US 11,927,130 B2
Pump control of closed cycle power generation system
Raj Apte, Mountain View, CA (US); and Philippe Larochelle, Mountain View, CA (US)
Assigned to MALTA INC., Cambridge, MA (US)
Filed by MALTA INC., Cambridge, MA (US)
Filed on Sep. 26, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/952,753.
Application 17/952,753 is a continuation of application No. 17/174,493, filed on Feb. 12, 2021, granted, now 11,454,168.
Application 17/174,493 is a continuation of application No. 16/260,859, filed on Jan. 29, 2019, granted, now 10,920,667, issued on Feb. 16, 2021.
Application 16/260,859 is a continuation of application No. 15/392,653, filed on Dec. 28, 2016, granted, now 10,233,833, issued on Mar. 19, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0019518 A1, Jan. 19, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. F02C 1/04 (2006.01); F02C 1/10 (2006.01); F02C 6/14 (2006.01); F03G 6/04 (2006.01); F03G 6/06 (2006.01); H02P 9/04 (2006.01)
CPC F02C 1/04 (2013.01) [F02C 1/10 (2013.01); F02C 6/14 (2013.01); F03G 6/04 (2013.01); F03G 6/064 (2013.01); H02P 9/04 (2013.01); Y02E 10/46 (2013.01); Y02E 20/14 (2013.01)] 23 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
circulating a working fluid through a closed cycle system comprising a first heat exchanger, a turbine, a second heat exchanger, and a compressor, wherein the working fluid flows through, in sequence, the compressor, the first heat exchanger, the turbine, and the second heat exchanger in a discharge mode;
pumping a variable flow rate of a first thermal fluid through the first heat exchanger, wherein the first thermal fluid is in thermal contact with the working fluid;
generating a quantity of electrical power via a generator driven by the turbine;
delivering electrical power generated by the generator to a grid system;
monitoring a phase difference between the generated electrical power and a grid power at the grid system;
using a controller, anticipating a change in energy to be made to the working fluid based on the phase difference and using the change in energy to determine an operating condition of the closed cycle system; and
adjusting the variable flow rate of the first thermal fluid based on the operating condition.