US 6,523,347 B1Granted

Thermodynamic power system using binary working fluid

OwnerAlexei Jirnov, Mikhail A. Jirnovinventors

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Abstract

A thermodynamic power system has a low-temperature closed bottoming cycle using a first working fluid (first gas) and open or closed modified Brayton topping cycles using a second working fluid (second gas). In the bottoming cycle a mixture of a first gas such as helium or hydrogen and a fine dispersed low-temperature non-freezable lubricating liquid is polytropically compressed in a compressor and then the liquid content is separated from the first gas. The separated first gas is isobarically heated using heat from the second gas and then the heated first gas is adiabatically expanded and cooled while performing useful work and thereafter is fed to the compressor and mixed with the separated liquid to serve as a coolant and facilitate rejection of polytropic heat and to supplement the cool gas/liquid mixture providing polytropic compression of the first gas and thus completing the bottoming cycle. The low-temperature bottoming cycle functions to cool the second working fluids of the open or closed modified Brayton topping cycles before their compression. The power system using a high temperature heat source can generate a large amount of specific power to achieve a high actual thermal efficiency greater than 0.8.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A method for transforming thermal energy into mechanical energy utilizing thermodynamic bottoming and topping cycles and binary working fluids, comprising:

providing a rotary gas/liquid compressor and rotary gas expander unit having a common oval-shaped operating chamber and a common rotor therein dividing said operating chamber into a gas/liquid compressor chamber and a gas expander chamber;
introducing a first gas/liquid working fluid mixture of a non-condensable first gas and a low-temperature liquid into said gas/liquid compressor chamber and polytropically compressing it therein in a low-temperature closed bottoming cycle;
introducing a second working fluid gas into said gas expander chamber and compressing and expanding said second working fluid gas in a topping cycle to produce power;
separating said polytropically compressed first gas/liquid working fluid mixture into a non-condensable first gas component having a low boiling temperature and a liquid component;
isobarically heating and adiabatically expanding said separated non-condensable first gas component in a heat exchanger having a second gas as a heat source to cool said second gas to produce cool refrigerated air to be used for said second working fluid gas of said topping cycle and to facilitate rejection of waste heat of said topping cycle;
discharging said isobarically heated first gas component of said first gas/liquid working fluid from said heat exchanger into said gas expander chamber;
adiabatically expanding said first gas component in said gas expander chamber to simultaneously rotate said common rotor and produce useful work and thereby extract heat from said adiabatically expanded first gas component to cool it to a temperature below the boiling point of said liquid component and facilitate rejection of waste heat from said bottoming cycle;
and
discharging a portion of said adiabatically expanded cooled first gas component from said gas expander chamber into said gas/liquid compressor chamber;
and introducing and atomizing a portion of said separated liquid component into said gas/liquid compressor chamber and mixing it with said cool first gas component during polytropic compression of said gas/liquid mixture to serve as a coolant for said liquid component to adsorb waste heat and supplement said first gas/liquid mixture and to facilitate polytropic compression of said gas/liquid mixture therein.

7 more elements

A combined thermodynamic power system comprising:

a rotary gas/liquid compressor and rotary gas expander unit having a common oval-shaped operating chamber and a common rotor therein dividing said operating chamber into a gas/liquid compressor chamber and a gas expander chamber, said gas/liquid compressor chamber having a first working fluid inlet, a first working fluid discharge outlet, and a liquid atomizer injector, and said gas expander chamber having a first working fluid inlet and first working fluid outlet, said gas expander chamber first working fluid outlet being aligned with said gas/liquid compressor chamber first working fluid inlet;
vortex separator means for separating a gas/liquid mixture into a gas component and a liquid component, said separator having an inlet connected with said gas/liquid compressor chamber discharge outlet, a gas outlet, and a liquid outlet;
bottoming cycle heat exchanger means having an inlet connected with said vortex separator gas outlet, an outlet connected with said bottoming cycle gas expander chamber first working fluid inlet, said heat exchanger means disposed in heat exchange relation with a second working fluid of a topping cycle;
rotary pump means having an inlet connected with said vortex separator liquid outlet, and an outlet connected with said gas/liquid compressor chamber liquid atomizer injector;
a gas storage container containing a non-condensable gas under pressure and having a gas inlet connected through one-way valve means with said vortex separator means leas outlet and with said bottoming cycle gas expander chamber first working fluid inlet;
a liquid storage container containing a liquid under pressure and having all inlet connected through one-way valve means with said vortex separator means liquid outlet and all outlet connected with said rotary pump inlet;
throttle means disposed between said vortex separator gas outlet and said heat exchanger means inlet and between said vortex separator gas outlet, said bottoming cycle gas expander chamber first working fluid inlet, between said bottoming cycle heat exchanger outlet and said bottoming cycle gas expander chamber first working fluid inlet, between said gas storage tank and said bottoming cycle gas expander chamber first working fluid inlet, between said liquid storage tank outlet and said rotary pump inlet, and between said vortex separator liquid outlet and said rotary pump inlet;
and
bottoming cycle control means including temperature and pressure sensors connected with said throttle means for controlling the operation of selected ones thereof responsive to the temperature and pressure of a first working fluid entering said rotary gas expander chamber first working fluid inlet;
wherein
upon rotation of said rotary gas/liquid compressor rotor, a first gas/liquid working fluid mixture of said non-condensable gas and said liquid is drawn into said gas/liquid compressor chamber and compressed in a polytropic process therein and the polytropically compressed gas/liquid mixture is discharged into said vortex separator and separated into a non-condensable gas component having a low boiling temperature and a non-freezable, lubricating liquid component;
said separated non-condensable (gas component is conducted through said bottoming cycle heat exchanger in heat exchange relation with said second working fluid of said topping cycle to isobarically heat said non-condensable first gas thereby cooling said topping cycle second working fluid;
said isobarically heated non-condensable gas component is discharged from said bottoming cycle heat exchanger into said bottoming cycle gas expander operating chamber and adiabatically expanded therein to simultaneously rotate said bottoming cycle gas/liquid compressor and gas expander common rotor, produce useful work and extract heat from said adiabatically expanded gas component to cool it to a temperature below the boiling point of said liquid component and facilitate rejection of waste heat from said bottoming cycle;
a portion of said cooled expanded gas component is discharged from said bottoming cycle rotary gas expander chamber into said gas/liquid compressor chamber;
a portion of said separated liquid component from said vortex separator is introduced and atomized into said gas/liquid compressor chamber and mixed with said expanded cool gas component entering said gas/liquid compressor chamber to serve as a coolant for said liquid component to adsorb polytropic heat and to supplement said gas/liquid mixture thereby providing its polytropic compression;
and
said temperature and pressure sensor and control means controlling the operation of selected ones of said throttle means responsive to the temperature and pressure of fluids passing through said system to control the flow of fluids through said bottoming cycle.

14 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.