Patent ID: 8961120
Filing Date: 2015-02-24
Classification: F01D,F01K,F02C,F05D,Y02E

Abstract:
1. An expander-generator, comprising: a hermetically-sealed housing having a rotatable shaft disposed therein, the rotatable shaft having a free end and extending from a first end of the hermetically-sealed housing to a second end of the hermetically-sealed housing; a high pressure expander section comprising a high pressure radial expander axially-offset from a series of high pressure axial expander stages, each high pressure axial expander stage comprising a plurality of stator vanes axially-spaced from a plurality of rotor blades radially mounted about the rotatable shaft, and the high pressure expander section being rotatably disposed on the rotatable shaft and configured to receive and expand a working fluid and discharge the working fluid via a high pressure discharge defined within the hermetically-sealed housing, thus imparting rotational motion to the rotatable shaft; a low pressure expander section rotatably disposed on the rotatable shaft and axially-offset from the high pressure expander section and in fluid communication with the high pressure expander section via the high pressure discharge, wherein the low pressure expander is configured to receive and further expand the working fluid derived from the high pressure discharge to impart additional rotational motion to the rotatable shaft; and a generator coupled to the free end of the rotatable shaft, wherein the working fluid is expanded to rotate the rotatable shaft and thereby generate rotational shaft power to be used by the generator to generate electricity.