U.S. patent number 3,789,804 [Application Number 05/314,963] was granted by the patent office on 1974-02-05 for steam power plant with a flame-heated steam generator and a group of gas turbines.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sulzer Brothers Ltd.. Invention is credited to Emile Aguet.
United States Patent |
3,789,804 |
Aguet |
February 5, 1974 |
STEAM POWER PLANT WITH A FLAME-HEATED STEAM GENERATOR AND A GROUP
OF GAS TURBINES
Abstract
At least two gas turbine groups of identical construction are
selectively connected to the burner of the steam generator. If one
group fails, the other group takes over to deliver the combustion
air necessary to continue efficient operation without an
interruption in service. In normal operation, one gas turbine group
is connected to the burner while the other is connected at a mixing
location in the steam generator, e.g. between the preheater and a
superheater.
Inventors: |
Aguet; Emile (Winterthur,
CH) |
Assignee: |
Sulzer Brothers Ltd.
(Winterthur, CH)
|
Family
ID: |
23222252 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/314,963 |
Filed: |
December 14, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
122/1R;
122/7R |
Current CPC
Class: |
F22B
1/1861 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F22B
1/18 (20060101); F22B 1/00 (20060101); F22b
033/18 () |
Field of
Search: |
;122/1R,7R,7B,479R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Sprague; Kenneth W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Chapin; Hugh A. Hand; Francis
C.
Claims
1. A steam power plant comprising a flame-heated steam generator
including a plurality of heating surfaces for passage of a flow of
combustion gas thereover in heat exchange relation with a flow of
operative medium therein, a burner for supplying fuel to said
generator, at least two gas turbine groups for supplying combustion
air to said steam generator, one of said groups being connected to
said burner to deliver combustion air thereto and the other of said
groups being connected to said steam generator at a mixing location
between two of said heating surfaces disposed downstream of said
burner to deliver combustion air thereto, and means for selectively
connecting said other groups to said burner to deliver combustion
air thereto in response to failure of said one group to
2. A steam power plant as set forth in claim 1 wherein said gas
turbine
3. A steam power plant as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means
includes a conduit connected in common to said gas turbine groups
and to said steam generator at said mixing location, an adjusting
valve in said conduit, a minimal-value selector means operatively
connected to each said gas turbine group to receive a respective
signal therefrom corresponding to the output performance thereof,
said selector means being operatively connected to said adjusting
valve to control said valve in response to the smaller of said
signals whereby said valve is closed in response to the smaller of
said signals diminishing towards a value representative of a
4. A steam power plant as set forth in claim 3 which further
comprises means for delivering a load signal responsive to the
operation of said plant to said selector means for opening said
adjusting valve in response
5. A steam power plant as set forth in claim 1 wherein each gas
turbine group includes an outlet pipe for flow of combustion gas
therefrom, a control valve in said outlet pipe and means for
measuring the performance of said gas turbine group, said measuring
means being connected to said control valve to close said control
valve in response to a diminishing
6. A steam power plant as set forth in claim 5 wherein said
measuring means is connected to said outlet pipe to measure the
flow of combustion gas
7. A steam power plant as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means
includes a conduit connected in common to said gas turbine groups
and to said burner and an adjusting valve in said conduit for
selectively adjusting the pressure difference between the
combustion gases delivered from said groups to correspond to a
pressure drop at said heating surfaces between said burner and said
mixing location.
Description
This invention relates to a steam power plant. More particularly,
this invention relates to a steam power plant having a flame-heated
steam generator and a gas turbine combustion gas feed.
Steam power plants of the flame-heated steam generator types have
been known in which a gas turbine group has been used to deliver
combustion air to a burner of the steam generator in order to
support combustion of a fuel delivered to the burner. In some
instances, the gas turbine group has also been connected on the
exhaust gas side to a mixing location in the generator downstream
of the burner to supply combustion gas thereto. Generally, heating
surfaces have been positioned between the burner and this mixing
location as well as downstream of the mixing location. In order to
protect the power plants against failure of the gas turbine group,
the power plants have been provided with a forced-draft blower so
as to permit continued operation of the steam generator. However,
as a forced-draft blower has required some time to be brought into
operation, a decrease in the output of the steam generator has been
inevitable. This is particularly so since the air supplied by the
forced-draft blower is colder than the gas supplied by a gas
turbine group.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide for
continuous operation of a steam power plant having a flame heated
steam generator which is supplied with combustion air from a gas
turbine group should the gas turbine group fail.
Briefly, the invention provides a steam power plant having a
flame-heated steam generator including a plurality of heating
surfaces, and a burner with at least two gas turbine groups for
supplying combustion air to the steam generator. The two gas
turbine groups are selectively connected with the burner, each
group being dimensioned so that if one group fails, the remaining
group or groups can supply at least as much gas as is needed for
the full-load fuel for the steam generator. By providing at least
two gas-turbine groups, it becomes possible to continue operation
of the steam generator immediately and without a drop of
temperature in a simple way should one gas-turbine group fail. In
the event that one group fails, then the other group immediately
supplies the gas needed for combustion, and at the same temperature
as previously supplied by the failed group.
In the case of two gas turbine groups, one group is connected to
the burner to deliver combustion air thereto while the other group
is connected to the steam generator at a mixing location between
two of the heating surfaces disposed downstream of the burner to
deliver combustion air thereto. A suitable means is also provided
for selectively connecting the second of these groups to the burner
to deliver combustion air thereto in response to failure of the
first group to deliver combustion air to the burner.
The switch-over from one group to the other is simpler and quicker
that placing a forced-draft blower into operation.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, all the gas
turbine groups are connected over a common conduit having an
adjusting valve therein with the mixing location. A minimal-value
selector means is also connected to each group to receive a signal
from each corresponding to the output performance of each group.
This selector means is also connected with the adjusting valve
through the intermediary of a signal line which is used to conduct
a desired-value signal to the valve for the opening of the
adjusting valve. In this form of construction, the adjusting valve
is always influenced by the gas turbine group having the smaller
performance at a given time. An automatic switch-over to the other
group is possible because the adjusting valve closes when the
performance of a group becomes zero. Thus, the remaining groups
automatically become connected with the burner of the steam
generator.
In another embodiment, a control valve is positioned at the outlet
from each gas turbine group and a measuring means is provided for
each group to measure performance. The measuring means is connected
to a respective control valve to close the valve in response to a
diminishing performance of the group and vice versa.
In a further embodiment, all gas turbine groups are connected with
one another through the intermediary of a common conduit having an
adjusting valve. By this means, the pressure of the gas at the
outlet from the gas turbines may be set differently, for example,
in such a way that the pressure difference corresponds to the
pressure drop at the heating surfaces between the burner and the
mixing location. This permits an improvement of efficiency.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become
more apparent from the following detailed description and appended
claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in
which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a circuit diagram of a steam power plant
according to the invention; and
FIG. 2 diagrammatically illustrates a control means for influencing
the valves between the gas-turbine groups and the steam
generator.
In FIG. 1, the steam power plant has a steam generator 1 provided
with a burner 2 and having, in the direction of the flow of exhaust
gas, various heating surfaces including an evaporator heating
surface 3, a superheating surface 4, a reheating surface 5, and a
feed water preheater 6. The feed water preheater 6 is in
communication with a feed-water tank 7, which has a feed pump 8 for
pumping the feed-water to the preheater 6. The steam power plant
also has a power machine 9, e.g. composed of a high-pressure
turbine part and a low-pressure turbine part which drives an
electric generator 10. The high-pressure turbine part is connected
to the superheater 5 to receive steam. The high pressure turbine
part is also connected to the reheating surface 5 to deliver the
partially expanded steam thereto for reheating. The outlet of the
reheating surface 5 is connected to the low pressure turbine part
to deliver the steam in sequence thereto. This low-pressure part is
also connected to a condenser 11, which through the intermediary of
a condensate pump 12 and a number of steam-heated preheaters 13, is
connected with the feed-water tank 7.
The burner 2 receives the fuel to be burned from a pipe 14. Two
gas-turbine groups 15 and 16, which in this example are of the same
construction are provided to supply combustion air. Each group 15,
16 consists of a compressor 17 and 18 respectively, a combustion
chamber 19 and 20, respectively, and an electric generator 23 and
24, respectively that serves as a motor to start the group running.
The outlet from the gas turbine 21 is connected by an outlet pipe
25, which has a control valve 26, with the combustion-air pipe or
conduit 27 running to the burner 2. Similarly, at the outlet from
gas turbine 22, an outlet pipe 28 is connected which has a control
valve 29, and this is connected by a conduit 30 with a mixing
location 31 of the steam generator 1. This mixing location 31 is
situated downstream of the burner 2 of the steam generator 1. At
this location, the exhaust gases of the burner 2 become mixed with
the gas flowing through the conduit 30.
An adjusting valve 32 is disposed in the conduit 30 for purposes as
explained below. In addition, a connection conduit 33 is provided
between the conduit 30 and the pipe 27 to connect the gas-turbine
groups 15, 16 in common to the burner 2. As in the conduit 30, the
conduit 33 may have an adjusting valve 34 (FIG. 2) therein.
Due to the valves 26, 29, 32 it is possible to connect each of the
two gas-turbine groups 15, 16 individually to the burner 2. In
addition, each group 15, 16 is dimensioned so that should one of
them fail, the other group supplies at least as much gas for the
full-load quantity of fuel to be burned in the steam generator
1.
In normal operation of the plant, the gas-turbine group 15 alone
delivers a quantity of gas that contains sufficient oxygen to burn
the fuel brought through the pipe 14 to the steam generator 1. The
other group 16 feeds gas, through the conduit 30 to the mixing
location 31, so that the feedwater preheater 6 receives
supplementary heat. Should the group 15 fail because of some
derangement, then the valves 26, 32 become closed, so that the
burner 2 is supplied with gas only from the group 16.
Referring to FIG. 2, in order to actuate the valves 26, 29, 32,
quantity-measuring means 36, 37 of suitable construction are
connected to the respective outlet pipes 25, 28 of the gas turbines
21, 22. The quantity-measuring means 36 is connected by a signal
line with a servomotor 38 of the control valve 26 which serves to
open and close the valve 26. There is also a similar connection of
the measuring means 37 with a servomotor 39 of the control valve
29. Furthermore, each of the two measuring means 36, 37 is
connected by a signal line with a minimal-value selector means 40
of suitable construction whose output is connected over a signal
line with a servomotor 41, which controls the adjusting valve 32 in
the conduit 30 leading to the mixing location 31. The selector
means 40 also receives a load signal 42 from the steam power plant
via a suitable line. The selector means 40 works in such a way that
the prevailing smaller signal from the two measuring means 36, 37
influences the adjusting valve 32, so that when the quantity of
exhaust gas becomes smaller the valve 32 is moved in its closing
direction. In addition, with a decreasing quantity of gas in the
outlet pipes 25, 28, the control valves 26, 29 are influenced by
their associated quantity-measuring means 36, 37, respectively, so
as to become moved in the closing direction. The load signal 42 is
used so that as the load becomes greater the flow section of the
valve 32 becomes smaller, and becomes enlarged as the load
diminishes. By way of example, the quantity of live steam, or else
the electric output of the generator 10 from the steam power plant
is used for the load signal 42.
Instead of measuring flow quantities by the aid of the measuring
means 36, 37, it is also possible to measure some other magnitude
representing the performance of the turbine group, e.g. the rotary
speed of the group concerned. It is furthermore possible to provide
three gas-turbine groups, instead of two.
The closure time of the adjusting valve 32 is advantageously made
so as to match the normal reduction of rotary speed of the group
concerned, so that the pressure of the gas supplied to the burner 2
remains practically constant.
* * * * *