Abstract: A cooling device for a steam turbine wherein a portion of boiler feedwater for cooling a casing of the turbine is supplied, after being heated by high pressure feedwater heaters, to a cooling fluid passage for the casing as a cooling fluid satisfying the temperature and pressure conditions necessary for effecting cooling of the casing, by a booster pump and a regenerating heat exchanger. After cooling the casing, the cooling fluid is returned to a boiler feedwater system following a heat exchange with a cooling fluid for cooling the casing.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method and a control system for synchronizing the frequency of electrical current produced by a generator with the frequency of electrical current in an electric power grid so that the output of the generator can be provided to the grid. The generator is driven by an expansion turbine which utilizes hot pressurized gas from a process in which the pressure must be maintained constant.

Abstract: A thermal power plant having multi-staged steam turbines and heat exchangers therebetween, each heat exchanger extracting heat from the supply to an upstream stage for adding heat to the supply of the next successive downstream stage; a portion of the supply to the last downstream stage being diverted through a heater for adding heat to the feedwater flow to a boiler. Additional heat exchangers may be provided between stages for utilizing the feedwater to cool the working steam. One form of heat exchanger is provided with a plurality of axially spaced annular chambers having vortex flow producing means adjacent the inner peripheries thereof; whereas another form of heat exchanger is provided with a helically finned interior chamber in fluid communication with upstream guide vanes for inducing vortex flow.

Abstract: The system comprises a series of heaters arranged in cascade and fed with steam from drawoffs at pressures which progressively decrease from the steam boiler side to the condenser side of the plant.In order to improve the efficiency of the plant with which the system is associated, the system comprises a plurality of biphase turbines arranged in cascade. The first of the turbines is fed from the drain of the heater at the highest pressure and the following turbines are each fed at least in part with the outlet liquid of the biphase turbine preceding it. These biphase turbines produce mechanical energy by recovery of the kinetic energy of the condensates of the heaters feeding them.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for feedwater heating in an industrial steam turbine. Process steam for industrial purposes is extracted from at least one stage of a multistage turbine. An expansion of a portion of process steam is provided to decrease the steam pressure to a lower pressure level than that of the lowest process steam network. The further expanded steam is used for heating the feedwater which consists of recirculated condensate and makeup water. The portion of the process steam is preferably expanded in a further turbine stage connected downstream from the last turbine stage of the multistage turbine from which process steam is extracted. At least one further feedheater with lower pressure is also provided to receive the expanded portion of the steam.

Abstract: A helical screw,expander generator system preferably incorporates a hermetic helical screw expander and induction generator unit with the expander incorporated within a closed loop fluid circuit including an expander boiler upstream of the expander and a condenser downstream with the closed loop circuit carrying an organic working fluid, and the expander boiler receiving heat from a solar or reclaim heat source. The expander carries at least one slide valve for controlling expander capacity. Ejection ports may be carried by additional slide valves for ejecting partially expanded working fluid which is fed to first and second stage heat regenerators to preheat the liquified working fluid as it passes from the condenser to the expander boiler to permit cycle efficiency to approach the theoretical Carnot limits of the system.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a method and apparatus for providing a single-cycle boiling moderator-coolant nuclear reactor which accommodates changes in demand with a turbine generator on direct governor control. Current single-cycle boiling moderator-coolant nuclear reactors employ turbine generators that are slaved to the reactor. This arrangement is dictated because of inherent response limitations of the single-cycle boiling moderator-coolant nuclear reactor. The system of the present invention diverts steam from steam consuming normal auxiliary plant equipment to maintain reactor pressure when a rapid increase in turbine power demand is made such as during a daily load following or a frequency regulation change in demand. This allows the turbine generator to be placed on direct governor control. Rapid positive or negative demands accepted by the turbine cause a decrease or an increase in the pressure of the reactor.

Abstract: An arrangement for the storage of energy in power plants in which an excess of water during low-load operation is heated in feed water preheaters, and is stored as hot water in a hot storage vessel. During peak-load operation, the hot water from the storage vessel is fed into a feed water line, bypassing the feed water preheaters. Alternately with the hot water, colder water is taken from or stored in the lower portion of the hot storage tank. Before being fed into the hot storage tank, the colder water is thermally degassed with bleeder steam at a pressure slightly above atmospheric pressure, preferably between 1.01 and 1.5 atmospheres (abs). The feed water tank connected to the degasser is used for volume compensation while storing the hot water in the hot water storage tank. The storage tank may be in the form of three units of substantially identical volume. The hot storage tank and the feed water tank used as warm-water storage, are alternately filled and emptied.

Abstract: A nuclear steam turbine power plant system having an arrangement therein for extended fuel cycle operation. The power plant includes a turbine connected at its inlet to a source of motive fluid having a predetermined pressure associated therewith. The turbine has also connected thereto an extraction conduit which extracts steam from a predetermined location therein for use in an associated apparatus. A bypass conduit is provided between a point upstream of the inlet and the extraction conduit. A flow control device is provided within the bypass conduit and opens when the pressure of the motive steam supply drops beneath the predetermined pressure as a result of reactivity loss within the nuclear reactor. Opening of the bypass conduit provides flow to the associated apparatus and at the same time provides an increased flow orifice to maintain fluid flow rate at a predetermined level.

Abstract: An improved thermal power plant and method of power generation which minimizes thermal stress and chemical impurity buildup in the vaporizing component, particularly beneficial under loss of normal feed fluid and startup conditions. The invention is particularly applicable to a liquid metal fast breeder reactor plant.

Abstract: A steam turbine-generator power plant is described wherein solar energy is used to preheat feedwater to a steam generator. Two parallel feedwater supply branches are proposed for preheating the feedwater upstream from the steam generator. A first preheater branch utilizes extraction steam from the steam turbine for preheating feedwater and is called an extraction branch. A second preheater branch utilizes solar energy for preheating feedwater and is called a solar branch. The two branches are joined upstream from the steam generator and the proportion of flow from each branch is based on the temperature difference between the extraction branch and the solar branch. A variable speed pump is used to pump feedwater from the solar branch at a rate proportional to the temperature difference between the two branches.

Abstract: A gas-steam power plant comprising a gas-water low-pressure heat exchanger, low-pressure regeneration pre-heaters of which some are connected in the condensate line in parallel with the low-pressure gas-water heat exchanger and a device for preventing boiling of the condensate in the low-pressure gas-water heat exchanger. Said device comprises a main having one of its ends communicated with the line of outlet of the heated condensate from the low-pressure gas-water heat exchanger and the opposite end communicated with the line of condensate inlet of one of the regeneration low-pressure pre-heaters, located along the flow of the condensate upstream of the low-pressure regeneraton pre-heaters connected in the condensate line in parallel with the low-pressure gas-water heat exchanger.

Abstract: A minor portion of low pressure exhaust vapor such as exhaust steam is compressed to a temperature above that which a major part of said exhaust vapor is being condensed, suitably by a centrifugal compressor driven by higher pressure vapor from the same source as that which powers a principal turbine that furnishes most of said exhaust vapor. The major part of said exhaust vapor is condensed and the resulting main condensate is passed into heat exchange with the compressed minor portion of the exhaust vapor for generating a heated resulting main condensate and a secondary condensate from condensation of the compressed exhaust vapor. These condensates are withdrawn, suitably for deaeration when the vapor used is steam.

Abstract: A steam turbine power plant having associated therewith a closed loop flow arrangement for extracting heat from the power plant and supplying the extracted heat to an external heat load. Included within the flow arrangement is a predetermined number of heater elements, each of which extracts steam having a predetermined heating capacity associated therewith from a predetermined number of separate locations within the power plant. The heat so extracted is transferred to a heat transfer medium flowing at a predetermined flow rate within the closed loop arrangement. The extracted heat is exchanged to the heat load within a heat exchanger element connected within the flow arrangement. The amount of heat extracted from the power plant is functionally related to, and automatically limited by, the flow rate of the heat transfer medium within the closed loop arrangement. The flow rate of the heat transfer medium is itself functionally related to the flow rate of the motive fluid for the power plant.

Abstract: In a steam turbine plant with feed water heaters receiving steam extracted from the turbine to apply in heat exchange with the feed water being supplied to the boiler, the drain water level in the water heaters is monitored so that when the drain level exceeds a predetermined abnormal level, for example due to rupture of the feed water pipes in the feed water heater, steam supplied to the turbine is automatically reduced to runback the load on the turbine, and thereafter the extraction of the steam to the malfunctioning feed water heater from the turbine is stopped and the feed water heater is bypassed with respect to the feed water flowing to the boiler, so that the malfunctioning feed water heater is thus isolated from the turbine plant.

Abstract: The steam which is produced by the steam generator in the secondary coolant circuit of the nuclear reactor power plant is partly expanded in a turbine and delivered to a reheater. A part of the superheated steam is tapped off from an upstream portion of the steam turbine and then cooled to a saturated steam condition. This saturated steam is then passed into the reheater to reheat the flow of partly expanded steam via a heat exchange.

Abstract: A pressure-increasing ejector element is disposed in an extraction line intermediate to a high pressure turbine element and a feedwater heater. The ejector utilizes high pressure fluid from a reheater drain as the motive fluid to increase the pressure at which the extraction steam is introduced into the feedwater heater. The increase in pressure of the extraction steam entering the feedwater heater due to the steam passage through the ejector increases the heat exchange capability of the extraction steam thus increasing the overall steam power plant efficiency.