Advanced sCO2 Turbine for Concentrated Solar Power Application

Supercritical CO2 (sCO2) offers an extremely efficient thermal to electricity conversion. However, this is only at exceptionally high temperatures, which push the boundaries of current turbomachinery component technology, namely the bearings and seals. Previous and current DOE research has either involved smaller scale component technology that does not scale up well to deliver higher power, or involves placeholder component technology to facilitate larger scale demonstrations, postponing the integration of truly successful and reliable turbomachinery component technology. The objective of this project is to design a test rig for demonstrating scale-appropriate bearing and seal component technology that effectively replicates >1MWe power levels. This will be done with an actual turbomachine with actual turbomachine conditions, in an effort to accurately represent the challenges the component technologies will be facing. Phase I will build upon previous magnetic bearing proof of concept work by designing the rest of the turbomachine test rig. Phase II will finalize this design, source the hardware, assemble, and test the rig, in partnership with an sCO2 test facility. Successful implementation of the Phase II plan will provide a) preliminary test data for magnetic bearings and the selected seal in a medium-power sCO2 environment, and b) provide a vendor and technology agnostic accessible test rig for future component technology benchmarking and comparison for the benefit of the industry, helping enable ôat-scaleö sCO2 power cycles.