US2294700A

US2294700A - Elastic fluid power plant

Info

Publication number: US2294700A
Application number: US356097A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stroehlen Richard
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1939-10-13
Filing date: 1940-09-09
Publication date: 1942-09-01
Anticipated expiration: 1959-09-01

Description

Sept. 1 1942. L R. STROEHLEN 2,294,700

' ELASTIC FLUID POWER PLANT File d Sept. 9, 1940 In ventorz 7 Richard Stroehien,

by WW6.

His Atborn ey.

Patented Sept. 1, 1942 Richard stroehlen, Berlin, G

General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Applicationsepteniber 9, 1940, Serial No.

- In Germany October 13, 1939 1 Claim. (01. -49)' astlc mud The present invention relates to e1 power plants, more particularly to the kind of .plants which include a pressure combustion boiler for producing steam or like elastic fluid to be conducted to a steam or elastic fluid turbine and a gas turbine for receiving combustion gases from the boiler and for operating a compressor to furnish the necessary air for maintaining high pressure combustion in the combustion chamber of the boiler. 4

In an arrangement of this kind the combustion gases flow through the combustion chamber at high velocity. Thus the first pressure drop of the combustion gases is utilized to force them through the combustion chamber and the second pressure drop of the combustion gases is utilized in a gas turbine. In order to utilize to the fullest extent the available energy in the combustion gases it is cooled to a low temperature in the heat cycle of the plant. Heretofore it has been customary to this end to provide a feed water preheater for preheating the feed water to a high temperature,

.in some instances to the boiling point. Nowadays in normal boiler arrangements it is customary to provide air preheaters for cooling gases discharged from the gas turbine.

The object of my invention is to provide an heating element ermany, alslgnorto conduit II to the burner l2. Steam produced in the boiler is conducted through a conduit II to a steam turbine l8 discharging into a condenser I 9 and arranged to drive an electric generator 20. The combustion gases which pass along the II with considerable velocity are conducted through a conduit 2! to a gas turbine 22 in the presentinstance arranged to drive the aforementioned compressor I 4. The condensate discharged from the condenser I9 is returned as feed water to the heating element ll of the boiler through a feed water preheating A arrangement.

necessary that the gases are.

improved arrangement of combined steam orelastic fluid and pressure combustion flring of the kind above specified whereby great economy and efiiciency of the plant are attained. in accordance with my invention bythe provision of a preheater arrangement for feed water, or like operating fluid whereby feed water preheating is eirected first by cooling of the compressed combustion air or the gases discharged from the gas turbine or both and thereafter by means of extraction 0 For a better understanding of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the following description and .the claim appended thereto in connection with the accompanying drawing.

The single figure of the drawing shows a power plant embodying my. invention.

The arrangement bustion boiler iii having an element il ducing elastic fluid such as steam and IE to which fuel is conducted by means of, a fuel pump i3. Air to maintain combustion in the combustion chamber of the boiler is compressed by means of a and a discharge for proconnected by means including a gas turbine power plants with 0 This is accomplished.

r live steam or elastic fluid. 0

prises a pressure com-.'

a burner 50 21 through a conduit 32.

compressor is with an inlet l5' Generally the feedwater preheating arrangement includes means for cooling the aircompressor or compressor member and a surface type heat exchanging member connected to the discharge of the gas turbine as well as devices or apparatus for preheating the feed water by means of extraction ing' to my invention, as pointed out above, the condensate discharged from the condenser is preheated by flrst passing it through at least one of said members and thereafter through said apparatus.

In the present example the condensate is discharged i'rom the condenser id through a conduit 23 and forced by a condensate pump 24 into a Jacket 25 surrounding or enclosing the air compressor M. In this manner the heat energy produced during the compression in the compressor is partly transferred to the condensate or feed water, thus. improving the efliciency of the compressor. The feed water is then successively passed through three preheating devices or

apparatus

26, 21 and 28 connected in series behind the jacket 25 as regards the direction of flow of feed water. The

preheating devices

26, 21 are surface type heat exchangers connected to receive extraction steam from lower and intermediate stages respectively of the turbine through

conduits

29 and 30 respectively. The preheating device 28 is a mixing type preheater connected to receive heating fluid from a higher turbine stage through an extraction conduit 3|.

This fluid is mixed with the preheated feed water received from the preheater 21 as well as with the condensate received from preheaters 26 and The feed water is discharged from the mixing heater 28 through a conduit 33 and forced by means of a feed water or circulating pump at through another surface type preheater 35 into the heating element It.

The surface type preheater 35 is connected by steam from the turbine. Accord-.

- are passed through another preheater 31 located in the conduit 16 for conducting combustion'air trom the compressor to the burner l2 whereby available heat energy of the combustion gases discharged from the heater 35 is transferred to the combustion air in the heater 31. with this arrangement the compressor for furnishing combustion air may be operated at high efliciency and the gases discharged from the gas turbine are cooled to a minimum temperature or, from another viewpoint, the available energy in the gases discharged from the gas turbine is utilized to the fullest extent.

Having described the method of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodi-, ment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means. 25

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

Power plant comprising a pressure combustion boiler having a heating element, means including a compressor for supplying air to the boiler to maintain combustion therein, an elastic fluid extraction turbine with a condenser connected to the heatingelement, a gas turbine for receiving combustion gases from the boiler, a feed water preheating arrangement including first, second and third devices connected in series between the condenser and the element, the first device being arranged in heat exchange relation with the compressor to receive heat of compression therefrom, the second device being 0011-,

nected to receive preheated feed water from the first device and heating fluid from the turbine and the third device being connected to receive preheated feed water from the second device and combustion gases from the gas turbine, and a surface type heat exchanger connected to receive compressed air from the compressor and combustion gases discharged from the third device.

RICHARD STROEHLEN.