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US 4,442,677 AGranted
Variable effect absorption machine and process
AssigneeThe Franklin Institute
InventorKenneth W. Kauffman
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AssigneeThe Franklin Institute
InventorKenneth W. Kauffman
Estimating the term…
High, intermediate and low pressure stages are provided in a thermal machine including sealed chambers permitting maintenance of respective pressures but permitting flow of vapor from one vessel to a second within a stage and providing for the flow of an absorbent solution among the vessels in different stages. The intermediate stage includes resorption and regeneration vessels which are thermally coupled, respectively, to a generation vessel and an absorption vessel in the high and low pressure stages, so that a variable fraction of the absorber heat may be transferred to the regenerator and of the resorber heat to the generator. The name Variable Effect refers to this variable internal heat transfer which permits the machine to adjust to a wide range of available heat source and heat rejection temperatures while maintaining high efficiency. Heats are accepted by and rejected from the generator and absorber over large ranges of temperature, which permits small pump and fan power and provides good utilization of the heat source and sink. Several versions of the machine, some including an evaporator and a condenser and others including a power convertor, and using fluids selected for each purpose, may be applied to heat pumping, chilling, temperature amplification, power production and desalination or other separation processes.
A thermal machine in which there are three pressure stages, at high, intermediate and low pressures relative to one another, said pressure stages having means, including sealed chambers permitting maintenance of the respective pressures but permitting flow of vapors from one vessel to another within a stage, the high and low pressure stages containing at least one of two types of vessels, generation and absorption vessels, said pressure stages having means, including sealed chambers permitting maintenance of the respective pressures, one type vessel at the high pressure stage and the other type at the low pressure stage, and resorption and regeneration vessels at the intermediate pressure stage, fluid flow connection means providing at least one closed loop at least between the generation vessel, one of the regeneration and resorption vessels, and the absorption vessel, the vessels and fluid flow connection means being provided to contain and convey from one vessel to another an absorbent solution in liquid phase, said solution being selected to have a vapor component with which it may interact, and means permitting selected heat exchange between stages and with external circulants which, together with flow of vapors between various vessels within a pressure stage will effect a variable effect of heat inputs and outputs over a wide range of operating temperatures.
A thermal machine employing a variable effect absorption process in which there are three pressure stages, at high, intermediate and low pressures relative to one another, said pressure stages having means, including sealed chambers permitting maintenance of the respective pressures but permitting flow of vapors from one vessel to another within a stage, the high pressure stage containing a generation vessel, the low pressure stage containing an absorption vessel, and the intermediate stage containing a resorption vessel and a regeneration vessel, fluid flow connection means to provide a closed absorption fluid loop among the generation vessel, the resorption vessel, the absorption vessel and the regeneration vessel, and heat exchange means between the absorption fluid in the generation vessel and the resorption vessel and between the absorption fluids in the regeneration vessel and the absorption vessel, so that the fluids exiting the generation and absorption vessels are equilibrated in vapor pressure with each other within the intermediate pressure stage while heat is accepted from the absorption vessel fluid by the regeneration vessel fluid and accepted from the resorption vessel fluid by the generation vessel fluid, and means for removing the volatile component of the absorption fluid from the condenser and for supplying the volatile component to the evaporator, and means for heat exchange at least between the absorption fluid and external circulants at the generation and absorption vessels, so that a variable effect of heat inputs and outputs is produced with the external circulants over a wide range of operating temperatures.
A thermal machine employing a variable effect absorption process in which there are three pressure stages, at high, intermediate and low pressures relative to one another, said pressure stages having means, including sealed chambers permitting maintenance of the respective pressures but permitting flow of vapors from one vessel to another within a stage, the low pressure stage containing a generation vessel, the high pressure stage containing an absorption vessel, and the intermediate stage containing a resorption vessel and a regeneration vessel, fluid flow connection means to provide a closed absorption fluid loop among the generation vessel, the regeneration vessel, the absorption vessel and the resorption vessel, and heat exchange means between the absorption fluid in the generation vessel and the resorption vessel and between the absorption fluids in the regeneration vessel and the absorption vessel, so that the fluids exiting the generation and absorption vessels are equilibrated in vapor pressure with each other within the intermediate pressure stage while heat is accepted from the absorption vessel fluid by the regeneration vessel fluid and accepted from the resorption vessel fluid by the generation vessel fluid, and means for removing the volatile component of the absorption fluid from the condenser and for supplying the volatile component to the evaporator, and means for heat exchange at least between the absorption fluid and external circulants at the generation and absorption vessels, so that a variable effect of heat inputs and outputs is produced with the external circulants over a wide range of operating temperatures.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.