Design, theory, development and testing of a new form of steam power generation – the practical steam engine
A new form of steam power generation, a Practical Steam Engine (PSE), is analyzed. This product focuses on applications of power generation from steam with insufficient flow and/or pressure reduction for efficient steam turbine operation. This text considers the theory, design and development of the product as well as testing and performance review. An application of the PSE in parallel to a pressure reducing valve (PRV) is analytically considered. The theoretical performance in this application is predicted and then experimentally tested. Results of this experiment show the PSE can reach isentropic efficiencies of more than 80% and, after optimizing friction, net efficiencies can reach more than 65%. Furthermore, the analytical model is proven to very accurately represent the experimental data with average error of 2.35% for most flow ranges. Additionally, a case study of the PSE in a commercial PRV parallel application is considered, demonstrating significant economic benefit of use of the PSE in district energy applications.
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