JP7471546B1 - Superconducting power generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

The superconducting power generation system includes a hydrogen gas turbine (4), a superconducting generator (2) that is supplied with liquid hydrogen and driven by the hydrogen gas turbine (4), and a refrigeration device (3) that vaporizes the liquid hydrogen supplied to the superconducting generator (2) and cools the hydrogen gas flowing out of the superconducting generator (2) to re-liquefy it.

Description

This disclosure relates to a superconducting power generation system.

In recent years, generators have been developed that have rotors that use superconducting wires as rotating field windings. Field windings that use superconducting wires must be cooled to below the transition temperature to maintain the superconducting state. Liquid hydrogen or other refrigerants are used for cooling. After the liquid refrigerant cools the rotor, including the field winding, it vaporizes due to intrusion heat such as conductive heat transfer or radiative heat transfer. The vaporized refrigerant cools the surrounding components such as the armature, and is then guided outside the generator through a connecting pipe or exhaust hole, etc., and collected (see, for example, non-patent document 1).

Yasuyuki Shirai and Masahiro Shiotsu (Kyoto University) "Development of Liquid Hydrogen-Cooled Superconducting Energy Devices", Cryogenics Vol. 55 No. 1, 2020

However, in Non-Patent Document 1, there is a problem in that a large amount of liquid hydrogen is supplied to cool the generator. This is because the excess hydrogen gas flowing out from the superconducting generator and exceeding the amount used by the hydrogen gas turbine is discarded.

Therefore, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a superconducting power generation system that can reduce the amount of liquid hydrogen supplied to cool the generator.

The superconducting power generation system disclosed herein comprises a hydrogen gas turbine, a superconducting generator to which liquid hydrogen is supplied and driven by the hydrogen gas turbine, and a refrigeration device that vaporizes the liquid hydrogen supplied to the superconducting generator and re-liquefies the hydrogen gas by cooling the hydrogen gas flowing out of the superconducting generator.

The present disclosure makes it possible to reduce the amount of liquid hydrogen supplied to cool the generator.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a superconducting power generation system according to a first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the superconducting power generation system of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of a superconducting power generation system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a superconducting power generation system according to a third embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the superconducting power generation system of the third embodiment. A diagram showing the configuration of a superconducting power generation system of embodiment 4. 13 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the superconducting power generation system of the fourth embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a superconducting power generation system according to the first embodiment.

The superconducting power generation system comprises a liquid hydrogen storage unit 1, a superconducting generator 2, a magnetic refrigeration device 3, a hydrogen gas turbine 4, a hydrogen gasification mechanism 5, an evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6, a liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7, a hydrogen gas supply control valve 8, a control unit 11, and a drive unit 12.

The liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 is connected to a pipe P1 and a pipe P2.
The liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 includes ports A1, A2, A3, A4, and A5. Port A1 is connected to pipe P1. Port A2 is connected to pipe P2. Port A3 is connected to pipe P3. Port A4 is connected to pipe P5. Port A5 is connected to pipe P4.

The superconducting generator 2 is connected to the tubes P3 and P7.
The magnetic refrigeration device 3 is connected to the pipes P4 and P6.

The hydrogen gasification mechanism 5 is provided in the pipe P5.
The evaporated hydrogen amount detector 6 is provided on the pipe P7.

The hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 has ports B1, B2, and B3. Port B1 is connected to pipe P7. Port B2 is connected to pipe P6. Port B3 is connected to pipe P8. Pipe P5 is connected to pipe P8.

The hydrogen gas turbine 4 is connected to the pipe P8.
The liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 stores liquid hydrogen.

The hydrogen gas turbine 4 is driven by hydrogen gas supplied by the pipe P8.
The superconducting generator 2 converts the power generated by the hydrogen gas turbine 4 into electric power. The superconducting generator 2 includes a superconducting conductor. The superconducting conductor is maintained in a superconducting state by utilizing the cold heat of liquid hydrogen (boiling point is approximately -20K) supplied by the pipe P3. The liquid hydrogen vaporizes in the superconducting generator 2, and hydrogen gas flows into the pipe P7. The superconducting generator 2 has a stator and a rotor (not shown). Either or both of the stator and the rotor are made of a superconductor. The magnetic refrigeration device 3 cools the hydrogen gas supplied by the pipe P6 and releases the liquid hydrogen into the pipe P4.

The liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 supplies liquid hydrogen supplied from the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 to either or both of the superconducting generator 2 and the hydrogen gas turbine 4. Liquid hydrogen sent from the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 through pipe P1 flows into port A1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7. The liquid hydrogen that flows in from port A1 flows out from either or both of port A3 and port A4. The control unit 11 can control the ratio of liquid hydrogen flowing out to ports A3 and A4. Liquid hydrogen flowing out from the magnetic refrigeration device 3 flows into port A5 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7. The liquid hydrogen that flows into port A5 flows out from either or both of port A2 and port A3. The control unit 11 can control the ratio of liquid hydrogen flowing out to ports A3 and A4.

The hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 supplies hydrogen gas flowing out from the superconducting generator 2 to either or both of the magnetic refrigeration device 3 and the hydrogen gas turbine 4. Specifically, hydrogen gas flowing out from the superconducting generator 2 flows into port B1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8. The hydrogen gas flowing in from port B1 flows out from either or both of port B2 and port B3. The control unit 11 controls the proportion of hydrogen gas flowing out to ports B2 and B3.

The hydrogen gasification mechanism 5 converts the liquid hydrogen flowing out from the port A4 and sent through the pipe P5 into hydrogen gas. The hydrogen gasification mechanism 5 can be constituted by, for example, a heater. The hydrogen gas is sent to the hydrogen gas turbine 4 via the pipe P5 and the pipe P8.

The evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 detects the amount of hydrogen gas flowing out from the superconducting generator 2. The evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 can be configured, for example, by a gas sensor.

A typical example of hydrogen flow will be described.
The liquid hydrogen supplied from the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 to the superconducting generator 2 via the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 cools the superconducting generator 2 and then evaporates into hydrogen gas, which is discharged outside the superconducting generator 2.

The hydrogen gas passes through hydrogen gas supply control valve 8, and some of it is combusted in hydrogen gas turbine 4 to power superconducting generator 2. The remaining hydrogen gas is cooled and liquefied by passing through magnetic refrigeration device 3. The liquid hydrogen passes through liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 and splits into two paths: one that returns to liquid hydrogen storage unit 1, and the other that flows to superconducting generator 2 for cooling again.

The control unit 11 controls the superconducting generator 2, the magnetic refrigeration device 3, the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7, the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8, the hydrogen gasification mechanism 5, the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6, and the hydrogen gas turbine 4.

The driving unit 12 drives the superconducting generator 2 and the magnetic refrigeration device 3 .
FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of the superconducting power generation system of the first embodiment.

In step S101, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 so that liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port A1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 flows out from port A3, and liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port A5 flows out from ports A2 and A3. As a result, liquid hydrogen that flows out from the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 is supplied to the superconducting generator 2. Liquid hydrogen that flows out from the magnetic refrigeration device 3 is supplied to the superconducting generator 2 and the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1. The control unit 11 may also control the proportion of liquid hydrogen that flows out from ports A2 and A3. The control unit 11 may also control so that liquid hydrogen flows out from only one of ports A2 and A3.

In step S102, the control unit 11 acquires a power generation demand from the outside.
In step S<b>103 , the control unit 11 acquires the amount of hydrogen gas flowing out from the superconducting generator 2 , which is detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 .

In step S104, if power generation is stopped due to an excess power supply, or if the superconducting generator 2 is used as a synchronous phase modifier without being connected to the hydrogen gas turbine 4, processing proceeds to step S105.

In step S105, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port B1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 flows out from port B2. This causes the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to stop operating, and the superconducting generator 2, which has been cut off from the power from the hydrogen gas turbine 4, stops. The hydrogen gas that flows out from port B2 and flows into the magnetic refrigeration device 3 is cooled and liquefied by passing through the magnetic refrigeration device 3, and turns into liquid hydrogen. The liquid hydrogen flows into port A5 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7. A portion of the liquid hydrogen that flows into port A5 is sent to the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 via port A2, and the remainder of the liquid hydrogen is sent to the superconducting generator 2 via port A3. Although the superconducting generator 2 has stopped generating electricity, liquid hydrogen flows into the superconducting generator 2 and is cooled by the liquid hydrogen. Once the superconducting generator 2 reaches room temperature, it takes time for it to cool down again and resume operation. By continuing to cool the superconducting generator 2 with liquid hydrogen even when the generator 2 has stopped generating power, the time until the generator can be restarted can be shortened.

In step S106, if the amount of hydrogen gas detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 is greater than the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity, processing proceeds to step S107. If the amount of hydrogen gas detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 is equal to or less than the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity, processing proceeds to step S108. The amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity can be determined, for example, using a table that defines the correspondence between the amount of electricity generated and the amount of hydrogen gas required to generate the required amount of electricity.

In step S107, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port B1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 flows out from ports B2 and B3. This causes the hydrogen gas to be sent to the magnetic refrigeration device 3 and the hydrogen gas turbine 4. The hydrogen gas that has flowed into the magnetic refrigeration device 3 is cooled and liquefied as it passes through the magnetic refrigeration device 3, and is converted into liquid hydrogen. The control unit 11 may control the rate at which hydrogen gas flows out from ports B2 and B3 in accordance with the difference between the amount of hydrogen gas detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 and the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the power required for power generation. The control unit 11 may increase the amount of hydrogen gas flowing out from port B2 as the difference increases.

In step S108, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port B1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 flows out from port B3. This causes the hydrogen gas to be sent to the hydrogen gas turbine 4.

In step S109, if the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity is still insufficient, processing proceeds to step S110.

In step S110, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 so that the liquid hydrogen that flows into port A1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 flows out from ports A3 and A4.

In step S111, the control unit 11 sets the hydrogen gasification mechanism 5 to ON. This causes the liquid hydrogen flowing out from port A4 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 to be converted into hydrogen gas and sent to the hydrogen gas turbine 4.

According to this embodiment, hydrogen gas is liquefied in the magnetic refrigeration device 3, and the re-liquefied hydrogen is supplied again to at least one of the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 and the superconducting generator 2. After using liquid hydrogen to cool the superconducting generator 2, the hydrogen gas flowing out from the superconducting generator 2 is re-liquefied by the magnetic refrigeration device 3, thereby reducing the consumption of liquid hydrogen. By adjusting the re-liquefied amount of liquid hydrogen with the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8, an optimal re-liquefaction amount that reflects the balance of supply and demand of liquid hydrogen can be realized, and the use of liquid hydrogen becomes more efficient. In the system described in the prior art, the excess hydrogen gas that flows out from the superconducting generator and exceeds the amount used by the hydrogen gas turbine is discarded, but according to this embodiment, the excess hydrogen gas can be re-liquefied by the magnetic refrigeration device and reused.

Embodiment 2.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a superconducting power generation system according to the second embodiment.

The superconducting power generation system of embodiment 2 differs from the superconducting power generation system of embodiment 1 in that the superconducting power generation system of embodiment 2 is equipped with a superconducting generator 2A instead of a superconducting generator 2.

The superconducting generator 2A includes a stator 13 and a superconducting rotor 14 .
The superconducting rotor 14 is made of a high-temperature superconductor.

The stator 13 is made of a general conductor. If the stator 13 were made of a superconductor, the alternating current generated in the stator 13 might cause the stator 13 to be unable to maintain its superconducting state. Considering this, the stator 13 is made of a general conductor.

The liquid hydrogen that flows into the superconducting generator 2A cools the high-temperature superconductor that forms the superconducting rotor 14, which maintains its superconducting state. The liquid hydrogen then evaporates, becoming low-temperature (above 20 K and below room temperature) hydrogen gas that flows to the stator 13 and cools it. The hydrogen gas that has cooled the stator 13 rises in temperature and flows out of the superconducting generator 2A.

The stator 13 may also be made of a high-temperature superconductor.
Embodiment 3
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a superconducting power generation system according to the third embodiment.

The superconducting power generation system of embodiment 3 differs from the superconducting power generation system of embodiment 1 in that the superconducting power generation system of embodiment 3 is equipped with a magnetic refrigeration unit 3A instead of the magnetic refrigeration unit 3, and is equipped with a liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A and pipes P11, P12, and P13.

The magnetic refrigeration device 3A has a magnetic calorific mechanism 15 and a magnetic field generating device 16. The liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A has ports C1, C2, and C3. Port C1 is connected to pipe P11. Pipe P11 is connected to port A3 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7. Port C2 is connected to pipe P3. Port C3 is connected to pipe P12. Pipe P4 is connected to the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A. Pipe P12 is connected to the magnetic field generating device 16 of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A. Pipe P13 is connected to the magnetic field generating device 16 of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A and pipe P7.

Liquid hydrogen is supplied to the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 from the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 of the magnetic refrigeration device 3 and the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1. The liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 adjusts the amount of liquid hydrogen supplied to the hydrogen gas turbine 4 through the superconducting generator 2, the magnetic field generating device 16 of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A, and the hydrogen gasification mechanism 5. Liquid hydrogen sent from the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 via the pipe P1 flows into the port A1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7. The liquid hydrogen that flows in from the port A1 flows out from either or both of the port A3 and the port A4. In addition, during the liquid hydrogen heating operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A, liquid hydrogen also flows out from the port A5 and is sent to the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 through the pipe P5. The control unit 11 can control the outflow ratio of liquid hydrogen to the ports A3, A4, and A5. During the hydrogen gas cooling operation by the magnetic refrigeration device 3A, liquid hydrogen sent from the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 via the pipe P4 flows into the port A5 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7. The liquid hydrogen flowing in from port A5 flows out from either or both of port A2 and port A3. The control unit 11 can control the ratio of the liquid hydrogen flowing in from port A2 to port A3.

The liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A adjusts the amount of liquid hydrogen supplied to the superconducting generator 2 and the magnetic refrigeration device 3A. Liquid hydrogen flows into port C1 from port A3 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 through pipe P11. The liquid hydrogen that flows into port C1 flows out from ports C2 and C3. The liquid hydrogen that flows out from port C2 is sent to the superconducting generator 2 through pipe P3. The liquid hydrogen that flows out from port C3 is sent to the magnetic field generating device 16 through pipe P12. The control unit 11 can control the ratio of liquid hydrogen flowing out to ports C2 and C3.

The magnetic field generator 16 is formed of a superconducting coil of high-temperature superconductor. To maintain the superconducting state of the high-temperature superconductor, the magnetic field generator 16 is cooled by liquid hydrogen sent via ports A3, C1, C3, and pipe P12. The liquid hydrogen evaporates and becomes hydrogen gas, which flows to port B1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 via pipes P13 and P7.

The magnetocaloric mechanism 15 has a first port PV1 and a second port PV2. The first port PV1 is connected to port A5 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 via a pipe P4. The second port PV2 is connected to port B2 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 via a pipe P6. The magnetocaloric mechanism 15 has a magnetocaloric material.

When the required amount of hydrogen gas calculated from the power generation demand is insufficient, the control unit 11 selects heating operation (heat generation operation) of liquid hydrogen by the magnetic refrigeration device 3A. During heating operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A, the control unit 11 magnetizes the magnetic field applied to the magnetic calorific mechanism 15. During heating operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A, the control unit 11 controls so that liquid hydrogen flows into the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 from the first port PV1 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15, and heated and evaporated hydrogen gas flows out from the second port PV2 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15. This increases the amount of hydrogen gas heading to the hydrogen gas turbine 4.

When the required amount of hydrogen gas calculated from the power generation demand is surplus, the control unit 11 selects cooling operation (heat absorption operation) of the hydrogen gas by the magnetic refrigeration device 3A. During cooling operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A, the control unit 11 demagnetizes the magnetic field applied to the magnetic calorific mechanism 15. During cooling operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A, the control unit 11 controls so that hydrogen gas flows into the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 from the second port PV2 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 and the liquefied liquid hydrogen flows out from the first port PV1 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15. This allows the surplus hydrogen gas to be re-liquefied into liquid hydrogen and returned to the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1.

The magnetic field generating device 16 can increase or decrease the magnetic field applied to the magneto-caloric mechanism 15 by changing the current flowing through the coil. Alternatively, the magnetic field applied to the magneto-caloric mechanism 15 can be increased or decreased by moving the magneto-caloric mechanism 15.

Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the superconducting power generation system of embodiment 3.

In step S201, the control unit 11 selects cooling operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A as the initial state.

In step S202, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 so that liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port A1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 flows out from port A3, and liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port A5 flows out from ports A2 and A3. As a result, liquid hydrogen that flows out from the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 is supplied to the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A. Liquid hydrogen that flows out from the magnetic refrigeration device 3A is supplied to the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A and the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1. The control unit 11 may control the proportion of liquid hydrogen that flows out from ports A2 and A3. The control unit 11 may control the liquid hydrogen to flow out from only one of ports A2 and A3.

In step S203, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A so that the liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port C1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A flows out from ports C2 and C3. As a result, the liquid hydrogen flowing from the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A is supplied to the superconducting generator 2 and the magnetic field generating device 16.

In step S204, the control unit 11 acquires a power generation demand from the outside.
In step S205, the control unit 11 acquires the amount of hydrogen gas flowing out from the superconducting generator 2 detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6.

In step S206, if power generation is stopped due to an excess supply of electricity, or if the superconducting generator 2 is used as a synchronous modifier without being connected to the hydrogen gas turbine 4, processing proceeds to step S207.

In step S207, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port B1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 flows out from port B2. This causes the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to stop operating, and the superconducting generator 2, which has been cut off from the power from the hydrogen gas turbine 4, stops. The hydrogen gas that flows out from port B2 and flows into the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A is cooled and liquefied by passing through the magnetic refrigeration device 3, and is converted into liquid hydrogen. The liquid hydrogen flows into port A5 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7. A portion of the liquid hydrogen that flows into port A5 is sent to the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 via port A2, and the remaining liquid hydrogen is sent to port C1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A via port A3. The liquid hydrogen that flows into port C1 is sent to the superconducting generator 2 from port C2, and is sent to the magnetic field generating device 16 from port C3. Although the superconducting generator 2 has stopped generating electricity, liquid hydrogen flows into the superconducting generator 2 and is cooled by the liquid hydrogen. Once the superconducting generator 2 reaches room temperature, it takes time to cool down again and restart. By continuing to cool the superconducting generator 2 with liquid hydrogen even when it has stopped generating electricity, the time until it restarts can be shortened.

In step S208, if the amount of hydrogen gas detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 is greater than the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity, processing proceeds to step S209. If the amount of hydrogen gas detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 is equal to or less than the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity, processing proceeds to step S210. The amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity can be determined, for example, using a table that defines the correspondence between the amount of electricity generated and the amount of hydrogen gas required to generate the required amount of electricity.

In step S209, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port B1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 flows out from ports B2 and B3. This causes the hydrogen gas to be sent to the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 and the hydrogen gas turbine 4 of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A. The hydrogen gas that has flowed into the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 is cooled and liquefied by passing through the magnetic calorific mechanism 15, and is converted into liquid hydrogen. The control unit 11 may control the outflow rate of hydrogen gas from ports B2 and B3 according to the difference between the amount of hydrogen gas detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 and the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the power required for power generation. The control unit 11 may increase the amount of hydrogen gas flowing out from port B2 as the difference increases.

In step S210, the control unit 11 selects the heating operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A.
In step S211, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 so that the liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port A1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 flows out from ports A3 and A5. The liquid hydrogen that flows out from the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 is supplied to the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A and the magnetocaloric mechanism 15. The liquid hydrogen that flows into the first port PV1 of the magnetocaloric mechanism 15 is heated and evaporated into hydrogen gas, which flows out from the second port PV2 of the magnetocaloric mechanism 15. The hydrogen gas that flows out from the second port PV2 flows into port B2 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 through the pipe P6.

In step S212, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port B1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 flows out from port B3, and the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port B2 flows out from port B3. This causes the hydrogen gas to be sent to the hydrogen gas turbine 4.

In step S213, if the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity is still insufficient, processing proceeds to step S214.

In step S214, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 so that the liquid hydrogen that flows into port A1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 flows out from ports A3, A4, and A5.

In step S215, the control unit 11 sets the hydrogen gasification mechanism 5 to ON. This causes the liquid hydrogen flowing out from port A4 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 to be converted into hydrogen gas and sent to the hydrogen gas turbine 4.

Embodiment 4
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a superconducting power generation system according to the fourth embodiment.

The superconducting power generation system of embodiment 4 differs from the superconducting power generation system of embodiment 3 in that the superconducting power generation system of embodiment 4 is equipped with hydrogen gas supply control valves 8A and 8B instead of hydrogen gas supply control valve 8, and is equipped with liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7B and pipes P14, P15, P16, and P17.

The liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7B includes ports D1, D2, and D3. Port D1 is connected to pipe P14. Port D2 is connected to pipe P15. Pipe P15 is connected to the first port PV1 of the magnetocaloric mechanism 15. Port D3 is connected to pipe P5.

The hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A includes ports E1, E2, E3, and E4. Port E1 is connected to pipe P7. Port E2 is connected to pipe P6. Port E3 is connected to pipe P16. Pipe P16 is connected to a second port PV2 of the magnetocaloric mechanism 15. Port E4 is connected to pipe P17. Pipe P17 is connected to the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B.

Hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B is connected to ports F1, F2, and F3. Port F1 is connected to pipe P17. Port F2 is connected to pipe P8. Port F3 is connected to pipe P5.

Liquid hydrogen flows into port D1 of liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7B from port A4 of liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7. The flowing in liquid hydrogen flows out from either or both of port D2 and port D3. The liquid hydrogen flowing out from port D2 flows through pipe P15 into the first port PV1 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15. Hydrogen gas flows out from the second port PV2 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 and flows through pipe P16 into port E3 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A. The control unit 11 can control the ratio of liquid hydrogen flowing out to ports D2 and D3.

Hydrogen gas flowing out from the superconducting generator 2 and the magnetic field generator 16 flows into port E1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A. The hydrogen gas flowing in from port E1 flows out from port E4. During cooling operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A, the hydrogen gas flowing in from port E1 also flows out from port E2. The control unit 11 can control the ratio of hydrogen gas flowing out to ports E2 and E4. The hydrogen gas flowing out from port E2 flows into the fourth port PV4 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15. The hydrogen gas is cooled in the magnetic calorific mechanism 15, and liquid hydrogen flows out from the third port PV3 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15. The liquid hydrogen flowing out from the third port PV3 flows into port A5 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 through pipe P4. During heating operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A, the hydrogen gas flowing out from the second port PV2 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 flows into port E3 through pipe P16. The hydrogen gas that has flowed into port E3 flows out from port E4, passes through pipe P17, and flows into port F1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B.

Hydrogen gas that flows into port F1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B flows out from port F2. Hydrogen gas that flows into port F3 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B flows out from port F2.

Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the superconducting power generation system of embodiment 4.

In step S301, the control unit 11 selects cooling operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A as the initial state.

In step S302, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 so that liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port A1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 flows out from port A3, and liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port A5 flows out from ports A2 and A3. As a result, liquid hydrogen that flows out from the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 is supplied to the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A. Liquid hydrogen that flows out from the magnetic refrigeration device 3A is supplied to the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A and the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1. The control unit 11 may also control the proportion of liquid hydrogen that flows out from ports A2 and A3. The control unit 11 may also control the liquid hydrogen to flow out from only one of ports A2 and A3.

In step S303, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A so that the liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port C1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A flows out from ports C2 and C3. As a result, the liquid hydrogen flowing from the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A is supplied to the superconducting generator 2 and the magnetic field generating device 16.

In step S304, the control unit 11 acquires a power generation demand from the outside.
In step S305 , the control unit 11 acquires the amount of hydrogen gas flowing out from the superconducting generator 2 detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 .

In step S306, if power generation is stopped due to an excess power supply, or if the superconducting generator 2 is used as a synchronous phase modifier without being connected to the hydrogen gas turbine 4, processing proceeds to step S307.

In step S307, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port E1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A flows out from port E2. This causes the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to stop operating, and the superconducting generator 2, which has been cut off from the hydrogen gas turbine 4, stops. The hydrogen gas that flows out from port E2 and flows into the fourth port PV4 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A is cooled and liquefied by passing through the magnetic calorific mechanism 15, and is converted into liquid hydrogen. The liquid hydrogen flows out from the third port PV3 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 and flows into port A5 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 through the pipe P4. A portion of the liquid hydrogen that flows into port A5 is sent to the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 via port A2, and the remainder of the liquid hydrogen is sent to the superconducting generator 2 via port A3. Although the superconducting generator 2 has stopped generating electricity, liquid hydrogen flows into the superconducting generator 2, and the superconducting generator 2 is cooled by the liquid hydrogen. Once the superconducting generator 2 reaches room temperature, it takes time to cool down again and restart. By continuing to cool the superconducting generator 2 with liquid hydrogen even when it has stopped generating electricity, the time until it restarts can be shortened.

In step S308, if the amount of hydrogen gas detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 is greater than the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity, processing proceeds to step S309. If the amount of hydrogen gas detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 is equal to or less than the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity, processing proceeds to step S310. The amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity can be determined, for example, using a table that defines the correspondence between the amount of electricity generated and the amount of hydrogen gas required to generate the required amount of electricity.

In step S309, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port E1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A flows out from ports E2 and E4. This causes the hydrogen gas to be sent to the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A and the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B. The hydrogen gas that has flowed into the fourth port PV4 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A is cooled and liquefied by passing through the magnetic calorific mechanism 15, and is converted into liquid hydrogen. The liquid hydrogen flows out from the third port PV3 of the magnetic calorific mechanism 15 and flows into port A5 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 through the pipe P4. A portion of the liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port A5 is sent to the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 via port A2, and the remainder of the liquid hydrogen is sent to port C1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A via port A3. The liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port C1 is sent to the superconducting generator 2 from port C2, and sent to the magnetic field generating device 16 from port C3. The control unit 11 may control the rate at which hydrogen gas flows out from the ports E2 and E4 in accordance with the difference between the amount of hydrogen gas detected by the evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit 6 and the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of power. The control unit 11 may increase the amount of hydrogen gas flowing out from the port E2 as the difference increases.

In step S310, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port F1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B flows out from port F2. This causes the hydrogen gas to be sent to the hydrogen gas turbine 4.

In step S311, the control unit 11 selects the heating operation of the magnetic refrigeration device 3A.
In step S312, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 so that the liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port A1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 flows out from ports A3 and A5. The liquid hydrogen that flows out from the liquid hydrogen storage unit 1 is supplied to the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A and the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7A.

In step S313, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7B so that the liquid hydrogen that flows into port D1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7B flows out from port D2. The liquid hydrogen that flows out from port D2 flows into the first port PV1 of the magnetocaloric mechanism 15. Inside the magnetocaloric mechanism 15, the liquid hydrogen is heated and vaporized into hydrogen gas, which flows out from the second port PV2 of the magnetocaloric mechanism 15. The hydrogen gas that flows out from the second port PV2 flows through pipe P6 into port E3 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A.

In step S314, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A so that hydrogen gas that has flowed into port E1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A flows out from port E4, and hydrogen gas that has flowed into port E3 flows out from port E4. This causes hydrogen gas to be sent to port F1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B.

In step S315, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port F1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B flows out from port F2. This causes the hydrogen gas to be sent to the hydrogen gas turbine 4.

In step S316, if the amount of hydrogen gas required in the hydrogen gas turbine 4 to generate the required amount of electricity is still insufficient, processing proceeds to step S317.

In step S317, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 so that the liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port A1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 flows out from ports A3, A4, and A5. The liquid hydrogen that has flowed out from port A4 flows through pipe P15 into port D1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7B.

In step S318, the control unit 11 controls the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7B so that the liquid hydrogen that has flowed into port D1 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7B flows out from ports D2 and D3. The liquid hydrogen that flows out from port D3 flows through pipe P5. The liquid hydrogen is converted into hydrogen gas by the hydrogen gasification mechanism 5 and flows into port F3 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B.

In step S319, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into port F3 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8B flows out from port F2. This causes the hydrogen gas to be sent to the hydrogen gas turbine 4.

In step S320, the control unit 11 sets the hydrogen gasification mechanism 5 to ON. This causes the liquid hydrogen flowing out from port A4 of the liquid hydrogen supply control valve 7 to be converted into hydrogen gas and sent to the hydrogen gas turbine 4.

Variant examples.
In the above embodiment, in steps S107 and S209, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into the port B1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 flows out from the port B2 and the port B3, but this is not limited to this. The control unit 11 may also control the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into the port B1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8 flows out from the port B2. In the above embodiment, in step S309, the control unit 11 controls the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into the port E1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A flows out from the port E2 and the port E4, but this is not limited to this. The control unit 11 may also control the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A so that the hydrogen gas that has flowed into the port E1 of the hydrogen gas supply control valve 8A flows out from the port E2.

The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims, not the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

1 Liquid hydrogen storage section, 2, 2A Superconducting generator, 3, 3A Magnetic refrigeration device, 4 Hydrogen gas turbine, 5 Hydrogen gasification mechanism, 6 Evaporated hydrogen amount detection section, 7, 7A, 7B Liquid hydrogen supply control valve, 8, 8A, 8B Hydrogen gas supply control valve, 11 Control section, 12 Drive section, 13 Stator, 14 Superconducting rotor, 15 Magneto-caloric mechanism, 16 Magnetic field generating device.

Claims (13)

A hydrogen gas turbine;
a superconducting generator supplied with liquid hydrogen and driven by the hydrogen gas turbine;
a refrigeration device that vaporizes the liquid hydrogen supplied to the superconducting generator and cools the hydrogen gas flowing out of the superconducting generator to re-liquefy the hydrogen;
a first valve configured to be able to supply hydrogen gas flowing out from the superconducting generator to either one or both of the refrigeration device and the hydrogen gas turbine. The superconducting power generation system further comprises:
a liquid hydrogen storage unit for storing liquid hydrogen;
2. The superconducting power generation system according to claim 1, further comprising a second valve configured to be able to supply liquid hydrogen flowing out from the liquid hydrogen storage unit to either one or both of the superconducting generator and the hydrogen gas turbine, and to supply liquid hydrogen flowing out from the refrigeration device to either one or both of the superconducting generator and the liquid hydrogen storage unit. A hydrogen gas turbine;
a superconducting generator supplied with liquid hydrogen and driven by the hydrogen gas turbine;
a refrigeration device that vaporizes the liquid hydrogen supplied to the superconducting generator and cools the hydrogen gas flowing out of the superconducting generator to re-liquefy the hydrogen;
a liquid hydrogen storage unit for storing liquid hydrogen;
a second valve configured to be able to supply liquid hydrogen flowing out from the liquid hydrogen storage unit to either one or both of the superconducting generator and the hydrogen gas turbine, and to supply liquid hydrogen flowing out from the refrigeration device to either one or both of the superconducting generator and the liquid hydrogen storage unit. The superconducting generator comprises:
a rotor formed of a superconductor;
4. The superconducting power generation system according to claim 1, further comprising: a stator formed of a normal conductor. the rotor is cooled by the liquid hydrogen;
5. The superconducting power generation system according to claim 4, wherein the stator is cooled by hydrogen gas obtained by vaporizing the liquid hydrogen. The refrigeration device includes:
A magnetic field generating device formed of a superconductor;
3. The superconducting power generation system according to claim 2 , further comprising a magnetocaloric mechanism that generates heat when an applied magnetic field is increased and absorbs heat when the applied magnetic field is decreased. The superconducting power generation system according to claim 6, wherein the magnetic field generating device is cooled by the liquid hydrogen. The superconducting power generation system according to claim 7, further comprising a third valve configured to supply the liquid hydrogen flowing out of the second valve to either the superconducting generator or the magnetic field generating device, or to both. The superconducting power generation system of claim 8 further comprises a control unit that switches between a cooling operation of hydrogen gas using the endothermic reaction of the magnetocaloric mechanism and a heating operation of liquid hydrogen using the exothermic reaction of the magnetocaloric mechanism by increasing or decreasing the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device. the second valve is configured to be able to supply liquid hydrogen flowing out from the liquid hydrogen storage unit to the magnetocaloric mechanism;
10. The superconducting power generation system according to claim 9, wherein the control unit causes the hydrogen gas to flow into the magnetocaloric mechanism from the first valve during the cooling operation, and causes the liquid hydrogen to flow into the magnetocaloric mechanism from the second valve during the heating operation. an evaporated hydrogen amount detector provided in a pipe for connecting the superconducting generator and the refrigeration device;
3. The superconducting power generation system according to claim 1 , wherein a flow rate from said first valve to said refrigeration device and a flow rate from said first valve to said hydrogen gas turbine are adjusted based on the amount of evaporated hydrogen detected by said evaporated hydrogen amount detection unit. 4. The superconducting power generation system according to claim 2, further comprising a hydrogen gasification mechanism provided in a pipe for connecting the second valve and the hydrogen gas turbine, for converting the liquid hydrogen flowing out from the second valve into hydrogen gas. A hydrogen gas turbine;
a superconducting generator supplied with liquid hydrogen and driven by the hydrogen gas turbine;
a refrigeration device that vaporizes the liquid hydrogen supplied to the superconducting generator and cools the hydrogen gas flowing out of the superconducting generator to re-liquefy the hydrogen,
The refrigeration device includes:
A magnetic field generating device formed of a superconductor;
a magnetocaloric mechanism that generates heat when an applied magnetic field increases and absorbs heat when the applied magnetic field decreases.

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