sCO2 power cycles offer improved cycle efficiencies compared with traditional steam Rankine cycles. However, the turbomachinery required to support such a cycle does not exist at a commercial scale and requires development. This paper describes a new 10 MWe scale sCO2 turbine was developed and demonstrated in an sCO2 closed-loop recompression Brayton cycle. Since this turbine was developed for Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) applications, a target inlet temperature of over 700°C was chosen using funding from the US DOE SunShot initiative and industry partners. However, it can be applied to traditional heat sources such as natural gas, coal, and nuclear power. Traditional Rankine steam cycle thermal efficiencies are typically in the 35–40% range, but can be as high as 45% for advanced ultra-supercritical steam cycles. The sCO2 cycle can approach 50% thermal efficiency using externally fired heat sources. Furthermore, this cycle is also well suited for bottoming cycle waste heat recovery applications, which typically operate at lower temperatures. The high-power density and lower thermal mass of the sCO2 cycle results in compact, high-efficiency power blocks that can respond quickly to transient environmental changes and transient operation, a particular advantage for solar, waste heat, and ship-board applications. The power density of the turbine is significantly greater than traditional steam turbines and is comparable to liquid rocket engine turbo pumps. This paper describes the design and construction of the turbine and provides additional testing of the 10 MWe turbine in a 1 MWe test facility including a description of rotordynamics, thermal management, rotor aero and mechanical design, shaft-end and casing seals, bearings, and couplings. Test data for the turbine is included, as it achieves its operational goal of 715°C, 250 bara, and 27,000 rpm.
The introduction of hydrogen or synthetic natural gas produced from renewable electricity into gas pipelines is being considered to enable decarbonization and energy storage. Prior published studies show that hydrogen concentrations over 20–30% are likely to require significant infrastructure modifications and that significant concentrations of hydrogen will decrease energy transport capacity and/or reduce transport efficiency due to higher compression work. A comparative analysis of four power-to-gas implementations utilizing alkaline electrolysis, steam methane reforming, and catalytic methanation at hydrogen concentrations from 0–100% is performed in order to quantify production and transport power requirements utilizing pipeline or electrical transport. The pipeline transport analysis evaluates the pipeline transport capacity, efficiency, and emissions at various hydrogen concentrations and their sensitivity to pipeline diameter and compressor station spacing. The results show that production costs for hydrogen and synthetic natural gas dominate the overall energy requirement, requiring more power to create product than will be delivered for end use. Pipeline transport power requirements also increase by a maximum factor of 6–8 depending on surface roughness at high hydrogen percentages, but pipeline transport losses are less than electrical transmission losses in all cases. The increased pipeline compression power increases CO2 emissions along the pipeline up to a peak value of 240% relative to pure methane at a mole fraction of 65% hydrogen, above which CO2 emissions reduce. An analysis of pipeline compression conditions shows that flow requirements for all cases exceed the capabilities of reciprocating compressors but are mostly within the capabilities of centrifugal compressors, although multiple bodies may be required at hydrogen concentrations exceeding approximately 40–85%.
A team led by General Electric Research (GER) and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) was tasked to design, build and test an advanced 4MW CO2 compressor that would operate near the liquid-vapor dome for Carbon Dioxide (CO2). The US Department of Energy (DoE) Solar Technologies Office (SETO) funded program was targeted towards a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant where optimum power cycle efficiency can be obtained when operated close to the liquid-vapor dome where CO2 is a supercritical fluid (sCO2) as compression power is reduced in the main compressor. However, the CSP cycle and other related supercritical CO2 cycles (fossil, nuclear, waste heat recovery) have considerable compression challenges both mechanically and aerodynamically when operating with a high density fluid that exceeds 70% the density of water. The subject of this paper is highlighting the challenge in determining compressor performance using industry standard measurements. This application is the highest density industrial-scale centrifugal compressor in the world at 720 kg/m3. This paper will investigate the uncertainty when measuring compressor efficiency using ASME PTC-10 instrumentation and the effect of the strong CO2 property variation when operating as a supercritical fluid, near the fluid-vapor dome. Prior work in this area by Wahl will be summarized and compared with the current compressor test program uncertainty. It will be shown that Wahl predicted high uncertainty as well although, the current testing program is even closer to the liquid-vapor dome than the test program under Wahl. The uncertainty analysis has shown that traditional PTC-10 temperature measurements lead to high levels of uncertainty for sCO2 compression near the liquid-vapor dome. The uncertainty is driven by the large changes in thermodynamic properties of sCO2. These property changes are affected by the measured pressure and temperature; however, temperature measurement error is the primary contributor to uncertainty. Because of this, looking at alternate sCO2 property measurements was investigated. Higher quality localized pressure calibration, improving flow measurement accuracy, and measuring density in addition to temperature all significantly improved efficiency uncertainty. The authors confirmed the most significant measurement change is to measure pressure and density through either a densitometer or a Coriolis flow meter which provides a density measurement in conjunction with flow rate accuracy.
Recent testing has been performed on a 1 MWe sCO2 closed loop recuperated cycle under funding from the US DOE Sunshot initiative and industry partners. Some of the goals of this funding included the development of a 1 MWe loop, a 10 MWe turbine, and performance and mechanical testing. One of the key challenges that presented itself was the filling, start-up, and shut down of the entire system. Understanding the loop transient performance is important when having to bring a turbine online, transitioning from peak to partial loading, and also managing routine and emergency shut downs. Due to large changes in density near the critical point for CO2 and its tendency to form dry ice when expanded to atmospheric pressure, managing loop filling and venting is critical in ensuring that components do not get damaged. Specific challenges were centered on protecting the dry gas seals, maintaining proper mass in the loop, and also thermal transients during trips. This paper will take a detailed look at the challenges encountered during start up and shut downs, and also the solutions that were implemented to successful transition between different phases of the testing.
In conjunction with the SunShot program to develop a supercritical CO2 turbine expander, an air dynamometer was developed to absorb the power of the SCO2 turbine during development testing. The dynamometer is unique in that it is directly mounted to the shaft of the turbine expander replacing the associated compressor coupling during the test campaign. It is able to replicate both the load of the compressor as well as the rotordynamic qualities of the compressor coupling all without the need for additional bearings, casing, or larger skid. The dynamometer consists of a single-stage centrifugal air compressor ingesting ambient air. To maximize turn-down and minimize weight, the impeller diameter and flow coefficient were optimized along with the design of the loop throttle valves. The detailed aerodynamic, rotordynamic, and mechanical design for the dynamometer is presented. The aerodynamic methodology to minimize unsteady forces transmitted to the turbine will also be reviewed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.