Coal-Fired Gas Turbine for Locomotive Propulsion

Abstract

Substitution of a deeply-cleaned coalwater slurry fuel for bulk solid coal in an atmospheric fluidized-bed combustor permits a sequence of evolutionary steps which can convert the conventional AFBC into a pressurized, combustion-stirred, fluidized-bed heat exchanger compact enough to propel a standard locomotive by use of a closed Brayton power cycle.Not surprisingly, a study of various locomotive fuel/engine combinations for the Department of Energy conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (9-11) concluded that "For non-diesel engines, coal is the best fuel when used in an external combustion engine system" and that, of the turbine systems, "At this time, the closed cycle gas