The above is my
very rough picture
of a solar flash steam turbine.
I simply got enough
of drawing with a computer
and wanted to put the main idea first here.
I will make better pictures later.
DESCRIPTION:
Part A.
1. There is water in the container.
In the bottom of the container there is pressure,
because of the gravitation forces.
A water tube starts from the bottom of the container.
2. Sun rays hit the parabolic mirror 3.
The available power from the Sun is about one kW per
one square meter.
3. The parabolic mirror of 2 square meters reflects all
the sun rays hitting the mirror to the chamber 4.
The water from the tube goes inside the chamber.
4. The flash steam chamber is finned inside
with spiral fins so that the water coming in
is effectively suddenly heated.
There is needle valve letting the water in the chamber
from a small hole.
The chamber is made of ceramic at least outside,
so that it can be heated by the parabolic mirror
more than 1000 C hot.
The chamber is expanding inside towards the outlet end.
Inside the chamber flash steam is generated.
5. The flash steam coming out from the chamber hits
a crossflow turbine made of ceramic.
The crossflow turbine runs a generator.
--
Part B.
The parabolic mirror is arranged to be turning round
on an axle, which is on the same angle
as the axle of the earth.
There is a clockwork to move the mirror
so that it all the time focuses in the chamber.
--
DISCUSSION:
- The main power is coming from the Sun.
- Water gravity is used to jet the water inside the flash steam chamber.
- No big and complex boilers are needed for this kind of steam turbine.
- This solar flash steam turbine is simple to build even in rural workshops,
if ceramic craftsmanship is known in the area and
somebody teaches the right shape
of the mirror (parabolic),
which can be made of cement using small mirror
pieces as reflectors.
Reflectors can be made quite easily by pressing
machinery from steel as well:
--
5) The electric energy available
out of the process?
a) As told above, there is about
one kW heat energy available for
one square meter from the sun.
It is quite safe to assume that we can arrange
more than
50% of the sun rays' heat energy
to be absorbed as heat energy in the chamber body.
b) All that heat can be transferred into the flash steam
heat and kinetic energy, because the energy cannot escape other way?
c) A simple crossflow turbine generator can be made
maybe 20% effective.
---
So if our mirror is
2 square meters,
we might expect
200 watts from the turbine?
- Hannu
