Gas turbine engine generator system

• US 20060220387A1
• Filed: 03/17/2006
• Published: 10/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Tsuzuki, Sadachika
• Granted Patent: US 7,327,047 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 290/52
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 15/10 Adaptations for driving, or combinations with, electric generators
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/14 Gas-turbine plants having means for storing energy, e.g. for meeting peak loads
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/60 making use of surplus or waste energy
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/64 for domestic central heating or production of electricity
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/02 to control rotational speed (n)
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/053 Explicitly mentioned power
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 9/04 Control effected upon non-electric prime mover and dependent upon electric output value of the generator
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 20/14 Combined heat and power generation [CHP]

Abstract

In a gas turbine power generator system, when there is an increase in the demand of a user system, a battery system supplies a supplemental electric power which is given by adding an added electric power to a difference between a current output of the power generator and the increased demand. Because the supplemental electric power is greater than the difference between the current output of the generator and the increased demand by the added electric power, the load acting upon the gas turbine engine is correspondingly reduced even from the preceding steady state so that the gas turbine engine can quickly accelerate to the level that matches the increased demand of the user system. Therefore, the battery system is required to supply electric power only for a relatively short time as compared to the case where the supplemental electric power is equal to the difference between the output of the power generator and the demand, and the capacity of the battery system may be smaller than the case where the battery meets the entire demand while the gas turbine engine is being accelerated.

Claims

1. A gas turbine power generator system, comprising:

a gas turbine engine;

a power generator connected to the gas turbine engine so as to be driven by the gas turbine engine;

an engine control unit for controlling an operation of the gas turbine engine;

a battery system; and

a power control unit for controlling the engine control unit according to a demand from a user system, and for controlling flow of electric power from the power generator to the battery system and from the power generator and battery system to the user system;

wherein the power control unit is configured such that upon increase in the demand from the user system the engine is accelerated to a level required to meet the increase in the demand and feeding a supplementary electric power from the battery system to the user system while the gas turbine engine is being accelerated, the supplemental electric power being given by adding an added electric power to a difference between a current output of the power generator and the increased demand of the user system.

2. The gas turbine power generator system according to claim 1, wherein the added electric power is given as a mathematical function of at least one of a rotational speed of the gas turbine engine and the demand from the user system.