Formulation and analysis of the heat pipe turbine for production of power from renewable sources

The heat pipe turbine or thermosyphon Rankine engine is a new concept for power generation using solar, geothermal or other available low grade heat sources. The basis of the engine is the thermosyphon cycle, with its excellent heat and mass transfer characteristics, modified to incorporate a turbine in the adiabatic region. The basic configuration is a closed vertical cylinder functioning as an evaporator, an insulated section and a condenser. The turbine is placed in the upper end between the insulated section and condenser section, and a plate is installed to separate the high pressure region from the low pressure region in the condenser. Conversion of enthalpy to kinetic energy is achieved through the nozzles. The mechanical energy developed by the turbine can be converted to electrical energy by direct coupling to an electrical generator. This paper describes the development of the heat pipe turbine from concept to reality, a series of development steps taken to optimise the design and manufacture. Also in this paper, attempts have been made to provide relationships for the developed power in terms of the geometric and thermodynamic parameters and to discuss limitations on the efficiencies of these turbines. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.