for securing the other components, the base body can have other functions. In particular, it is preferred that the material of the base body incorporates channels for the heat exchange medium in order to convey the heat exchange medium between different components of the heat exchanger assembly and / or from a component of the heat exchanger assembly to an outlet and / or from an inlet to a component of the heat exchanger assembly. According to the invention, the disc rotor turbine further comprises a heat exchanger arrangement designed to enable heat transfer from the warm fluid flow as the primary medium to the heat exchange medium as the secondary medium. The heat exchanger arrangement is preferably formed from several components or assemblies, each of which can be integrally formed with or arranged on the base body. Preferably, however, no part of the heat exchanger arrangement is movable relative to the base body when the disc rotor turbine is in operation, or in such cases, it forms part of a multi-part base body. Furthermore, preferably, all parts of the heat exchanger arrangement are located in a region between the shaft and the parallel discs, particularly on the inner side in the radial direction of the parallel discs, and / or are abutting another component of the base body and / or another part of the heat exchanger arrangement.Furthermore, it is preferred that several parts, and particularly preferably all parts, of the heat exchanger assembly are in thermal contact with each other, and that the parts of the heat exchanger assembly directly touch each other and / or are arranged in direct contact with a part of the base body on both sides. In addition, it is preferred that a thermal conductivity medium, in particular a thermal paste, a metal paste, or so-called liquid metal, is provided between two parts of the heat exchanger assembly and / or between a part of the heat exchanger assembly and the base body to improve heat conduction. Furthermore, within the disc rotor turbine, and particularly by means of the heat exchanger arrangement, a complete separation of the primary medium, i.e., the hot fluid flow, and the secondary medium, i.e., the heat exchange medium, is provided. Moreover, at least the heat exchanger arrangement, and in particular all components coming into contact with the heat exchange medium, are preferably designed such that superheating of the heat exchange medium can be achieved, preferably by pressurizing the heat exchange medium, particularly due to expansion and / or heating within a closed volume and / or due to centrifugal force within the rotating heat exchanger arrangement. The heat exchanger arrangement is preferably made of metal and / or a thermally conductive material, in particular aluminum or steel, or a corresponding alloy of one of these metals. Furthermore, according to the invention, at least one inlet and at least one outlet for the heat exchange medium are provided on the disc rotor turbine, and in particular in the area of ​​the shaft or the base body. The disc rotor turbine preferably has exactly one inlet and one outlet. According to the invention, the disc rotor turbine has one or more outlet openings for the fluid flow coming from the parallel discs in a gas flow direction downstream of the heat exchanger assembly and / or in the area of ​​the base body. In a disc rotor turbine, the tangentially applied gas is usually continuously decelerated and thus penetrates deeper and deeper into the space between two parallel discs. Preferably, a discharge of this decelerated fluid flow is provided between the discs in the area of ​​the base body or the heat exchanger assembly, particularly towards one or more outlet openings. Particularly preferred are several outlet openings, especially those distributed uniformly around the circumference of the disc rotor turbine or the base body. Alternatively or additionally, one or more outlet openings are provided on each side of the disc rotor turbine or the base body.Furthermore, it is preferred that the fluid flow from the outlet openings is directed against the direction of rotation of the parallel disks of the disk rotor turbine. The generator for producing electrical energy can initially be any device for converting rotational motion into electrical energy. The means for converting the energy of the vaporized or heated heat exchange medium can also be of any design, although it is preferred that a rotation is generated which is then used to generate electrical energy. A steam turbine or another turbine with blades is particularly preferred for this purpose. In principle, a device based on the principle of a Heron's ball, i.e., with directed outlet nozzles for rotational drive, would also be conceivable. In this case, the means for converting the energy of the vaporized or heated heat exchange medium can be...The heated heat exchange medium can be generated by means of its own rotating shaft, or it can be connected to the shaft of the disc rotor turbine, so that at least two devices, the disc rotor turbine and the further means, in particular a steam turbine, act on a common shaft. Furthermore, it is preferred that, to transfer the kinetic energy of the secondary medium, it is first vaporized, particularly via a control valve. This vapor is then preferably introduced into a Heron's ball shaped as a hollow disk, the outlets of which are arranged at the outer edge. These outlets discharge the vapor in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation in order to increase the torque through its recoil effect. When using a warm gas as the primary medium for the disc rotor turbine, this Heron's ball shaped as a hollow disk can be rigidly connected to the shaft. However, in general, but especially when using a warm liquid as the primary medium for the disc rotor turbine, it is preferred that the generator for producing electrical energy, and in particular a Heron's ball shaped as a hollow disk, is mechanically decoupled from the shaft. Such decoupling can be achieved arbitrarily, in particular by means of any freewheel mechanism in at least one direction of rotation. Preferably, however, this is done via a planetary gear set, the planet gears of which are most preferably interconnected by a plate. The planet gears thus connected most preferably engage, on the one hand, with a convex gear mounted axially on the shaft, and on the other hand, with the Heron's ball shaped as a hollow disk, in particular by means of a concave gear or toothed disc fixed to the Heron's ball, which is freely rotatable on the shaft. The resulting rotational speed of the connecting plate then yields a total rotational speed, which is the sum of the rotational speeds of the shaft and the Heron's ball shaped as a hollow disk, divided by the gear ratio of the planetary gear set. An advantageous embodiment of the disc rotor turbine according to the invention provides that the shaft is essentially formed as a hollow shaft, with the inlet for axially supplying the still-cold heat exchange medium preferably located at one end of the hollow shaft and / or the outlet for discharging the heated and / or vaporized heat exchange medium at the other end of the hollow shaft, thereby making it particularly easy to supply or discharge the heat exchange medium from a rotating shaft. The hollow shaft preferably has a continuous bore along its entire length or between the inlet and the outlet and / or is formed by bores arranged on both sides that do not touch each other, so that the heat exchange medium cannot flow directly and completely through the hollow shaft, but is forced to flow through the heat exchanger assembly.When the shaft is designed as a completely hollow shaft, a plug element is preferably arranged in the area of ​​the heat exchanger arrangement and / or in a central area of ​​the shaft and / or between the inlet and outlet of the heat exchange medium in order to force a flow of the heat exchange medium through the heat exchanger arrangement. Furthermore, a design of the disc rotor turbine is preferred in which the outlet has a valve, particularly preferably a valve arranged within the hollow shaft and / or tangentially to the hollow shaft, for controlling the withdrawal of the heated and / or vaporized heat exchange medium. Alternatively or additionally, the valve can also be used to control or regulate the pressure and / or temperature of the heated and / or vaporized heat exchange medium. Most preferably, the valve is designed to control the flow rate and, for this purpose, particularly preferably has a circumferential valve surface. In principle, the valve can be of any design, with the preferred configuration being that the valve is biased towards the closed position or is normally closed. It is also preferred that the valve is rotationally symmetrical and / or arranged centrally and / or along the axis of rotation of the hollow shaft. In an advantageous embodiment of a disc rotor turbine according to the invention, at least one temperature and / or pressure sensor is arranged in the area of ​​the outlet and / or in the area of ​​the valve and / or within the hollow shaft in order to monitor the temperature and pressure of the heated and / or evaporated heat exchange medium and, particularly preferably, to control it with the aid of the valve. Accordingly, a preferred embodiment of the inventive method for operating a disc rotor turbine provides that the thermodynamic state of the heat exchange medium inside the heat exchanger arrangement is controlled by means of a controllable valve at the outlet and at least one temperature and / or pressure sensor arranged in the area of ​​the outlet, wherein the control is preferably carried out in such a way that only evaporated and / or superheated heat exchange medium is discharged through the outlet and is particularly preferably supplied to the means for generating electrical energy. According to a preferred embodiment of the disc rotor turbine according to the invention, a check valve can be arranged in the area of ​​the inlet for the still cold heat exchange medium and / or in the area of ​​each introduction of the heat exchange medium from the hollow shaft into the base body and / or into the heat exchanger arrangement, in particular in a receiving opening of the respective heat exchanger segment, in order to prevent a negative pressure occurring outside from being able to back up into the system. Although the basic body can be of any shape, a design of the disc rotor turbine is preferred in which the basic body has a central disc and the heat exchanger arrangement is formed from several heat exchanger segments arranged on both sides of the central disc, wherein the central disc preferably has return lines inside for guiding heated and / or evaporated heat transfer medium from the respective heat exchanger segment to the outlet and in particular to the interior of the hollow shaft. The central disk can be either a single piece or composed of several components. Preferably, the central disk and the heat exchanger segments are made of the same material, preferably a metal, and particularly preferably aluminum, steel, or an alloy of one of these metals. The central disk is preferably positioned completely centrally, at least in the axial direction of the shaft, on the disk rotor turbine. Furthermore, the central disk preferably extends radially from the shaft to the parallel disks. Several parallel disks for absorbing the kinetic energy of the tangentially directed, warm fluid flow can be arranged or integrally formed on the outer circumference of the central disk. Alternatively, the surface of the central disk can also be smooth and / or diskless.The central disk furthermore has a thickness that preferably corresponds to at least the distance between three parallel disks, more preferably to at least five parallel disks, and most preferably to between 5 and 20 parallel disks. Each heat exchanger segment can be formed as a single piece or as an assembly of several components. Preferably, a heat exchanger segment, optionally excluding gaskets and / or connecting pieces, is made exclusively of metal, and in particular of aluminum, steel, or an alloy of one of these metals. Furthermore, preferably all heat exchanger segments of the disc rotor turbine, or those arranged on one side of the base body, have an identical shape and size and are preferably completely identical. Due to the shaping and adaptation of the shape of the heat exchanger segments to the direction of rotation of the disc rotor turbine, it may also be necessary for the heat exchanger segments for opposite sides of the base body to be mirror images of each other. Any number of lines, in particular for the heat exchange medium, can be arranged within the central disc, wherein in the case of a multi-part design of the central disc with the heat exchanger arrangement and in particular in the case of a design of the heat exchanger arrangement with several heat exchanger segments, which are particularly preferably interchangeable on the central disc, it is particularly preferred that the central disc has return lines for the heat exchange medium from the heat exchanger arrangement to the outlet and / or lines for supplying the heat exchange medium from the inlet to the heat exchanger arrangement. In an advantageous embodiment of the disc rotor turbine according to the invention, each heat exchanger segment is formed for a one-sided arrangement on the central disc and / or extending over a portion of the circumference of the central disc. The heat exchanger segments are preferably formed in a circular arc shape and / or extend completely along the entire arc segment from the shaft to the parallel discs or to the base body in the region of the parallel discs. Furthermore, each heat exchanger segment preferably has a flat and / or planar back surface for substantially full-surface contact with a surface of the central disc.Alternatively, the back of each heat exchanger segment can be designed as desired, in which case the surface of the central disc provided for receiving the heat exchanger segment is preferably designed to correspond, wherein a positive locking connection in at least one spatial direction and, more preferably, in at least two spatial directions is achieved particularly preferably by means of a corresponding surface design. Furthermore, a further development of the disc rotor turbine according to the invention is preferred in which each heat exchanger segment has two successive heat exchanger sections along the circumferential direction of the central disc, wherein the first heat exchanger section is preferably designed to guide the warm fluid flow from the spaces between the parallel discs to lateral outlet slots and simultaneously to absorb heat from the warm fluid flow. Additionally or alternatively, the second heat exchanger section has a receiving opening on its underside for introducing still cold heat exchange medium from the inlet or from the hollow shaft and / or a discharge opening on its upper inner surface, directed towards the central disc, for discharging the heated and / or vaporized heat exchange medium, in particular to the outlet arranged within the hollow shaft.Inside the second heat exchanger section, the heat exchange medium is preferably guided between the inlet and outlet openings, with the flow of the heat exchange medium preferably occurring as completely as possible within the entire internal volume of the second heat exchanger section. For this purpose, an internal heat exchange medium line is preferably provided, extending substantially across the entire surface of the second heat exchanger section and / or from the inner, shaft-adjacent region to the outer, disc-adjacent region within the heat exchanger segment. The heat exchange medium is preferably guided in a meandering manner within the second heat exchanger section, for example, deflected by several heat exchanger plates and wound radially outwards. Furthermore, the heat exchanger segments are preferably each rigidly connected to the base body or, in particular, to the central disc, especially by thermal conductivity, or formed integrally with it. Furthermore, a preferred embodiment of the disc rotor turbine according to the invention is preferred in which the heat exchanger segments extend on both sides of the base body and in particular the central disc over the entire circumference and / or radially completely between the shaft and the parallel discs, thereby utilizing the maximum available area for heat exchange. The heat exchanger segments can be arranged in any configuration, but are preferably designed such that an integer number of segments can cover the entire circumference. It is further preferred that the same number of heat exchanger segments, particularly three, are arranged on each side of the base body and especially the central disk. The arrangement of the heat exchanger segments on both sides of the base body can be arbitrary relative to each other. To avoid imbalance, it is preferred that the heat exchanger segments on opposite sides of the base body or central disk are offset from each other by half the length of the heat exchanger segment.The heat exchanger segments are shifted circumferentially such that a first heat exchanger section of a first heat exchanger segment is arranged opposite a second heat exchanger section of a second heat exchanger segment. For example, if a total of six heat exchanger segments are arranged on the base body, there are three heat exchanger segments on each side of the base body, each extending over approximately 120°. Furthermore, it is then preferred that the heat exchanger segments on opposite sides of the base body are offset by approximately 60°. Generally, the heat exchanger segments on one side are preferably arranged in full contact with each other and are particularly preferably thermally connected to one another. In an advantageous further development of the power generation system, a further disc rotor turbine according to the invention is arranged at an outlet of the steam turbine or another means of generating electrical energy from the vaporized heat exchange medium. By such a cascade with at least one further disc rotor turbine at the outlet of a preceding means of generating electrical energy, for example a steam turbine, the efficiency of the overall system can be increased even further. However, it may be necessary to adapt the heat exchange medium in each stage of such a cascade, and in particular to select a heat exchange medium with a lower vapor pressure and / or lower boiling point. Although the inventive disc rotor turbine is generally intended to be operated with the hot exhaust gases of a preceding machine or with hot gases from a previous process for energy recovery or to increase efficiency, configurations of the inventive system for power generation are also conceivable in which the warm fluid flow is generated specifically for driving the disc rotor turbine using suitable means. In general, the warm fluid flow can, for example, be an exhaust gas flow from an internal combustion engine, a pulsejet engine, or a fuel-powered generator for propulsion purposes and / or for power generation. Use in connection with a combined heat and power plant, and in particular a combined heat and power plant, is also quite conceivable. In general, the present invention can be used effectively wherever a fluid flow occurs that also has an elevated temperature compared to the ambient temperature. Several embodiments and exemplary uses of the disc rotor turbine, the system, and the method according to the invention are described in more detail below with reference to the figures. The figures show: Fig. 1 a schematic perspective view of the essential components of a disc rotor turbine; Fig. 2 a schematic perspective view of the essential components of a disc rotor turbine shown in Fig. 1 with a transparent representation of the outer cover of the heat exchanger assembly; Fig. 3 a schematic sectional view through the center of the hollow shaft and the base body with the heat exchanger assembly and the parallel discs; Fig. 4 a schematic enlarged view of a valve arranged inside the hollow shaft; and Fig. 5 a schematic perspective view of the disc rotor turbine with a sectional view of the outer housing. In a schematic embodiment of a disc rotor turbine 1, limited to its essential components and shown in Figures 1-3, numerous identical discs 2 are arranged in two parallel groups, close together, and rotatably mounted on a shaft 3. The shaft 3 is rotatably fixed relative to a housing 20 by means of roller bearings. At least two nozzles, each directed towards one of the groups of parallel discs 2, are also arranged on the housing for the tangential introduction of a warm gas flow via a primary fluid inlet 21. A heat exchanger arrangement 4 is provided on a base body 11 between the shaft 3 and the parallel disks 2 to transfer the thermal energy of the supplied, warm gas stream to a heat exchange medium. The gas stream, which is directed tangentially towards the outside of the parallel disks 2, slows down continuously due to its interaction with the disks 2 and sinks in the spaces 16 between the disks 2, so that the gas stream finally reaches the base of the disks 2 and has transferred the majority of its kinetic energy to the disks 2 at this point. This now slowed, but still completely warm, gas flow then enters a second heat exchanger section 15 of a heat exchanger segment 12 of the heat exchanger assembly 4. There, the gas flow is guided towards an outlet opening 7 along heat-conducting plates arranged within the heat exchanger segment 12, thereby transferring a significant portion of its thermal energy to the heat exchanger assembly 4. The outlet openings 7 are oriented opposite to the direction of rotation of the disc rotor turbine 1, so that no dynamic pressure can build up there due to the rotation, and the exiting, slowed, and cooled gas flow may still contribute a further, albeit small, amount to the rotational drive of the disc rotor turbine 1. The gas flow exiting the outlet openings 7 into the housing 20 is finally discharged from the housing 20 through two primary fluid outlets 22. The heat exchanger assembly 4 is formed from several heat exchanger segments 12, which are arranged on both sides of a central disk 10 of the base body 11. The central disk 10 and the heat exchanger assembly 4 are made entirely of metal, in particular aluminum or an aluminum alloy. Furthermore, all heat exchanger segments 12 on each side of the central disk 10 are identical to one another. In the example shown in Figures 1-3, three heat exchanger segments 12 are arranged consecutively along the circumference on each side, so that each heat exchanger segment 12 extends over approximately 120°. Each heat exchanger segment 12 has a first and a second heat exchanger section 14, 15, with each heat exchanger segment 12 forming half of each such section 14, 15, i.e., the first heat exchanger section 14 and the second heat exchanger section 15 each extend over approximately 60° of the circumference.Furthermore, the heat exchanger segments 12 on both sides of the central disk 10 are offset from each other by half the circumferential length of a heat exchanger segment 12, so that a first heat exchanger section 14 is arranged opposite a second heat exchanger section 15 on the other side - and vice versa. The first heat exchanger section 14 is designed to guide the heat exchange medium to absorb the thermal energy of the hot gas stream. For this purpose, the shaft 3 is designed as a hollow shaft and has an inlet 5 at one end for the still-cold heat exchange medium. The heat exchange medium is then guided inside the hollow shaft to each of the first heat exchanger sections 14 on both sides of the central disk 10, where it enters the first heat exchanger section 14 through a receiving opening 17. Subsequently, it is guided in a meandering fashion, particularly by means of fluid guide vanes, along a heat exchange medium line 18 in the radial direction of the disc rotor turbine 1 inside the first heat exchanger section 14, absorbing heat and being pressurized by centrifugal force, so that the heat exchange medium is first superheated and then evaporates.After the heat exchange medium has been heated or even evaporated, it enters a return line 13 within the central disk 10 through a discharge opening 19 from the first heat exchanger section 14 of the heat exchanger segment 12, where it is directed back to the hollow shaft and then to an outlet 6. The hollow shaft is closed in the area of ​​the central disk, so that the inlet 5 and the outlet 6 are not directly connected to each other within the hollow shaft. A valve 8, shown in more detail in Fig. 4, is arranged in the outlet area to regulate the flow rate of the evaporated heat exchange medium. To also control the thermodynamic parameters of the heat exchange medium, particularly its pressure and temperature, at the outlet 6, the valve 8 is equipped with a temperature and pressure sensor 9. This allows the heat exchange medium to be drawn off precisely when and in precisely the quantity required to maintain a constant pressure and temperature. The evaporated heat exchange medium can then be used, for example, to drive a gas turbine, thus converting at least some of the thermal energy of the hot gas stream into electricity. In principle, various applications of the disc rotor turbine 1 are conceivable. For example, it can be used as a converter of the kinetic and thermal energy of exhaust gases from internal combustion engines, thus increasing the efficiency of these engines. Possible applications include vehicles, especially ships or motor vehicles, combined heat and power plants, or generators for energy production. However, it is also possible to use a disc rotor turbine 1 as an independent internal combustion engine by feeding it exhaust gases from pulsejet engines or pulse thrusters. While these engines have a relatively low efficiency in terms of generated kinetic energy, their very high thermal energy makes a significant contribution to the extractable thermal energy, resulting in a sufficiently high overall efficiency. Furthermore, pulse thrusters can be used in conjunction with the exhaust gas stream of an internal combustion engine. For example, the invention could also be used as follows: A vehicle is equipped with a thermally insulated, water-cooled combustion engine. The water to be heated by the engine is cold at startup. However, preheated water is required for the efficient operation of the disc rotor turbine 1 according to the invention in order to quickly generate steam. To shorten the time until the combustion engine and thus the cooling water reach operating temperature, at least one pulse drive can ensure a rapid and effective start-up. Furthermore, sudden peak loads can be absorbed by at least one additional pulse drive. A similar method can also be used in a combined heat and power plant. Even at very low ambient temperatures, at least one pulsejet engine can provide not only kinetic energy but also heat the water to the point of steam generation, without the engine needing to be running. The steam supplements the kinetic energy (as already described) to drive an electric generator via a disc turbine and / or the resulting steam, which in turn charges a battery. The waste heat can be used both to heat the passenger compartment and to preheat the engine. Furthermore, a disc rotor turbine 1 can be used as a circulation pump for chillers with integrated energy extraction. In this configuration, a refrigerant acts as the drive medium for the parallel discs 2 of the disc rotor turbine 1 via an expansion valve. The medium to be cooled is then drawn in through the hollow shaft and subsequently cooled via the heat exchanger assembly 4. In this case, the disc rotor turbine 1 is thus operated in reverse thermal operation. A general use as an energy recovery system for heated liquid media is also conceivable. If, for example, a thermal oil is used for cooling in a plant process, this oil, heated in the plant process, can be cooled down again by means of the disc rotor turbine 1 according to the invention, by the heat exchanger arrangement 4 transferring the thermal energy to another cooling medium with a significantly lower boiling point. The vapor thus generated by the cooling medium supports the kinetic energy that was previously generated by pumping the thermal oil, thus providing the possibility of partial energy recovery. The kinetic energy transferred to the shaft 3 can – as always – be used to drive a device, for example a pump, or to generate electrical energy by means of a generator. Finally, it is always conceivable in principle to arrange several disc rotor turbines 1 according to the invention in a cascaded manner in order to further increase the efficiency or to increase the yield of the energy conversion. Reference symbol list 1 Disc rotor turbine 2 Parallel discs 3 Shaft 4 Heat exchanger assembly 5 Inlet 6 Outlet 7 Discharge opening 8 Valve 9 Temperature and / or pressure sensor 10 Central disc 11 Base body 12 Heat exchanger segment 13 Return line 14 First heat exchanger section 15 Second heat exchanger section 16 Intermediate space 17 Inlet opening 18 Heat exchange medium line 19 Discharge opening 20 Housing 21 Primary fluid inlet 22 Primary medium outlet

Claims

Disc rotor turbine (1) for utilizing the kinetic and thermal energy of a warm fluid flow, comprising: - several parallel disks (2) arranged at intervals from one another for absorbing the kinetic energy of a warm fluid flow directed tangentially thereon, - a shaft (3) for rotatably fixing the parallel disks (2) relative to a housing, - a base body (11) arranged between the shaft (3) and the disks (2), rotating together with the disks (2), wherein - the base body (11) has a heat exchanger arrangement (4) for guiding a heat exchange medium at least sectionally within the base body (11) for absorbing thermal energy from the warm fluid flow coming from the parallel disks (2), - an inlet (5) for the still cold heat exchange medium on one side of the base body (11),- an outlet (6) for the heat exchange medium heated and / or evaporated by heat exchange with the warm fluid flow, and - one or more outlet openings (7) for the fluid flow coming from the parallel disks (2) in a gas flow direction behind the heat exchanger arrangement (4) and / or in the area of ​​the base body (11). Disc rotor turbine (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the shaft (3) is formed as a hollow shaft and at one end of the hollow shaft the inlet (5) for axially supplying the still cold heat exchange medium and at the other end of the hollow shaft the outlet (6) for discharge of the heated and / or evaporated heat exchange medium is arranged. Disc rotor turbine (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the outlet (6) has a valve (8) arranged inside the hollow shaft and / or tangentially for controlling the withdrawal of the heated and / or evaporated heat exchange medium. Disc rotor turbine (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims 2 or 3, characterized in that at least one temperature and / or pressure sensor (9) is arranged in the area of ​​the outlet (6) and / or in the area of ​​the valve (8) and / or within the hollow shaft in order to be able to monitor the temperature and pressure of the heated and / or evaporated heat exchange medium. Disc rotor turbine (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a check valve is arranged in the area of ​​the inlet (5) for the still cold heat exchange medium and / or in the area of ​​each introduction of the heat exchange medium from the hollow shaft into the base body (11) and / or into the heat exchanger arrangement (4). Disc rotor turbine (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base body (11) has a central disk (10) and the heat exchanger arrangement (4) is formed from several heat exchanger segments (12) arranged on both sides of the central disk (10), wherein the central disk (10) has inside return lines (13) for guiding heated and / or evaporated heat transfer medium from the respective heat exchanger segment (12) to the outlet and / or to the interior of the hollow shaft. Disc rotor turbine (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that each heat exchanger segment (12) is formed on the central disc (10) for a one-sided arrangement and / or extending over a part of the circumference of the central disc (10) and / or has two successive heat exchanger sections (14, 15) along the circumferential direction of the central disc (10), wherein the first heat exchanger section (14) is formed for directing the warm fluid flow from spaces (16) between the parallel discs (2) to lateral outlet slots and simultaneously for absorbing heat from the warm fluid flow and / or the second heat exchanger section (15) has a receiving opening (17) on an underside for directing cold heat exchange medium from the inlet (5) and / or from the hollow shaft and / or an inner, extending substantially over the entire surface of the second heat exchanger section (15) and / or from the inner, shaft-adjacent region to the outer,a heat exchange medium line (18) extending near the disc area in the heat exchanger segment (12) is provided or - has a discharge opening (19) on an upper inner surface of the second heat exchanger section (15) directed towards the central disc (10) for discharging the heated and / or evaporated heat exchange medium. Disc rotor turbine (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the heat exchanger segments (12) extend on both sides of the base body (11) over the entire circumference and / or radially completely between the shaft (3) and the parallel disks (2). Disc rotor turbine (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the same number of heat exchanger segments (12) are arranged on each side of the base body (11) or the central disk (10), wherein the heat exchanger segments (12) on opposite sides of the base body (11) and / or the central disk (10) are displaced relative to each other by half the length of the heat exchanger segment (12) or by one heat exchanger segment (12) in the circumferential direction, such that a first heat exchanger section (14) of a first heat exchanger segment (12) is arranged opposite a second heat exchanger section (15) of a second heat exchanger segment (12). System for generating electricity with a particularly high efficiency, comprising a disc rotor turbine (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims 1 to 9, wherein a generator for generating electrical energy is provided on the shaft (3) and a means for converting the energy of the evaporated heat exchange medium into electrical energy is arranged on the shaft (3) or a second shaft (3). System for generating electricity according to claim 10, characterized in that a further disc rotor turbine (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9 is arranged at an outlet (6) of the means for converting the energy or of another means for generating electrical energy from the evaporated heat exchange medium. System for generating electricity according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the warm fluid flow is an exhaust gas flow of an internal combustion engine, a pulsejet engine or a fuel-powered electricity generator and / or can be generated by suitable means specifically for driving the disc rotor turbine (1). Method for operating a disc rotor turbine (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9 and / or a system according to one of claims 10 to 12, wherein - cold heat exchange medium is supplied via the inlet (5), - is guided in counterflow to the warm fluid flow coming from the discs (2) through the heat exchanger arrangement (4) and is subsequently - supplied via the outlet (6) to a means for generating electrical energy. Method for operating a disc rotor turbine (1) according to claim 13, characterized in that the thermodynamic state of the heat exchange medium inside the heat exchanger arrangement (4) is controlled by means of a controllable valve (8) at the outlet (6) and by means of at least one temperature and / or pressure sensor (9) arranged in the area of ​​the outlet (6), wherein the control is carried out in such a way that only evaporated and / or superheated heat exchange medium is discharged through the outlet (6) and supplied to the means for generating electrical energy.

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