摘要:
There is disclosed a method of operating a steam compression apparatus 10 comprising a compressor 12 and a drive unit 14, the method comprising: operating the drive unit 14 to drive the compressor 12 so as to provide a superheated steam flow; cooling the drive unit 14 with a liquid cooling medium, so that the cooling medium recovers thermal energy from the drive unit 14; and de-superheating the steam flow from the compressor by injecting the cooling medium into the steam flow downstream of the drive unit. An alternative method of operating a steam compression apparatus is also disclosed in which the steam flow from the compressor is de-superheated by indirect heat transfer between the steam flow and the cooling medium downstream of the drive unit 14, thereby vaporising a portion of the cooling medium to provide a vaporised flow which combines with the steam flow. Corresponding steam compression apparatus 10 is disclosed comprising a compressor 12, drive unit 14 and de-superheater 16, 16'.
摘要:
A method of detecting the presence of a slug of condensate in a conduit 2 carrying a saturated steam comprising using a flow meter to provide an output signal representing mass flow rate of the saturated steam through the conduit 2; determining the rate of change of the output signal; and generating an alert in response to a predetermined profile of the output signal, when the profile includes a rate of change of the output signal falling outside a predetermined range.