A study of a commercial MHD power plant scheme

Power engineering specialists are currently interested in electrical power stations with magnetohydrodynamic generators. This interest has been generated by the fact that fossil fuels are becoming increasingly costlier, and with the exploitation of remote and practically inaccessible deposits, a more rational utilisation of fuel has become necessary. Research on magnetohydrodynamic generators is being conducted in many countries at present. In the USSR a composite pilot plant with an MHD generator whose output exceeds 20 MW has already been operative for several thousand hours. However the pilot plant has to be considerably modified to serve as a model for the 500–1000 MW industrial power unit. This paper is devoted to an investigation of one of the possible process flow diagrams of MHD electrical power plants. The structure of MHD electrical power plants, the interrelation between the aggregates, issues concerning the starting of the plant and the working of the power unit under various partial load conditions are discussed. With the availability of new theoretical and experimental data, the process flow diagrams of industrial MHD electrical power plants will naturally undergo changes. However, the methodical approach and the investigations, described in this paper should retain their validity for all process flow diagrams of electrical power plants with MHD generators.