Recuperator

Proe 90^tm Gas Turbine Recuperator

                                                 
The need for a low cost and high performance recuperator has been an obstacle to previous regenerative Engines (since John Ericsson's original engines). Proe Power Systems has overcome that obstacle and also developed a new, higher temperature, recuperator for our Proe Afterburning™ and HRPG® engines and also for  the gas turbine industry!

 

·       Totally new heat exchanger construction (US Patent 6,390,185 *) No, it is not a shell and tube heat exchanger - what you see is what it is

·       Allows higher turbine exhaust temperatures (815C/1500F without exotic alloys) for higher engine efficiency

·       Design innovations minimize thermal and pressure stresses for enhanced creep resistance and long life at elevated temperatures

·       Avoids thin foils that limit the operating temperature of stainless steel primary surface recuperators to 650C/1200F due to creep and corrosion of the fragile foils

·       All welded: No Leaky Gas Seals to blow out - further assures long life at high temperature

·       Simple construction using commercially available stainless steel tubing materials and orbital welding techniques developed for shell and tube heat exchangers

·       Requires no special tooling and minimum machine work

·       Effectiveness > 90%

·       DP/P ~3%-5% on exhaust side

·       Tolerant of exhaust gas fouling

·       Low cost to manufacture, high profit

·       No Complex or Costly Fin, Plate or Primary Surface Fabrication

·       All Welding or Brazing involves Self Locating Parts with Minimal Weld Lengths for Rapid Assembly and Superior Joint Integrity

·       Competition prevented by broad patent protection

·       Outstanding market position for the initial manufacturer and distributor

 

 

Recuperator

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A recuperator is a special purpose counter-flow heat exchanger used to recover waste heat from exhaust gases. In many types of processes, combustion is used to generate heat, and the recuperator serves to recuperate, or reclaim this heat, in order to reuse or recycle it. The term recuperator refers as well to liquid-liquid counterflow heat exchangers used for heat recovery in the chemical and refinery industries and in closed processes such as ammonia-water or LiBr-water absorption refrigeration cycles. Other forms of heat or enthalpy recovery include the regenerative heat exchanger (see blast furnace), the heat wheel (see rotating recuperator, below), and the enthalpy wheel (see energy recovery ventilation).

Recuperators are often used in association with the burner portion of a heat engine, to increase the overall efficiency. For example, in a gas turbine engine, air is compressed, mixed with fuel, which is then burned and used to drive a turbine. The recuperator transfers some of the waste heat in the exhaust to the compressed air, thus preheating it before entering the fuel burner stage. Since the gases have been pre-heated, less fuel is needed to heat the gases up to the turbine inlet temperature. By recovering some of the energy usually lost as waste heat, the recuperator can make a heat engine or gas turbine significantly more efficient.

[edit] Rotating recuperator

Main article: Chrysler Turbine Car

During the automotive industry's interest in gas turbines for vehicle propulsion (around 1965), Chrysler invented a unique recuperator^[1] that consisted of a rotary drum constructed from corrugated metal (similar in appearance to corrugated cardboard). This drum was continuously rotated by reduction gears driven by the turbine. The hot exhaust gasses were directed through a portion of the device, which would then rotate to a section that conducted the induction air, where this intake air was heated. This recovery of the heat of combustion significantly increased the efficiency of the turbine engine. This engine proved impractical for an automotive application due to its poor low-rpm torque. Even such an efficient engine, if large enough to deliver the proper performance, would have a low average fuel economy. Such an engine may at some future time be attractive when combined with an electric motor in a hybrid vehicle owing to its robust longevity and an ability to burn a wide variety of liquid fuels.