Abstract: In a multistage centrifugal compressor, a plurality of impellers is attached to the same rotary shaft. Vaned Diffusers and vaneless diffusers are used, as diffusers, for respective compressor stages configuring the compressor. The vaned diffusers are continuously used from the first compressor stage to the middle compressor stage, and the vaneless diffusers are used for the last compressor stage and the previous stage. While high efficiency is maintained at the compressor stages having the vaned diffusers, an operating flow range is secured at the compressor stages having the vaneless diffusers.

Abstract: A compact heat pump system and a heat pump operation method, which can avoid the occurrence of surging in a compressor at startup of a heat pump and can directly supply vapor of a working medium produced by the compressor to an external heat-utilizing facility. The heat pump system comprises an evaporator for recovering heat of an external heat source to a working medium supplied as liquid water from the exterior via a water feed channel, thereby evaporating the working medium, a compressor for compressing the working medium evaporated in the evaporator and increasing temperature of the evaporated working medium, and a driving unit for giving motive power to drive the compressor.

Abstract: In a heat pump system including a water purifier and an evaporator for evaporating feed-water to produce steam, water used for spray cooling is effectively used and productivity of purified water used for the spray cooling is increased. Discharged water from the water purifier is supplied to the evaporator when water used for spray cooling is produced by use of the water purifier. Otherwise, drain of the evaporator having higher temperature is supplied to the water purifier by using such a fact that in a reverse osmosis membrane type water purifier, the higher the temperature of feed-water is, the higher the purified water productivity becomes.

Abstract: A centrifugal turbocompressor including an open-type impeller and a casing compresses a gaseous body that condenses into a liquid. The compressor suppresses erosion due to accumulation of a liquid on a casing surface in the compressor. Such accumulation is possible during the starting time of the compressor, if the gaseous body that has come into contact with the casing condenses on the surface of the casing and changes into liquid droplets, centrifugal force may cause the droplets to accumulate on the surface of the casing positioned outside an impeller, and thus to grow into coarser and larger droplets or a liquid film. If the blade tips of the impeller rotating at high speed scrape the droplets or the film upward, erosion of the blade tips is liable to result.

Abstract: The amount of water to be injected in an intercooler is controlled to cool the compressed gas to the saturation temperature. It is difficult to adjust the amount of the water to be injected, however, since the temperature of the compressed gas at an intercooler outlet is actually higher than the saturation temperature. An intercooling system is configured so as to cool a gas to the saturation temperature without controlling the amount of water injection and thereby maintain the reliability of the compressor while improving the cooling efficiency. The intercooling system is located between a plurality of compression stages of a gas compressor to cool the gas that has been in the compressor. A desired amount of liquid is sprinkled to cool the compressed gas while restraining inflow of the liquid into the compression stages.

Abstract: A centrifugal compressor is equipped with an impeller having a blade angle distribution that makes it possible to achieve a relatively wide operating range. The blade angle of a shroud side facing a circular plate of a blade is termed a first angle and a blade angle of a hub side disposed at the circular plate is a second angle. The shroud side is formed in a curved shape having an angle distribution from a front area in a shaft direction toward a centrifugal direction in which the first angle is the local maximum point before a substantially middle portion and the local minimum point after the substantially middle point. The hub side is formed in a curved shape having an angle distribution from the front area in the shaft direction toward the centrifugal direction in which the second angle is the maximum local point before the substantially middle portion.

Abstract: A gas turbine installation is provided in which turbine cooling air can be humidified with water while suppressing deterioration of the reliability of turbine blades. The gas turbine installation comprises a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for burning compressed air and fuel, a turbine driven by combustion gas, and a humidifier for humidifying the compressed air extracted from an intermediate stage or a discharge section of the compressor. The compressed air humidified by the humidifier is used as turbine cooling air. The humidifier includes a water distributor for adjusting an amount of water added to the compressed air.

Abstract: A gas turbine system comprises a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for burning the air compressed by the compressor and fuel, a turbine driven by combustion gases produced from the combustor, and a spraying apparatus for adding water to working air at least upstream or in an intermediate stage of the compressor. A rotationally symmetric groove or projection is formed in an inner wall surface defining a channel through which the working air added with the water flows, or in a channel-defining surface of a rotor or a casing of the gas turbine. A larger amount of water can be supplied to the compressor while improving the reliability of the gas turbine.

Abstract: A heat pump includes an evaporator 10 evaporating water; a steam compressor 1 compressing the vapor generated by the evaporator 10; a vapor supply duct 31 adapted to supply the vapor 30 compressed by the compressor 1 to steam-utilizing facility 2; a measuring device 91 for measuring a state of vapor between the evaporator 10 and the compressor 1; and a valve 81 adjusting an amount of vapor flowing in the compressor 1 based on information from the measuring device 91.

Abstract: The invention provides a production process of a gas turbine capable of being applied to various cycles. A principal part of a gas turbine is set in advance based on roughly set conditions, and the number of stages of a compressor and the number of stages of a turbine, which can provide conditions suitable for a desired cycle, are set based on the set principal part. The compressor and the turbine each having the set number of stages and included in the principal part are combined with each other to construct the gas turbine. When the set number of stages of the compressor or the turbine differs among a plurality of desired cycles, a substantially disk-shaped member having an outer periphery, which forms an inner peripheral wall of a substantially annular flow passage of the compressor or the turbine, is assembled into the cycle having a smaller number of stages so that the bearing-to-bearing distance is kept constant in the gas turbine operated in the plurality of desired cycles.

Abstract: A heat pump system, a method for adjusting a temperature of lubricating water in a heat pump system, and a method for operating a heat pump system, which suppress boiling of lubricating water for bearings and thereby minimize the deterioration in reliability of the bearings. A heat pump system comprising an evaporator 43 for generating steam, and a compressor 34 including a first stage 33 and second stage 32 as a plurality of compression mean for compressing the steam, wherein bearings 51 for supporting the compressor 34 are water bearings, and lubricating water in each of the water bearings 51 is controlled to a temperature less than a saturation temperature associated with an internal pressure of each water bearing 51.

Abstract: A plate-fin type regenerative heat exchanger is provided which can prevent clogging of a flow passage caused by a drift of liquid phase water even when compressed air contains a large amount of moisture and liquid droplets. The plate-fin type regenerative heat exchanger comprises a corrugated fin channel for heating compressed air containing liquid droplets and a corrugated fin channel to which the compressed air containing no liquid droplets is supplied. A pitch of fin members of the former corrugated fin channel is set to the Laplace length, whereby bridging of the liquid droplets between the fin members can be prevented.

Abstract: A compact heat pump system and a heat pump operation method employs an evaporator for recovering heat of an external heat source to a working medium supplied as liquid water from the exterior via a water feed channel, thereby evaporating the working medium, a compressor for compressing the working medium evaporated in the evaporator and increasing temperature of the evaporated working medium, and a driving unit for giving motive power to drive the compressor. The heat pump system further includes a supply channel for supplying, as a heat source, vapor of the working medium having a temperature increased by the compressor to an external heat-utilizing facility, and a return channel branched from the supply channel and introducing the working medium discharged from the compressor to the evaporator.

Abstract: A gas turbine system comprises a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for burning the air compressed by the compressor and fuel, a turbine driven by combustion gases produced from the combustor, and a spraying apparatus for adding water to working air at least upstream or in an intermediate stage of the compressor. A rotationally symmetric groove or projection is formed in an inner wall surface defining a channel through which the working air added with the water flows, or in a channel-defining surface of a rotor or a casing of the gas turbine. A larger amount of water can be supplied to the compressor while improving the reliability of the gas turbine.

Abstract: A gas turbine installation which includes a compressor which compresses supplied air and discharges the same, a combustor which combusts the compressed air obtained from the compressor and fuel and produces combustion gas, a turbine which is driven by combustion gas provided from the combustor, a regenerative heat exchanger which heats all or a part of the compressed air being supplied from the compressor to the combustor by making use of the heat of the exhaust gas exhausted from the turbine and a plurality of water spraying devices which are provided at positions from an intake air chamber of the compressor to the outlet of low temperature side gas flow passage in the regenerative heat exchanger and is characterized in that the regenerative heat exchanger is constituted by connecting in series a plurality of heat exchangers having different heat transfer surface configurations.

Abstract: A gas turbine installation which includes a compressor which compresses supplied air and discharges the same, a combustor which combusts the compressed air obtained from the compressor and fuel and produces combustion gas, a turbine which is driven by combustion gas provided from the combustor, a regenerative heat exchanger which heats all or a part of the compressed air being supplied from the compressor to the combustor by making use of the heat of the exhaust gas exhausted from the turbine and a plurality of water spraying devices which are provided at positions from an intake air chamber of the compressor to the outlet of low temperature side gas flow passage in the regenerative heat exchanger and is characterized in that the regenerative heat exchanger is constituted by connecting in series a plurality of heat exchangers having different heat transfer surface configurations.

Abstract: A pressure-sensitive sensor (a pressure sensor) for measuring the pressure applied to a pressure-receiving part by assuming the pressure as an amount of deformation of the pressure-receiving part and converting the amount of deformation into an electrical signal and a monitor for monitoring the action and the state and change of the emotional motion of a person through the pressure-sensitive sensor, for example, a pet robot that senses the petting action of the owner and performs a predetermined reaction and action are disclosed. The sensor comprises at least two parallel electrode sheets disposed in a spaced relationship from each other and an expandable dielectric member interposed between the adjacent two electrode sheets. When a pressure is exerted on the outermost electrode sheet, the dielectric member deforms and its capacitance varies.

Abstract: A gas turbine installation which includes a compressor which compresses supplied air and discharges the same, a combustor which combusts the compressed air obtained from the compressor and fuel and produces combustion gas, a turbine which is driven by combustion gas provided from the combustor, a regenerative heat exchanger which heats all or a part of the compressed air being supplied from the compressor to the combustor by making use of the heat of the exhaust gas exhausted from the turbine and a plurality of water spraying devices which are provided at positions from an intake air chamber of the compressor to the outlet of low temperature side gas flow passage in the regenerative heat exchanger and is characterized in that the regenerative heat exchanger is constituted by connecting in series a plurality of heat exchangers having different heat transfer surface configurations.

Abstract: A plate-fin type regenerative heat exchanger is provided which can prevent clogging of a flow passage caused by a drift of liquid phase water even when compressed air contains a large amount of moisture and liquid droplets. The plate-fin type regenerative heat exchanger comprises a corrugated fin channel for heating compressed air containing liquid droplets and a corrugated fin channel to which the compressed air containing no liquid droplets is supplied. A pitch of fin members of the former corrugated fin channel is set to the Laplace length, whereby bridging of the liquid droplets between the fin members can be prevented.

Abstract: The invention provides a production process of a gas turbine capable of being applied to various cycles. A principal part of a gas turbine is set in advance based on roughly set conditions, and the number of stages of a compressor and the number of stages of a turbine, which can provide conditions suitable for a desired cycle, are set based on the set principal part. The compressor and the turbine each having the set number of stages and included in the principal part are combined with each other to construct the gas turbine. When the set number of stages of the compressor or the turbine differs among a plurality of desired cycles, a substantially disk-shaped member having an outer periphery, which forms an inner peripheral wall of a substantially annular flow passage of the compressor or the turbine, is assembled into the cycle having a smaller number of stages so that the bearing-to-bearing distance is kept constant in the gas turbine operated in the plurality of desired cycles.