The steam generator is a specialized equipment intended for fluid conversion, most often, water, in steam. The liquid heats up when burning any fuel: wood, coal, oil or natural gas.
The fluid transition to the gaseous state creates pressure, and then the extension that can be directed and used as an energy source.
Pistons with a steam engine played an important role in the development of factories, railway locomotives, steamers and many other samples of mechanical equipment.
One of the earliest uses of the industrial steam generator in the technique was a steam locomotive. Fuel, in the form of firewood or coal, was served in the furnace. The resulting heat was sent through the system of tubes that heated water, which was stored in a special tank.
After the temperature reached the boiling level, the energy created from the steam, then led to the movement of the pistons, which rotated the steam locomotive wheels. The main function of steam energy was the movement of the train, but it was also actively used in brakes and whistle.
Compared to steam boilers, steam generators contain less steel in the design and use a single steam skeleton instead of a plurality of small hoses. A specialized water supply pump is used for continuous waters in the hose.
The steam generator uses in its design a one-time forced water supply in order to turn the incoming water into pairs at a time with the help of heating coil.
As water passes through the coil, heat is transferred from burning gases and causes water to turn into steam. The generator design does not use a steam collector, where there is a free space between the ferry and water, so to achieve 99.5% of the quality of the steam it is necessary to use moisture / pair - separator.
Due to the fact that the generators do not use big press Buck In his design, as in the heat pipes, they are often very small and easy to run, which makes them an ideal choice for situations where you need to get a small amount of couple in a short time.
However, this is due to energy production costs, since the generators have a small efficiency and therefore are not always able to produce a sufficient amount of steam in various situations.
According to its device and the principle of operation, steam generators are sufficient to other systems of steam boilers, while remaining fundamentally different from them.
These, at first glance, the insignificant differences change all the operation of the system, which is usually less powerful than that of boilers, but has several advantages.
For example, steam generators have a simpler design, which allows them much faster to start and easier to work than a full-scale industrial boiler. They are also less in size, which makes them more versatile, when working in a limited space, they can often be seen as auxiliary boilers.
The next reason why they are often used as auxiliary boilers is that they are quite easy and quickly launched.
Due to their compact design, single coil and relatively lower water capacity, these machines can be launched and working at full capacity in a shorter period, compared to full-scale boilers, which makes them useful in emergency situations.
It seems to compare the racing motorcycle with a military tank - the first faster accelerates and works quickly, but not very strong, while the second long start, but ultimately is a more powerful car. And despite the fact that they generally cost much less than full-scale boilers, they may be more in demand for work that do not require such high levels couple.
When you think about steam energy, you can imagine steam engines or fuel locomotives. However, industrial steam generators have many applications:
The electrical generator can convert approximately 97% of the electrical energy from steam. Automatic security management - fluid level control, for example, supports the required water level and turns off the generator if the water level falls below the norm.
Steam generators with such functionality can work continuously without overheating.
Stainless steel steam generators are best options If necessary, quite pure steam. Stainless steel reduces the likelihood of steam pollution.
They follow such a heat exchange concept as coil boilers, but can even produce higher pressure depending on the power. They are used mainly on power plants.
Their steam pressure can be even on, and in some steam machines and exceed the maximum water pressure of 221 bar. The pair temperature on these high-pressure machines can reach 500 degrees Celsius.
The heat removal steam generator, or the heat exchange unit collects the clouds of a high pressure steam and uses this pair after working through the heat exchangers chain to power the other less powerful steam machines.
This restored steam can even be used on these lower pressure generators for heating. industrial enterprises or houses.
There are two main types of nuclear steam generators: (BWR), reactor with hot water and (PWR), pressure reactor under pressure. BWR water turns into steam inside the nuclear reactor itself and goes to the turbine outside the tank.
PWR water is under pressure over 100 bar and no boiling processes inside the reactor occurs.
Solar steam generators are the cleanest way to produce steam. Water runs through the pipes inside the solar panel.
The sun heats the water, and then water passes through a steam turbine, creating electricity. This type of steam generators does not produce waste and does not pollute the environment.
Steam generators are used to obtain and use the energy released in the form of heat, in a wide variety of processes and transform it into a more useful shape, such as mechanical and electrical energy.
The resulting heat is used to produce electricity or processed as a by-product of any other industrial process.
The immediate source of heat is usually contaminated, for example, radioactive fuel on a nuclear power plant, so the first step is the transfer of steam energy to the transmission of this heat into clean water using a heat exchanger.
This is done by raising the thermal source of fuel temperature, type of gasoline, etc., which circulates in a closed chain. Fuel, in turn, heats the tank with water, not polluting it.
Creating a para
Hot fuel circulates along a water bath to produce steam. There are several different geometric schemes, but the principle remains the same.
The heated liquid is discharged along several small-dimensional tubes to increase their surface contact with water and to provide acceleration of heat exchange and making steam.
Couples produced on modern atomic and coal power plants is often in supercritical conditions or higher critical point On the phase diagram of water (374 degrees Celsius and 22 MPa).
Turning heat in electricity
Supercritical pressure pairs are overloaded with energy. The energy of the steam is converted to the mechanical path of its run through the steam turbine. High pressure The pair puts on the many inclined turbine blades, and makes them rotate.
This mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy by using steam turbine rotation energy in order to activate an electrical generator. The turbine presented in the image may generate up to 65 megawatts of electricity.
Each type of fuel is a heat source for water heating. Just each of them does it in its own way. Some are environmentally friendly, and others have a sufficiently strong effect on the environment.
Battery, No. has much higher productivity, not to mention the availability of this kind of devices. The functioning of such aggregates is to transform the mechanical force into electrical, by heating the water until it turns into steam. It is this force that leads the desired mechanism in motion.
This kind of aggregates makes sense to use in those sectors of the modern industry or household sphere, where there is a sufficient large number of vapors that can be used as a transducer into electricity. It is the steam type generators that have been widely used in boiler plants, where they form a kind of thermal power plant together with a boiler and turbine.
Such aggregates make it possible to significantly save on their operation, as well as reduce the cost of obtaining electrical energy. That is why steam installations are often considered one of the main working components of many power plants.In addition, if you explore the principle of action, as well as the design features of such steam generators, you can try to realize them with your own hands, using certain funds. However, this opportunity will be discussed a little later.
According to mine constructive featuresBoiler settings have a sufficiently similar structure. Their composition includes several working units, which are considered to be determining - directly yourself and turbine. The last two components form a kinetic connection between themselves, and one of the varieties of such systems is a turbine steam-type electric generator.
If you look more globally, such installations are full-fledged thermal power plants, albeit smaller dimensions. Thanks to its work, they are able to provide electricity not only civil facilities, but also large industrial industries.
The very same steam electrical generators are reduced to the following main points:
The electrical generator included in the design of such steam installations is determined. This is explained by the fact that it is the electric generators that carry out the transition of mechanical energy into electrical.
And in the shortest possible time you can make the simplest steam generator. Such a device can generate electricals from almost any fuel, everything is burning to the move. It can be sticks, solid alcohol, candle, bark with trees, dry grass and so on. A similar generator can be taken with you, going to the tourist campaign. From it you can charge a mobile phone or light a pair of LEDs for lighting.
The engine is single-paste, with a spool.
Materials and tools for assembly:
- a piece of tube from television or radioantennas, with a diameter of not 8 mm;
- a small tube to create a piston pair (you can buy in the plumbing store);
- copper wire (1.5 mm diameter, can be found in coils or buy);
- nuts, bolts and screws;
- Lead for the manufacture of flywheel (can be found in old car batteries, fishing gear or buy);
- Bruks of wood;
- spokes from a bike;
- plywood or textolite to create a stand;
- a tube;
- Bank from under olives or similar.
The process of manufacturing a steam generator:
Step one. Schematic scheme Generator
On the diagram you can see how the mechanism works. That is, it is a crank, which is connected to the piston through the connecting rod. Also, the system provides valve (spool), which opens and closes one of two channels. When the piston is at the bottom of the dead center, the spool opens the channel and pairs under pressure enter the cylinder. Reaching the top dead point, the spool overlaps the steam supply, and opens the cylinder for the release of the steam outward, the piston is then lowered. Return-translational movements according to the classics are converted by a crank in the rotation of the generator shaft.
To the third piece, you need to attach a metal washer, after drying, you also need to fix it with cold welding. When welding dries, on top of the seams need to be treated with epoxy resin for maximum strength and tightness.
Step Three. Production of piston and connecting rod
The piston is made of a bolt with a diameter of 7 mm. To do this, it must be fixed in the vice and wind over the copper wire, everything will be needed to make the order of 6 turns, depending on the wire diameter. Then the wire is soaked with epoxy resin. The extra edge of the bolt can be cut off. Further, when the resin is dry, it will take to work out the sandpaper to fit the piston under the diameter of the cylinder. As a result, the piston should move easily, but it should not pass the air.
To mount the rod, the piston needs to make a special bracket, it is made from leaf aluminum. It needs to be taken in the form of the letter "P", the holes are burned on the edges, the diameter of the hole should be so that it can be placed in it. The bracket is glued to the piston.
Step fourth. Spool and triangle
The triangle needs to be cut out of the sheet of metal, three holes are drilled in it. As for the spool piston, its length is 3.5 mm, it is necessary to achieve its free movement in the spool tube. The length of the rod may be different, it all depends on the flywheel.
The backups are best made from bars, they are selected individually. As for the crank piston thrust, it should be 8 mm, and the crank the spool is 4 mm.
The idea of \u200b\u200bpractical use of steam energy is far from NOVA, the use of steam turbines on an industrial scale has long become part of our life. It is these aggregates installed on various power plants and CHPs, with 99% supply our houses with electricity. However, some craftsmen managed to introduce the principle of transformation of thermal energy into electric at home. It is used homemade steam turbine Minimum size and power. About how to collect it at home, and will be discussed in this article.
In essence, steam turbines are part of A complex system designed to convert fuel energy to electricity, sometimes in heat.
At the moment this method is considered economically beneficial. Technologically, this happens as follows:
Note. At best, the efficiency of the steam turbine reaches 60%, and the entire system is not more than 47%. A significant part of the fuel energy goes with heat loss and is consumed to overcome the friction force during the rotation of the shafts.
Below on the functional diagram is shown the principle of operation of the steam turbine together with a boiler installation, an electric generator and other elements of the system:
In order not to reduce the efficiency of work, the maximum calculated number of blades is located on the rotor shaft. At the same time, the smallest gap through special seals is provided between them and the stator housing. Simple wordsSo that the pairs "did not spin around" inside the hull, all the gaps are minimized. The blade is designed in such a way that the extension of the steam continues not only at the outlet of the nozzle, but also in its recess. As happens, reflects the working circuit of the steam turbine:
It should be noted that the working fluid, whose pressure after entering the blade is reduced, after the working cycle in the first unit does not immediately enter the capacitor. After all, it still has a sufficient reserve of thermal energy, and therefore vapors sent to the second block low pressurewhere again acts on the shaft by means of the blades of another design. As shown in the figure, the steam turbine device can provide several such blocks:
1 - supply of superheated steam; 2 - Block's workspace; 3 - rotor with blades; 4 - shaft; 5 - exit of the spent steam into the capacitor.
For reference. The rotation speed of the generator rotor can reach 30,000 rpm, and the power of the steam turbine is up to 1500 MW.
Many Internet resources publishes the algorithm, according to which at home and using a small amount of tools is made mini steam turbine from tin can. In addition to the bank itself, you will need an aluminum wire, a small piece of tin for cutting strips and impeller, as well as fasteners.
In the lid, the cans make 2 holes and put into one piece of the tube. From a piece of tin, a turbine impeller is cut off, attached it to the strip, bent in the form of the letter P. Then the band is screwed to the second hole, placing the impeller in such a way that the blades are opposite the tube. All technological holes made during operation are also searched. The product must be installed on a wire support, fill with water from the syringe, and the dry fuel is reduced below. The improvised rotor of the steam turbine will start rotating from the jet of the pair escaping from the tube.
It is clear that such a design can only serve as a prototype, toy, because this steam turbine made by its own hands cannot be used for some purpose. The power is too low, but about some efficiency and speech does not go. Unless you can show on its example the principle of action of the thermal engine.
The mini-generator of electricity can be actually made from the old metal kettle. For this, except the kettle itself, the copper or stainless tube with thin walls, the cooler from the computer and a small piece of sheet aluminum is required. From the latter, a round impeller with blades, from which the steam turbine will be made low power.
The electric motor is removed from the cooler and is installed on the same axis with the impeller. The resulting device is mounted in a round body of aluminum, in size it must come in instead of the kettle lid. In the bottom of the latter there is a hole where the tube is soldered, and the serpentine is performed outside of it. As you can see, the design of the steam turbine is very close to reality, as the coil plays the role of the steamer. The second end of the tube, as it is not difficult to guess, is supplied to the improvised impeller blades.
Note. The most difficult and time-consuming part of the device is just a serpentine. Make it out copper tube It is easier than stainless steel, but it will not last long. From contact with open-fire Copper superheater will quickly proceed, so it is better to make it with your own hand from a stainless tube.
Pour into the kettle of water and putting it on the gas included, you can make sure that when the energy of the emerging from the tube is enough, the EDC appears at the output of the electric motor. To do this, it is worth connecting the LED flashlight. In addition to food for light bulbs, it is possible to other use of a steam turbine, for example, to charge a cell phone battery.
In the conditions of an apartment or a private house, a similar mini-power plant may seem like a simple toy. But when the turbocharged teapot with an electric generator with me, you can appreciate its functionality with you. Perhaps in the process you will be able to find some other purpose of the turbine. More information about the manufacture of a hiking generator from the kettle can be found by looking video:
Unfortunately, structurally steam cars are quite complex and make the houses of the turbine, whose power reached at least 500 W, is very difficult. If you strive to ensure that the process of operation of the turbine is observed, then the costs of components and spent time will be unjustified, efficiency homemade installation will not exceed 20%. Perhaps it's easier to buy a finished diesel generator.
