Rotary thermodynamic apparatus and method

A rotary thermodynamic system including a rotatable fluid flow conduit having radially outwardly-directed and inwardly-directed sections, impedance control means for providing an increase of pressure drop for an increase in the rate of flow of working fluid through said conduit and thereby stabilizing the flow of working fluid through said conduit, heat exchanger means in said conduit, said heat exchanger means comprising at least one group of parallel contiguous tubes forming in said conduit plural flow passageways each of a cross-sectional area smaller than that of said conduit.

A method of stabilizing the operation of a rotary thermodynamic system including a rotatable fluid flow conduit with radially outwardly-directed and inwardly-directed sections, there being a decrease in the pressure drop in said conduit with an increase in the rate of flow of working fluid through said conduit, said method comprising controlling the flow impedance in said system so that there is an increase in pressure drop for an increase of the flow rate of working fluid through said system, said increase being greater than said decrease so as to give said system an overall pressure drop which increases with increases in said flow rate.

In a rotary thermodynamic device having a plurality of parallel-connected conduits, each having a first section extending outwardly from a common rotational axis, and a second section extending inwardly towards said axis, rotary drive means for rotating said conduits about said axis, means for extracting heat from a working fluid flowing outwardly through each of said outgoing sections, means for pumping said working fluid outwardly from said axis through each of said outgoing sections and inwardly towards said axis, the back-pressure of said working fluid in said inwardly-extending section due to the action of centrifugal force being greater than the forward pressure of said fluid in said outgoing section due to centrifugal force, the difference between said forward and back pressures being called the thermodynamic pressure drop, said thermodynamic pressure drop decreasing with increasing flow rate through said conduits, and means for restricting the cross-sectional areas of said conduits in an amount effective to give an overall increase in the total pressure drop in the fluid with increasing rates of flow.

In a rotary thermodynamic device having at least one fluid flow conduit having a first section extending outwardly from a common rotational axis, and a second section extending inwardly towards said axis, rotary drive means for rotating said conduits about said axis, means for pumping said working fluid outwardly from said axis through said outgoing section and inwardly towards said axis, the back-pressure of said working fluid in said inwardly-extending section due to the action of centrifugal force being greater than the forward pressure of said fluid in said outgoing section due to centrifugal force, the difference between said forward and back pressures being called the thermodynamic pressure drop, said thermodynamic pressure drop decreasing with increasing flow rate through said conduits, and impedance means for partially blocking the flow of fluid through said conduit and thereby increasing the mechanical impedance to flow through said conduit in an amount effective to give an overall increase in the total pressure drop in the fluid with increasing rates of flow.