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Power generation with a supercritical CO2 closed regenerative Brayton cycle has been successfully demonstrated using a bench scale test facility. A set of a centrifugal compressor and a radial inflow turbine of finger top size is driven by a synchronous motor/generator controlled using a high-speed inverter. A 110 W power generating operation is achieved under the operational condition of rotational speed of 1.15kHz, CO2 flow rate of 1.1 kg/s, and respective thermodynamic states (7.5 MPa, 304.6 K) at compressor and (10.6 MPa, 533 K) at turbine inlet. Compressor work reduction owing to real gas effect is experimentally examined. Compressor to turbine work ratio in supercritical liquid like state is measured to be 28% relative to the case of ideal gas. Major loss of power output is identified as rotor windage. It is found the isentropic efficiency depends little on compressibility coefficient. Off design performance of gas turbine working in supercritical state is well predicted by a Meanline program. The CFD analysis on compressor internal flow indicates that the presence of backward flow around the tip region might create a locally depressurized region leading eventually to the onset of flow instability.
Utamura et al. (Mon,) studied this question.