Kobe Steel, Ltd.

Masayoshi Matsumura

Shigeto Adachi

Noboru Tsuboi

Yutaka Narukawa

Kazuo Takahashi

Haruyuki Matsuda

Eiji Kanki

Shirohiko Okamoto

Kouichirou Hashimoto

A power generation method capable of obtaining, even after switching a refrigerant, the equivalent power generation amount before the switching includes: a step of, during reference operation for circulating a reference refrigerant as a working medium within a circulation pathway and operating a binary generator, acquiring information of a control target of superheat of the reference refrigerant evaporated in an evaporator; a step of filling as the working medium, in the circulation pathway, mixed refrigerants by mixing a high-vapor pressure refrigerant and a low-vapor pressure refrigerant than the reference refrigerant in the ratio in which its vapor pressure equals the reference refrigerant; and a step of operating the binary generator while circulating the mixed refrigerants as the working medium within the circulation pathway and controlling superheat of the mixed refrigerants evaporated in the evaporator so as to equal the control target of the superheat of the reference refrigerant.

Power generation method

A thermal energy recovery device includes: a circulation line having an evaporator, an expander, a condenser, and a pump; a power recovery machine; a first on-off valve; a thermal energy introduction line configured to introduce a gas phase working medium into a post-expansion space; a second on-off valve; and a control unit. Until an evaporation condition that a liquid phase working medium accumulated in the post-expansion space has reached an amount equal to or smaller than a reference amount is met, the control unit closes the first on-off valve and opens the second on-off valve, and drives the pump in a state where the expander is stopped, and when the evaporation condition is met, the control unit opens the first on-off valve and closes the second on-off valve, and drives the expander.

Thermal energy recovery device and operating method of the same

A power generation apparatus according to the present invention includes: an induction generator; a switch that opens or closes an electrical connection path connecting the induction generator to an electrical path in which an alternating current of a predetermined frequency flows; a control unit that controls the opening and closing state of the switch; and an expander that rotationally drives the induction generator by a working medium supplied thereto. In order to suppress a starting current generated when starting the induction generator while suppressing an increase in cost, the control unit closes the switch after the working medium is supplied to the expander so that the expander starts to rotationally drive the induction generator.

Power generation apparatus including predetermined slip-based time delay control for grid connection

A power generation apparatus of the present invention includes: a separation member that separates a lubricant from a fluid mixture flowing into an expander casing; an expander rotor that is rotationally driven by an expansion force applied from steam of a working medium from which the lubricant is separated; a power generator rotor that rotates with the rotation of the expander rotor; a first bearing holding portion that accommodates a first bearing supporting a first rotation shaft of the expander rotor; a second bearing holding portion that accommodates a second bearing supporting a second rotation shaft of the expander rotor; and a lubricant supply path which connects a lubricant accumulation position inside the expander casing to both inner spaces of the first bearing holding portion and the second bearing holding portion of which the pressures are lower than the pressure of the lubricant accumulation position inside the expander casing.

Power generation apparatus including lubricant separation member

A rotary machine drive system includes: a first heat source heat exchanger that receives a first heating medium and gasifies a liquid working medium; a first expander that is connected to a rotation shaft and rotates the rotation shaft by expanding the working medium that has been gasified by the first heat source heat exchanger; a rotary machine that has a rotor part provided to the rotation shaft; a second heat source heat exchanger that receives a second heating medium and gasifies a liquid working medium; a second expander that is connected to the rotation shaft and rotates the rotation shaft by expanding the second heating medium; and a condenser that condenses the working medium that has been used in the first expander and the working medium that has been used in the second expander.

Rotary machine drive system

A power generation apparatus includes a housing that contains a driving unit of the expander within a space enclosed by a partition wall, and a magnetic coupling that is divided between the inside and outside of the housing through the partition wall and that transmits the rotational driving force of the expander to the exterior of the housing. The magnetic coupling includes driving-side magnets and slave-side magnets, and first and second magnetic path formation members respectively magnetically connect the driving-side magnets and also the slave-side magnets.

Power generation apparatus

A power generation apparatus that suppress cavitation includes a first on/off valve provided between a steam generator and an expander in a circulating channel; a bypass channel connected between an area between the steam generator and the first on/off valve and an area between the expander and a condenser; a second on/off valve provided in the bypass channel; a third on/off valve provided between a pump and the steam generator; and a controller. When stopping the pump, the controller outputs a control signal that stops the pump, a control signal that closes the first on/off valve, a control signal that opens the second on/off valve, and a control signal that closes the third on/off valve. In the case where a predetermined condition has been met, the controller outputs a control signal that closes the second on/off valve.

A screw expander in which a pair of male and female screw rotors engaged with each other are housed in a rotor chamber formed in a casing, an expansion force of a high-pressure gas supplied from an intake flow path to the rotor chamber is converted into a rotational force by the screw rotors and the expanded low-pressure gas is exhausted to an exhaust flow path includes a valve mechanism capable of allowing communication between an intermediate pressure portion, which is a space in the rotor chamber and can be separated from the intake flow path and the exhaust flow path by the screw rotors, and a bypass flow path, to which a high-pressure gas is supplied, and a controller for controlling the valve mechanism in accordance with an operation expansion ratio which is a ratio of a pressure in the intake flow path to a pressure in the exhaust flow path.

Screw expander

In a power generation apparatus, a working medium is evaporated in an evaporator using a heating medium supplied from outside, and the evaporated working medium is subsequently introduced into an expander, which is connected to an electric generator, to convert a thermal expansion force of the working medium into a rotation force inside the expander for generation of electric power. Then, the working medium exhausted from the expander is fed into a condenser in which the working medium is condensed by cooling the working medium with a coolant medium supplied from outside, and the condensed working medium is pressurized by a circulating pump to resupply the evaporator with the pressurized working medium. In the power generation apparatus, when a condensing pressure in the condenser is high, a rotational speed of the circulating pump and a suction volume of the evaporator are increased.

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Takasago, Japan

Masayoshi Matsumura