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US 9,759,097 B2Granted
Closed-cycle plant
AssigneeElettromeccanica Veneta S.R.L.
InventorGino Zampieri
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A closed cycle plant for converting thermal power to mechanical or electrical power including: a closed circuit inside which a working fluid circulates according to a predetermined circulation direction, a volumetric expander configured to receive at the inlet the working fluid in a gaseous state. The volumetric expander includes: a jacket having an inlet and an outlet for enabling the introduction and discharge the working fluid; an active element housed in said jacket and suitable for defining, in cooperation with said jacket, a variable volume expansion chamber; a main shaft; a valve active that opens and closes the inlet and outlet, and a generator connected to the main shaft. The valve includes a regulation device configured to vary the duration of the introduction condition, or the maximum through cross-section of the inlet.
Claims22
A closed cycle plant for converting thermal power into electric power comprising:
- a closed circuit, inside which at least one working fluid according to a predetermined circulation direction circulates,
- at least one volumetric expander configured to receive at the inlet the working fluid at the gaseous state, said volumetric expander comprising:
- (i) at least one jacket having at least one inlet and one outlet respectively suitable for introducing and discharging the working fluid,
- (ii) an active element housed in said jacket and suitable for defining, in cooperation with said jacket, a variable volume expansion chamber,
- (iii) a main shaft associated to the active element and configured to rotatively move around an axis,
- (iv) at least one valve, active on the inlet and outlet of the jacket, and configured to selectively open and close said inlet and said outlet to allow at least one condition of introducing, one condition of expanding and one condition of discharging the working fluid from said expansion chamber,
- at least one electric energy generator connected to the main shaft,
- the valve comprising at least one regulation device configured to allow the variation of the at least one of the following parameters:
- (i) the duration of the introduction condition, and
- (ii) the maximum passage cross-section of the inlet,
- wherein the plant further comprises:
- at least one pump placed on the circuit and arranged to impose to the working fluid said predetermined circulation direction,
- at least one first heat exchanger active on the circuit and located downstream of the pump with respect to the working fluid circulation direction, said first heat exchanger being arranged for receiving at the inlet the working fluid and being configured to receive heat from a hot source and allow the heating of the working fluid until it is caused the passage from the liquid state to the gaseous one,
- said volumetric expander being connected downstream of the first heat exchanger, with respect to the working fluid circulation direction inside the circuit, and being configured to receive at the inlet the working fluid at the gaseous state generated in the first exchanger,
- wherein the regulation device comprises at least one mask movable relatively to the inlet to allow the variation of the maximum cross-section and determine a regulation of the volumetric flow rate of the working fluid entering the expansion chamber during the introduction condition,
- wherein said regulation device comprises:
- (i) at least one first sensor active on the circuit, and configured to generate a first detection signal regarding the at least one pressure parameter of the working fluid at the gaseous state, entering the volumetric expander,
- (ii) at least one second sensor active on the circuit and configured to generate a second detection signal regarding at least one pressure parameter of the working fluid at the liquid state upstream of the pump, and
- (iii) a control unit connected to the first and second sensors, and configured to:
- (a) receive from the first and second sensors the respective first and second detection signals;
- (b) process the signal received from the first and second sensors for determining the pressure of the working fluid respectively entering the volumetric expander and upstream of the pump;
- and
- (c) position the mask relatively to the inlet, as a function of at least one the values of said working fluid pressures.
20 more elements
A closed cycle plant for converting thermal power into electric power comprising:
- a closed circuit, inside which at least one working fluid according to a predetermined circulation direction circulates,
- at least one volumetric expander configured to receive at the inlet the working fluid at the gaseous state, said volumetric expander comprising:
- (i) at least one jacket having at least one inlet and one outlet respectively suitable for introducing and discharging the working fluid,
- (ii) an active element housed in said jacket and suitable for defining, in cooperation with said jacket, a variable volume expansion chamber,
- (iii) a main shaft associated to the active element and configured to rotatively move around an axis,
- (iv) at least one valve, active on the inlet and outlet of the jacket , and configured to selectively open and close said inlet and said outlet to allow at least one condition of introducing, one condition of expanding and one condition of discharging the working fluid from said expansion chamber,
- at least one electric energy generator connected to the main shaft,
- the valve comprising at least one regulation device configured to allow the variation of the at least one of the following parameters:
- (i) the duration of the introduction condition,
- (ii) the maximum passage cross-section of the inlet,
- wherein the regulation device comprises at least one mask movable relatively to the inlet to allow the variation of the maximum cross-section and determine a regulation of the volumetric flow rate of the working fluid entering the expansion chamber during the introduction condition, wherein the valve comprises:
- (i) a valve body having at least one housing seat having a substantially cylindrical shape, the valve body of the valve further comprising at least one first and one second passages respectively arranged to put in fluid communication the housing seat with the inlet and the outlet of said expansion chamber,
- (ii) at least one distribution body rotatively engaged with the inside of the housing seat, and comprising:
- (a) a first and second channels,
- (b) at least one first and one second cavities placed at a side wall of the distribution body and angularly offset from each other with respect to a rotation axis of the distribution body, said first and second cavities being configured to put in fluid communication the first and second channels respectively with the first and second passages,
- the distribution body, following the rotation inside the housing seat, being configured to selectively determine the introduction, expansion and discharge conditions of the volumetric expander, and wherein said mask is interposed between the first cavity of the distribution body, and the first passage of the valve, the mask being movable relative to the first passage for determining a variation of said maximum cross-section,
- wherein the mask comprises a semi-cylindrical sleeve interposed between the housing seat and the distribution body, the mask being rotatively movable around the rotation axis of the distribution body, and wherein the mask, following its own angular movement, determines a predetermined number of occlusion degrees of the inlet, each occlusion degree being defined by the ratio of the area of the inlet maximum cross-section without the mask, to the area of the maximum passage cross-section in the presence of the mask, said occlusion degree being comprised between 1 and 3.
14 more elements
A closed cycle plant for converting thermal power into electric power comprising:
- a closed circuit, inside which at least one working fluid according to a predetermined circulation direction circulates,
- at least one volumetric expander configured to receive at the inlet the working fluid at the gaseous state, said volumetric expander comprising:
- (i) at least one jacket having at least one inlet and one outlet respectively suitable for introducing and discharging the working fluid,
- (ii) an active element housed in said jacket and suitable for defining, in cooperation with said jacket, a variable volume expansion chamber,
- (iii) a main shaft associated to the active element and configured to rotatively move around an axis,
- (iv) at least one valve, active on the inlet and outlet of the jacket, and configured to selectively open and close said inlet and said outlet to allow at least one condition of introducing, one condition of expanding and one condition of discharging the working fluid from said expansion chamber,
- at least one electric energy generator connected to the main shaft,
- the valve comprising at least one regulation device configured to allow the variation of the at least one of the following parameters:
- (i) the duration of the introduction condition,
- (ii) the maximum passage cross-section of the inlet,
- wherein the plant further comprises:
- at least one pump placed on the circuit and arranged to impose to the working fluid said predetermined circulation direction, —at least one first heat exchanger active on the circuit and located downstream of the pump with respect to the working fluid circulation direction, said first heat exchanger being arranged for receiving at the inlet the working fluid and being configured to receive heat from a hot source (H) and allow the heating of the working fluid until it is caused the passage from the liquid state to the gaseous one,
- said volumetric expander being connected downstream of the first heat exchanger, with respect to the working fluid circulation direction inside the circuit, and being configured to receive at the inlet the working fluid at the gaseous state generated in the first exchanger,
- wherein the plant comprising at least one third heat exchanger operatively active on the circuit upstream of the first heat exchanger and suitable for receiving through said working fluid, said third heat exchanger being further configured to receive heat from a hot source and enable to pre-heat the working fluid before the latter is introduced in the first heat exchanger,
- wherein said third heat exchanger is configured to pre-heat the working fluid until a saturated liquid condition, and
- wherein said first heat exchanger is suitable for receiving the working fluid in a saturated liquid condition and for supplying at the outlet the working fluid in a saturated vapor condition, and
- wherein said first and third heat exchangers are positioned immediately and consecutively after each other according to the working fluid circulation direction, said first and third heat exchangers being configured to receive heat from the same hot source,
- said plant further comprising a heating circuit extending between and inlet and an outlet and inside which at least one heating fluid from said hot source is suitable for circulating, said first and third heat exchangers being operatively active on the heating circuit, and interposed between the inlet and outlet of said circuit, the heating fluid, circulating from the inlet towards the outlet, consecutively flowing through the first and third heat exchangers.
15 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.