US 4,727,930 AGranted

Heat transfer and storage system

AssigneeThe Board of Regents of the University of Washington

InventorsAdam P. Bruckner, Abraham Hertzberg, David J. Shaw

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Abstract

An energy storage and conversion system utilizes unique heat exchange media for storing and transferring heat. In one embodiment, a refractory material is heated to the molten state by a solar furnace. The refractory material is stored in its molten form and metered to a direct-contact heat exchanger. It is fed into the heat exchanger in a plurality of streams that break into a plurality of droplets. The droplets flow through the heat exchanger in countercurrent relationship with a relatively inert gas such as argon or nitrogen. The gas is heated and expanded through an expansion engine to convert the thermal energy to mechanical energy which in turn can be utilized to produce electricity, for example. The refractory can be sufficiently cooled in the heat exchanger to fuse into beads, which can be easily recycled to the solar furnace.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A method for exchanging heat between a first liquid heat exchange medium and a second gaseous heat exchange medium that is immiscible with and substantially insoluble in said first medium comprising:

causing the first heat exchange medium to traverse a heat transfer zone in the form of droplets, said first heat exchange medium being injected into said heat transfer zone as a plurality of relatively small diameter liquid streams, the liquid streams being sized and the first heat exchange medium being selected to cause each of the streams to break into a plurality of droplets of substantially uniform size as they enter the heat transfer zone, said liquid streams further being externally mechanically excited to produce said droplets of substantially uniform size, and
causing the second heat exchange medium to traverse the heat transfer zone in countercurrent flow relationship to said first heat exchange medium and allowing the heat exchange medium to make intimate thermal contact with each other.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 06/293,196Filed 17 Aug 1981
Granted: 1 Mar 1988
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification20 codes

F28D 20/0056
Heat storage plants or apparatus in general; Regenerative heat-exchange apparatus not covered by groups F28D17/00 or F28D19/00: using solid heat…
F02C 1/05
The working fluid being heated indirectly: characterised by the type or source of heat, e.g. using nuclear or solar energy
F02C 1/10
The working fluid being heated indirectly: closed cycles
F02C 6/14
Plural gas-turbine plants; Combinations of gas-turbine plants with other apparatus; Adaptations of gas-turbine plants for special use: gas-turbine…