Hydrogen is one of the most common process gasses used to cool generators by providing a low-drag environment for lower windage losses and higher levels of efficiency. Fossil-fuel, hydroelectric, and nuclear fusion turbo-generators cooled using air-atmospheres display reduced energy efficiency due to increased power requirements to compensate for gas friction. The vastly reduced density and enhanced thermal conductivity of hydrogen in comparison to air provides proportional improvements to power limit requirements and mechanical efficiency. The drawback of this is the increased susceptibility of hydrogen to ignition when mixed with air, which increases the risk of catastrophic device failure.
To reduce the risk of forming dangerous gaseous compounds within the turbo-generator, a neutral intermediate gas such as carbon dioxide is introduced to displace air molecules through exhaustive outlets. Lighter hydrogen can then be introduced into the top of the generator, and heavier carbon dioxide can be exhausted through the bottom of the turbo-generator. Desirable purity levels vary depending on facility requirements and hydrogen may be continuously introduced into the chamber to alter the purity and pressure levels of the coolant atmosphere.
This requires continuous monitoring of the gaseous content of the turbo-generator atmosphere at multiple phases during operation. Integrated systems equipped with continuous gas analyzers are routinely used to monitor the gaseous composition of a turbo-generator atmosphere to reduce windage losses, improve generator efficiency, and provide safe conditions for high-throughput operation.