Development of an exhaust air turbine engine

The article discusses ways of utilizing exhaust gas heat to improve the power efficiency of heat engines. The concept of an air turbine engine is chosen to make a generator drive with the capacity of 150 kW intended to produce energy for a gas-pumping unit.  In an air turbine engine atmospheric air heated by the exhaust gases of the gas turbine drive of a gas pumping unit serves as the working fluid. Three thermodynamic cycle schematics for an air turbine engine (ATE) are analyzed. The optimal design of an ATE comprising a two-stage axial compressor, a recuperative air heater (RAH), an ejector and a single-stage axial turbine is determined on the basis of thermodynamic calculations. Compressed air from the ATE compressor unit is used in the ejector as the active flow, while the combustion products of the NK-16ST engine are used as the passive flow. The recuperative air heater and ejector are located in the exhaust line of the gas pumping unit. The chosen design concept of the air turbine engine corresponds to the technical requirements of gas transmission enterprises.