MHD Performance Demonstration Experiment, FY 1974 to FY 1984. Final report
Mounting concern over the world's fuel reserves, in general, and increasing dependence of the US on foreign oil, in particular, led the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) to undertake a national program for the development of commercial, open-cycle, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation. The emphasis of that national program was, and is, on establishing the engineering feasibility of using coal to fuel the MHD power system. In order to establish feasibility it was necessary to experimentally demonstrate that an MHD generator system simulating a commercial-sized device can convert 16 to 18% of the available thermal energy into electric power at an isentropic efficiency of 60 to 70%. A presidential decree encouraged any government agency which might possess an organic MHD capability to assist ERDA in formulating and executing the national program. Since the largest MHD facility in the United States was located at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), it was selected to be the national program element to demonstrate performance. As a result, the AEDC has been under contract since December 1973 (first to ERDA, later to its successor, the Department of Energy, DOE) to modify existing equipment and to design, fabricate, and install new hardware to perform the MHD Performance Demonstration Experiment. This report describes the facility which was developed to conduct that research and summarizes all results achieved to date in pursuit of the project objectives. 21 references, 110 figures.
- Research Organization:
- Arnold Engineering Development Center, Arnold Air Force Station, TN (USA); Calspan Field Services, Inc., Tullahoma, TN (USA). AEDC Div.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AI22-78ET11417
- OSTI ID:
- 6201952
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ET/11417-20; ON: DE85000854
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
MHD high-performance demonstration experiment. Quarterly progress report, October 1-December 31, 1981
MHD high-performance demonstration experiment. Quarterly progress report, January 1, 1981-March 31, 1981
Related Subjects
MHD GENERATOR AEDC
DESIGN
OPERATION
PERFORMANCE TESTING
BURNERS
COAL-FIRED MHD GENERATORS
COOLING SYSTEMS
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
DIFFUSERS
ELECTROMAGNETS
FAILURES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MHD CHANNELS
MHD POWER PLANTS
PERFORMANCE
STRESS ANALYSIS
THERMAL EFFICIENCY
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
MAGNETS
MHD GENERATORS
POWER PLANTS
TESTING
300101* - MHD Generators- Design & Development
300102 - MHD Generators- Performance & Testing
300103 - MHD Generators- Materials
Components
& Auxiliaries