Sundstrand Corporation

247solar Inc.

Capstone Turbine Corporation

Wilson 247solar, Inc.

Wilson Solarpower Corporation

William Dean Treece

Bruce N Anderson

Christoph Hilgert

Dan Brown

Florian Bennhold

Jack R Shekleton

Gary Lester Goldberg

Gregory C Rouse

Gary Paul Vavrek

Sven B Sjoberg

R G Keetley

Jeff Willis

Robert W Fawley

James S Nash

Peter C Ingham

Robert C Thompson

Douglas A Hamrin

Systems related to concentrated solar combination heating and power generation; solar heating; industrial heat driven power generation; thermal storage systems and heat exchanger and power generation systems therefore, including any of the above with optional supplemental fuel production, and associated methods, are generally described.

Concentrated solar energy collection, thermal storage, and power generation systems and methods with optional supplemental fuel production

Inventive concentrated solar power systems using solar receivers, and related devices and methods, are generally described. Low pressure solar receivers are provided that function to convert solar radiation energy to thermal energy of a working fluid, e.g., a working fluid of a power generation or thermal storage system. In some embodiments, low pressure solar receivers are provided herein that are useful in conjunction with gas turbine based power generation systems.

Concentrated solar power generation using solar receivers

Inventive concentrated solar power systems using solar receivers, and related devices and methods, are generally described.

Multi-thermal storage unit systems, fluid flow control devices, and low pressure solar receivers for solar power systems, and related components and uses thereof

According to the present disclosure, a turbogenerator system may be combined with other heat/energy sources. A simple cycle or recuperated cycle turbogenerator have a variety of fuel options and grid connect or stand alone capability that can be combined with one or more external heat sources such as a Solar Collector/Receiver Heat Energy System, a Bio-mass Gasifier/Combustor Heat Energy System, a Fuel Cell Heat/Energy System, a Nuclear Heat/Energy System, a Waste Heat/Energy System, or some other suitable Heat/Energy System. The above external heat systems can be used to provide all of part of the heat/energy input to operate the turbogenerator and achieve electrical output, as well as a turbogenerator hot exhaust flow that has potential for other uses. Using an integral turbogenerator low emission combustor and fuel control as part of these combined systems has additional advantages. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Microturbine combination systems

The expense of fabricating an annular combustor (10) for a gas turbine is minimized by providing a combustor housing (12) including a generally axially extending sleeve (14) and an annular liner (18) disposed within the housing (12) and about the sleeve (14). The annular liner (18) has concentric inner and outer axially extending walls (20, 22) spaced from the sleeve (14 ) and the housing (12), respectively, and also has a radially extending wall (24) spaced from the housing (12 ) and interconnecting the inner and outer walls (20, 22) at one end to define a combustion chamber (26). The liner (18) is spaced from the housing (12 ) and the sleeve (14 ) to define a compressed air flow path (28) extending from a radially outer compressed air inlet (30) to a radially inner compressed air outlet (32) in communication with the combustion chamber (26) axially remote from the radially extending wall (24). The annular combustor (26) is provided with a plurality of air blast fuel injectors (42, 44) for injecting a fuel/air mixture into the liner (18 ) in a generally tangential direction adjacent the radially extending wall (24). The annular combustor (10) also includes a plurality of open ended elongated tubes (36) in the outer wall (22) adjacent the compressed air inlet (30) to provide dilution air at a point upstream of a turbine nozzle (40) and a plurality of open ended elongated tubes (34 ) in the outer wall (22) intermediate the dilution air tubes (36) and the radially extending wall (24) to provide air for combustion. With this arrangement, the combustion air tubes (34) are sized to admit sufficient combustion air to ensure completion of combustion upstream of the plane defined by the dilution air tubes (36) while forming a flame zone extending from a point adjacent the radially extending wall (24) to a point no further downstream than the dilution air tubes (36).

Annular combustor

The invention is directed to a compressor that recirculates bleed air by way of a fluid distributing unit which is adapted to redirect and uniformly distribute the air bled through passages in a compressor shroud section across a cross-sectional area of a compressor's inlet region to provide uniform distribution of the bleed air into the compressor's impellar to thereby increase efficiency of the compressor.

Compressor shroud air bleed arrangement

A method of starting a gas turbine (10) having a combustor (12) and a fuel supply system (14) supplying fuel to the combustor in accordance with the invention includes turning on a fuel valve (40) to control fuel flow to the combustor for combustion after a first starting condition (100) is reached; and cyclically turning (116) the main fuel valve on and off when a sensed exhaust gas temperature (114) initially reaches a first set temperature and continuing to cyclically turn the main fuel valve on and off until the sensed exhaust gas temperature falls to a second set temperature (118) lower than the first set temperature or until a second starting condition (102) is reached.

Process for starting a gas turbine and gas turbine

The invention is directed to a method of restoring compressor rotor blade/compressor shroud clearance brought on by cold air induced shroud contraction by delivering warmed bleed air through a geodesic array of compressor/turbine support struts which counteracts the cold air induced shroud contraction.

Combustors of gas turbine engines in which components are brazed to the combustor are not easily repairable by conventional welding because the brazed joint includes a melting point depressant which may not only cause the joint to be brittle but also the melting point of the joint to be near or below the temperatures required for welding. These problems are solved by a relatively simple and inexpensive process for producing a weld repairable combustor which includes using a brazing powder mix comprising a metal powder compatible with the metals of the combustor and the article to be brazed to the combustor, and suitable melting point depressant in powder form, heating the brazing powder mix to a first temperature sufficient to cause the brazing powder mix to become molten, and finally heating the brazing powder mix at a second temperature for a sufficient time to cause the melting point depressant to substantially diffuse away from the brazed area. The resulting combustor formed by this process can be repaired by welding when cracks or other discontinuities requiring a weld repair are situated near or at the brazed joint, and this process avoids the expensive requirement of redesign of the combustor to a welded combustor configuration which would require major tooling, equipment and processing changes.

Growing community of inventors

La Mesa, CA, United States of America

William Dean Treece