Ultra high pressure turbomachine for waste heat recovery
First Claim
1. A turbomachine comprising:
- a turbine including;
a turbine housing having an inlet for receiving a process gas at a first pressure and having an outlet for discharging the process gas at a second pressure, wherein said second pressure is lower than said first pressure;
a rotating shaft mounted within the turbine housing for rotation about a central longitudinal axis, said rotating shaft being radially supported by at least one journal bearing assembly and axially supported by a thrust bearing assembly mounted within the turbine housing; and
an impeller rigidly attached to the rotating shaft for rotation therewith for processing the process gas from the first pressure to the second pressure, said impeller being housed in a collector portion of the turbine housing and discharging the process gas to the outlet of the turbine housing; and
a cooling and thrust balancing system including;
a gas injection port through the turbine housing into a thrust bearing chamber housing the thrust bearing assembly;
a supply manifold connected from the inlet of the turbine housing to the gas injection port;
a pressure relief vent port through the turbine housing at a location rearward, in a direction away from the impeller, from the thrust bearing chamber;
an exhaust manifold connected to the outlet of the turbine housing via at least the pressure relief vent port;
first and second axial seals on the rotating shaft respectively forward and rearward of the impeller;
third and fourth axial seals on the rotating shaft rearward of the thrust bearing chamber, said third and fourth axial seals being configured to supply a controlled amount of leakage from the turbine housing;
a flow vent port through the turbine housing between the third and fourth axial seals;
a plurality of pressure equalizing holes axially extending through a thrust runner of the thrust bearing assembly operatively connected to the rotating shaft for rotation therewith; and
a bleed hole vent port formed in the turbine housing to collect flow from the at least one journal bearing assembly and from the second axial seal.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A turbine-driven alternator (i.e., a turbomachine) suitable for generating electrical power from process gas waste energy. In particular suitable for very high density process gases such as super critical CO2, R134a, R245fa, etc. The turboalternator comprises two separate machines, specifically, a turbine device and an alternator device operatively connected together by a coupling shaft. The rotating shaft assemblies for each machines on the turbine side and the alternator side are supported by hydrodynamic foil gas bearings. The foil gas bearings use process gas at the turbine side, enabling high-pressure operation (˜3000 psia) and thrust load balancing. At the alternator side, cooling fluid is used in the foil gas bearings, enabling high-speed (˜40,000 rpm), low-windage, oil-free operation with closed-loop shaft cooling.
130 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A turbomachine comprising:
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a turbine including; a turbine housing having an inlet for receiving a process gas at a first pressure and having an outlet for discharging the process gas at a second pressure, wherein said second pressure is lower than said first pressure; a rotating shaft mounted within the turbine housing for rotation about a central longitudinal axis, said rotating shaft being radially supported by at least one journal bearing assembly and axially supported by a thrust bearing assembly mounted within the turbine housing; and an impeller rigidly attached to the rotating shaft for rotation therewith for processing the process gas from the first pressure to the second pressure, said impeller being housed in a collector portion of the turbine housing and discharging the process gas to the outlet of the turbine housing; and a cooling and thrust balancing system including; a gas injection port through the turbine housing into a thrust bearing chamber housing the thrust bearing assembly; a supply manifold connected from the inlet of the turbine housing to the gas injection port; a pressure relief vent port through the turbine housing at a location rearward, in a direction away from the impeller, from the thrust bearing chamber; an exhaust manifold connected to the outlet of the turbine housing via at least the pressure relief vent port; first and second axial seals on the rotating shaft respectively forward and rearward of the impeller; third and fourth axial seals on the rotating shaft rearward of the thrust bearing chamber, said third and fourth axial seals being configured to supply a controlled amount of leakage from the turbine housing; a flow vent port through the turbine housing between the third and fourth axial seals; a plurality of pressure equalizing holes axially extending through a thrust runner of the thrust bearing assembly operatively connected to the rotating shaft for rotation therewith; and a bleed hole vent port formed in the turbine housing to collect flow from the at least one journal bearing assembly and from the second axial seal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification