Power plants – Utilizing natural heat – Solar
Patent
1999-07-06
2000-07-18
Nguyen, Hoang
Power plants
Utilizing natural heat
Solar
6064115, F03G 600
Patent
active
060890215
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a power production plant and method. Although the plant is intended primarily for electrical power generation using solar energy, it can be operated by other energy sources e.g. geothermal and/or wind, and can have other uses e.g. the drying of articles by creating an airflow thereover.
The method of the invention will have greatest utility for the manufacture of a large scale power generation plant, to produce for instance over 110 MW of electricity, for local or national consumption, or for export.
In this specification terms such as upper and lower are to be understood in relation to the gravitational direction.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Many power production plants, for example for the production of electricity for a national grid, rely on the continuous use of non-renewable resources such as coal, oil or natural gas, which have to be transported to the plant.
Other power production plants, for example hydroelectric power plants, can only be sited where there is a natural or artificial head of water, and this water head may not be available, or convenient to provide. There is no satisfactory means to check whether the plant will perform to, specification until after completion.
Power plants are costly to build. To recoup the investment, power needs to be produced and sold, but with the known construction methods a power plant will not produce power until completed, which for the larger plants of 200 MW or more may be three or more years after construction begins. Because of the long "pay back" period, those ordering a new power plant could be reluctant to finance new technology which offers savings but which is unproven, and which cannot be proven until final building is complete.
DISCLOSURE OF PRIOR ART
A power production plant which includes a chimney having a central axis, a conduit in the chimney having an axis coincident with the said central axis of the chimney, the conduit having, an inlet and an outlet, and a solar energy collector having an outlet connected to chimney is disclosed in French patent publication 2,531,753. A turbine is located at the top of the chimney.
A power production plant which includes a chimney having a lower inlet mouth and an upper outlet mouth for inducing an air current into said lower inlet mouth, through said chimney and from said upper outlet mouth, and an engine mounted on the chimney, with means for driving the engine by the air current, is disclosed in British patent publication 2,055,980A. There is a rotor to drive the engine, the rotor having its axis horizontal and parallel to the air current.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
We now propose a power production plant which includes a chimney, a conduit in the chimney, the conduit having an inlet and an outlet, and a solar energy collector having an outlet connected to the chimney characterised by the solar collector output being connected to the inlet of the conduit, by a rotor in said outlet and by the conduit being offset from the central axis of the chimney. The rotor will be wind driven, and preferably is part of a cased, horizontal axis, pressure-staged wind turbine.
Because the conduit is offset from the central axis of the chimney, one or more additional conduits can be located in the chimney, each having an inlet connected to the outlet of a respective solar energy collector.
An advantage of the invention is that there can be power generation when the first collector and conduit are assembled, without need to wait for power generation until the second and additional collector/conduit sets are installed; furthermore the power output of the power generation plant can be controlled in accordance with the number of collector/conduit sets installed, up to a maximum determined by the diameter (and also perhaps height) of the chimney.
We also propose a method of making a power production plant which includes the steps of building a chimney about a central axis, installing a conduit in the chimney, the conduit having an inlet and an outlet, positioning a s
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patent: 4159629 (1979-07-01), Korr et al.
patent: 4452046 (1984-06-01), Valentin
patent: 4856281 (1989-08-01), Taylor
patent: 5395598 (1995-03-01), Prueitt
patent: 5608268 (1997-03-01), Senanayake
Flanagan John K.
Flanagan John R.
Nguyen Hoang
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