Micro gas turbines for combined heat and power systems
Micro gas turbines for the decentralised generation of electricity and heat can significantly reduce the overall demand for primary energy, since very high overall efficiencies can be achieved through coupled power and heat production. Compared to conventional engine-based combined heat and power plants, micro gas turbines achieve very low pollutant emissions even without exhaust after-treatment. They also offer advantages in terms of maintenance costs and lower noise emissions.
In its research work, DLR is looking at the overall micro gas turbine system with the aim of developing new cycle variants, developing new areas of application and optimising existing systems. To this end, cycle simulations and experimental investigations will be carried out.
Another focus is on the development of new combustion chamber concepts. The focus here is on maximum fuel flexibility so that, in addition to conventional fuels, biogases of various compositions and hydrogen can be used. Equally important is the achievement of high combustion stability and low pollutant emissions over the entire load range. Combustion chamber concepts based on the FLOX® principle are used for this purpose, as these offer considerable advantages over swirl-stabilised burners in the power range typically found in micro gas turbines.
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Christoph Arndt · E-Mail: christoph.arndt@dlr.de · DLR.de
