Three Inch Supercritical CO2 Micro Turbine Performance at 100 C, 300 C, 500 C, and 700 C

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Three Inch Supercritical CO2 Micro Turbine Performance at 100 C, 300 C, 500 C, and 700 C

Overview

Scaling the previously sized one inch supercritical CO2 turbine to a three inch outside diameter increases inlet annulus area and mass flow in proportion to radius when blade height and throughflow velocity are held constant. With similar stage loading and efficiency, shaft power scales about linearly with radius. This article provides first pass net power estimates for a purpose designed three inch radial inflow sCO2 micro turbine intended to drive a compact generator. Heat rate guidance is included for context and remains governed primarily by temperature lift and cycle quality rather than rotor size.

Design Basis and Scaling Notes

Turbine outside diameter: 76.2 mm (three inches)

Inlet radius: 38.1 mm

Inlet blade height: about 0.5 mm (same as the one inch study)

Inlet annulus area equals 2 times pi times radius times height. Tripling radius from one inch to three inches increases area and mass flow by about three times for the same inlet velocity.

Inlet total pressure: about 150 bar

Representative turbine isentropic efficiency: about 70 percent for a carefully designed micro stage

Whole cycle allowances for leakage, pressure losses, generator, and controls are included in the quoted net figures

Heat sink: about 40 C

Because blade height and inlet velocity are unchanged, net power scales to roughly three times the one inch results. Minor additional gains are possible from lower relative tip leakage at the larger diameter, but the values below keep to conservative scaling.

Estimated Net Power Output

100 C inlet: about 18 kilowatts net

300 C inlet: about 21 kilowatts net

500 C inlet: about 24 kilowatts net

700 C inlet: about 26 kilowatts net

Notes

1. These figures assume passages, volute, and diffuser are purpose designed for sCO2 and clearances are tight.

2. Final allowable speed is set by rim stress and tip Mach limits; those constraints are respected by carrying over the same flow velocities used in the smaller studies.

3. The larger diameter tends to reduce relative leakage and improve manufacturability, which can provide modest real world gains beyond simple scaling.

Heat Rate Guidance

Heat rate is primarily a function of temperature lift and overall cycle design, not rotor diameter. The following ranges, expressed as BTU per kilowatt hour, are consistent with compact recuperated sCO2 cycles using a 40 C sink.

100 C source: practical cycle efficiency about 6 to 12 percent

Heat rate about 28,500 to 57,000 BTU per kilowatt hour

300 C source: practical cycle efficiency about 20 to 30 percent

Heat rate about 11,400 to 17,100 BTU per kilowatt hour

500 C source: practical cycle efficiency about 35 to 45 percent

Heat rate about 7,600 to 9,750 BTU per kilowatt hour

700 C source: practical cycle efficiency about 45 to 55 percent

Heat rate about 6,200 to 7,600 BTU per kilowatt hour

Notes

1. Higher recuperator effectiveness and lower cooler outlet temperature will push heat rate toward the low end of each range.

2. Mechanical integrity at high inlet temperatures usually becomes the limiting factor before thermodynamic potential is exhausted.

Key Takeaways

Tripling diameter from one inch to three inches increases net power by roughly three times when keeping blade height, inlet velocity, and stage loading constant.

Heat rate depends on the temperature lift and the quality of the recuperated cycle, so it does not materially change with rotor size.

The best efficiencies and lowest heat rates occur at higher turbine inlet temperatures. Mechanical limits such as tip speed, rotor stress, sealing, and bearing selection set practical ceilings on power density.

Conclusion

A purpose designed three inch supercritical CO2 radial inflow micro turbine can credibly deliver on the order of 18 to 26 kilowatts of net power across turbine inlet temperatures from 100 C to 700 C, provided the cycle includes an effective recuperator and the mechanical design meets stress and sealing requirements. Heat rates span from roughly 57,000 down to about 6,200 BTU per kilowatt hour as temperature increases, reflecting the dominance of thermodynamic temperature lift and cycle effectiveness over simple geometric scaling.