Reference Projects

CARBOSOLA – Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) as alternative working fluid for bottoming cycle and solar thermal applications, 10/2019 - 09/2022

Compared to conventional steam-based heat recovery processes, the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) offers various advantages. These include higher efficiencies, smaller dimensions of components and a wider temperature range of possible applications.
The CARBOSOLA project represents the initial step in sCO₂ technology development in Germany. With the focus on the use of waste heat and solar heat, the component and system design of a technology demonstrator in the MW range will be carried out. In addition, existing theoretical and experimental methods, which are required for further technology development up to commercial maturity, are reviewed and further developed. In combination with this, a powerful experimental infrastructure will be established which, distributed over the locations of the research partners, will be available even after the end of the project

Financed by:
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie  (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy),
Siemens AG

Research partners:
Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf,
DLR Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt e. V.,
SIEMENS AG

Flex-Power-Plant-Pumps II - Development of Fundamentals for Hydraulic Pump Systems under Non-Stationary Operating Mode in Flexible Power Plants
Collaborative project contained within the Verbund Rhein Ruhr Power e.V. "Flexible Power Plants" project, 12/2019 - 11/2022

Due to the current and further increasing share of renewable energies in power generation, current and future requirements for steam power plants for power generation no longer consist only of achieving higher efficiencies and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Rather, the primary objective already today and even more so in the future is, above all, a highly flexible operation in order to compensate for the difference between the highly variable feed-in of renewable energies and the demand for electricity caused by the weather, time of day and season, and thus to enable a further increase in the share of renewable energies in electricity generation. Even the boiler feed pumps must meet these requirements. The sub-project "Construction Parts and Casings of Pumps under Non-Stationary Thermomechanical Load" will be carried out as part of the Flex-Power-Plant-Pumps collaborative project. The aim of the sub-project is to further develop a new method for the rapid calculation of temperature fields, casing distortion and stresses and its application for the systematic investigation of the thermal and mechanical behaviour of pump casings and the derivation of necessary monitoring measures. The new method should not only ensure a robust design, but also allow predictions to be made in order to achieve a load-flexible, yet gentle, pump operating mode.

Financed by:
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy), KSB SE Co. KGaA Frankenthal

Research partners:
TU Darmstadt, TU Dortmund, TU Kaiserslautern, KSB SE Co. KGaA Frankenthal

KONRAD – Concepts and Operating Strategies for Flexible-Load Firing and Steam Systems
COORETEC Collaborative Project, 09/2016 - 08/2020

As part of the KONRAD collaborative project the impact of modified load-flexible operation on the subsystems and components of existing coal-fired power plants and the power plant as a whole is systematically examined. The investigations focus on the combustion systems, the heated boiler components (combustion chamber and heating surfaces) and the unheated components of the water-steam system, not including the turbine. The sub-project "Operating Behaviour and Stress of the Water-Steam System" is carried out under the direction of the Chair of Thermal Power Machinery and Plants. The following tasks are carried out as part of the project, in collaboration with the research partners:

• analysing the former operating mode with respect to stress and service life in addition to defining the loading conditions of the future operating mode for the reference power plant
• characterising and assessing degradation-relevant effects of modified operation on the components of the water-steam system (not including turbine)
• developing an advanced methodology for component-specific stress and service life analysis in cases of creep-fatigue damage based on numerical simulations and parameter studies created using FEM and advanced material models
• comparative service life assessment for the former operating mode and the identified loading conditions based on a set of standards and advanced damage models
• operational implementation of the developed methodology and creation of a "best practice" recommendation

Financed by:
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy),
industry research partners

University research partners:
BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg / Chair for Power Plant Engineering (coordinator of the collaborative project)
TU Dresden / Chair of Energy Process Engineering

Industry research partners:
Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG (LEAG), RWE Power AG, Kraftanlagen München GmbH, GE Boiler Deutschland GmbH, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe GmbH, TÜV Süd Industrie Service GmbH, ASCORI GmbH & Co. KG, CheMin GmbH, Allianz Risk Consulting GmbH, RECOM Services GmbH

Collaborative Project: ECOFLEX-Turbo: 4.3.4a
Sub-Project: Investigation of Heat Transfer in Steam Turbine Components – Variable Generic Geometries of Turbine Side Spaces, 11/2017 – 07/2020

The project addresses the thermo-mechanical behaviour of steam turbines and serves to further develop knowledge of heat transfer in the side spaces of steam turbine casings. As part of the project, systematic experimental studies are to be carried out on a compressed air test rig and universal approaches to heat transfer are to be developed. Selected side space configurations are recalculated using numerical flow simulation (CFD). The simulation model is also to be expanded to allow the extraction and return of fluid to be observed.
The deeper knowledge of heat transfer shall improve the quality of predictions made by structural-mechanical simulations (FEM) with respect to the thermal deformation behaviour of the casing and the tightness of joints in transient operation, thereby increasing the load flexibility of the turbines. Optimisation potentials in casing design will also be indicated.
In order to expand the scope of application, the low-impact heat transfer measuring methodology used is also to be qualified for steam atmospheres and industry-relevant temperature levels up to 600°C. The first sensor prototypes are to be used to take comparative measurements in moist air at temperatures over 100°C.

Financed by:
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy),
Siemens AG

Research partners:
TU Dresden, Institute of Fluid Mechanics, Chair of Magnetofluiddynamics, Siemens AG

KAMEL - Additively manufactured, highly adapted micro-channel heat exchangers in a highly efficient cold steam cooling system for aircraft power electronics
LuFo V-3, 01/2018 - 12/2020

An integrated electronic cooling system (EKS) is to be developed for civil passenger aircraft. The evaporation should take place directly at the circuit boards, i.e. where the heat is generated on the electronic component. Modern microchannels are to be used, in which a carefully selected refrigerant evaporates which meets the existing safety requirements and future climate targets.

Financed by:
Projektträger Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)

Research partners:
TU Dresden, Institut für Energietechnik, Professur für Kälte- und Kryotechnik
Airbus

LEBEMAN - Life Determination Methods for multiaxial and isotherm Thermo-Mechanical-Fatigue
IGF-Vorhaben Nr. 26 EWBR/1, 09/2017 - 08/2020

The project will focus on systematic experimental and numerical investigations of the influence of component-relevant multiaxial loads on fatigue damage in the operating temperature range. The testing of turbo machine and motor materials and the lifetime prediction of high-temperature components are to be systematically extended by the important contribution of multiaxiality.

Financed by:
AiF,  FVV

Research partners:
TU Freiberg, Rolls-Royce Deutschland, MTU Aero Engines München, MAN Augsburg, Siemens Mühlheim

AMTEC-D: Development of an Alkali-Metal Convertor for Highly Efficient Direct Conversion of Heat into Electrical Power, 03/2017 - 02/2020

In order to meet the challenges associated with the goals put in place as part of the change in energy policy, that is, to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies and prevent heat from being released into the atmosphere, innovative systems for the efficient use of high-temperature waste heat are required.
The collaborative project involves the development of an alkali-metal convertor for the highly efficient direct conversion of heat into electrical power (the AMTEC-D device), which can directly convert waste heat from technological processes, heat from solar receivers, waste heat from vehicle engines or heat generated by hydrogen production, into electrical energy. This principle has already been used in a similar form to supply power to space probes. Prior to now, unresolved problems relating to materials and manufacturing have made the large-scale, terrestrial use of converters of this type somewhat difficult.
As these kinds of direct conversion processes do not require moving machine parts, the maintenance required is almost non-existant, they are very versatile with respect to their potential applications and can easily adapt to fluctuating load conditions. A sufficient difference in temperature is all that is needed to power them.
The progress made by the project partners in the areas of materials research and innovative manufacturing processes opens up new possibilities for the future application of AMTEC-Ds in the area of technologies for the use of renewable energy sources, the area of high-temperature waste heat sources and in the hydrogen economy. The aim of the project is to develop a highly efficient, environmentally friendly and economically competitive AMTEC-D using innovative ceramic materials and innovative laser processes, and to construct a prototype, which will be tested in various fields of application. The goal is to achieve conversion efficiency of over 20%.

Financed by:
SAB/EFRE

Research partners:
TU Dresden, Chair of Hydrogen and Nuclear Energy Technology
TU Dresden, Dresden Institute of Automobile Engineering (IAD)
Freiberg University of Mining and Technology, Institute of Ceramic, Glass and Construction Materials (IKGB), Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Fluid Dynamics (HZDR)
Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS)

Link Projekt-Homepage

Heat furnace for TISG (Thermal initiated stress-gradients), 06/2015 - 04/2019

Manufacturing and commissioning of a novel heat furnace to achieve highest thermal gradients was the main objective of the project. As main result, a test facility with previously unattained performance parameters is available for research purposes.

Financed by:
FVV- Forschungsvereinigung Verbrennungskraftmaschinen e. V.

Research partners:
Materialprüfungsanstalt Stuttgart
Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoffmechanik Freiburg

FLEXTURBINE - Flexible Fossil Power Plants for the Future Energy Market through New and Advanced Turbine Technology
EU HORIZON 2020 Project, 01/2016-12/2018

The EU FLEXTURBINE project was initiated by turbine manufacturers Siemens, Doosan-Skoda, MAN Diesel&Turbo, Alstom, Ansaldo and GE. It addresses areas of technology which are crucial to the higher operational flexibility of gas and steam turbines. There are a total of 22 European research partners involved in the project.
The job of the Chair of Thermal Power Machinery and Plants is to develop and construct a test rig which can be used to test the hot-gas-path components of gas turbines under realistic conditions, as it is either not possible or far too costly to test new design solutions in the gas turbine itself.

Flex-Power-Plant-Pumps - Development of Fundamentals for Hydraulic Pump Systems under Non-Stationary Operating Mode in Flexible Power Plants
Collaborative project contained within the Verbund Rhein Ruhr Power e.V. "Flexible Power Plants" project, 09/2015 - 08/2018

The use of steam power plant units to cover the residual load has fundamentally changed the requirement profile for these systems. Power plant operation is characterised by partial-load operation and start-stop cycles accompanied by steep power transients. Even the boiler feed pumps must meet these requirements. The sub-project "Construction Parts and Casings of Pumps and Valves under Non-Stationary Load" will be carried out as part of the Flex-Power-Plant-Pumps collaborative project. The aim of the sub-project is to develop a new method for the fast calculation of temperature fields, casing distortion and stresses. The new process should not only ensure a robust design, but should also allow predictions to be made in order to achieve a load-flexible, yet gentle, pump operating mode.

Financed by:
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy),
KSB Aktiengesellschaft, Frankenthal

Research partners:
TU Darmstadt, TU Dortmund, KSB Aktiengesellschaft, Frankenthal

EHROD – Energy Efficiency in Heatset Web Offset Printing, 10/2015 - 03/2018

Heatset web offset printing is the world's most commonly used printing process for the printing of medium-to-large runs of magazines, catalogues and advertising brochures. Due to the increase in energy costs and thus the manufacturing costs, as well as for ecological reasons, the printing industry is interested in improving the efficiency of the energy-intensive drying process which accompanies the heatset web offset printing process. The first matter to be addressed is the heating of the dryers, which prior to now have been heated using combustion gas produced through the combustion of natural gas and solvents.
The conversion of the drying process to utilise indirect heating using process steam from a flexible cogeneration system based on an integrated gas-steam (GiD) process represents a very promising and entirely new concept. The heating of the dryers using steam from a GiD system also offers an advantage in that fluctuations in heating demand do not have any effect on the efficiency of the cogeneration system.
The GiD process has been studied at TU Dresden as part of the FKZ 0327485A project, which was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and there is now an opportunity to implement this cogeneration technology in conjunction with an additional energy efficiency measure in an industrial environment in a medium-sized printing plant.
The project shall aid the investigation into an optimisation of this new drying technology with respect to processes and systems as well as management, in order to prepare for its technical implementation in heatset web offset printing and other areas.
Theoretical and experimental investigations were carried out in order to achieve the project goals. For the experimental investigations, TU Dresden has access to a GiD test facility with process water recovery and test dryers in the aforementioned printing plant, which were created by converting conventional dryers, without any development that sufficiently took into account their system integration and corresponding scientific support. Investigations to determine optimal operating parameters for high-quality printed materials with minimal energy use shall be carried out using these steam-heated test dryers. Concepts for the next generation of printers will be developed on the basis of the test results. The operating mode of the GiD system shall be optimised with respect to low fuel consumption according to the heat requirements of the dryers. The opportunities for water recovery in the GiD process and improvement of the printing plant's use of heat shall also be investigated. The final stage is an evaluation of the achievable effects of the innovative drying technology with regard to ecology and the energy industry.

Financed by:
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy), "Energy Efficiency in Industry" funding priority
LORATECH GmbH

Research partners:
TU Dresden, Chair of Energy Process Engineering, Chair of Process Engineering in Hydro Systems