Assessment of Recuperator Materials for Microturbines

摘要

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and assess recuperator technology foradvanced microturbines. The first section reviews the different options for gas turbine cycles and discusses the relevance of each cycle to microturbines. The section concludes that a heat exchanger (recuperator) is necessary to achieve a reasonable and competitive level of efficiency. The second section provides further information on the types of heat exchangers and their efficiency. The next section gives an update on current metal recuperators and the potential to increase temperature capability through alloy development. The final section discusses the status and potential of ceramic materials.