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AssigneeThe Commonwealth of Australia Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization
InventorsMichael Noel Wendt, Patrick Joseph Glynn
Estimating the term…
A closed cycle thermodynamic apparatus (10) is provided for powering a combustion machine. The apparatus (10) has a compressor (12) for compressing a working medium from a reservoir (14) at temperature T1. The temperature of the working medium increases during compression and reaches temperature T2 when leaving the compressor (12). It is then expanded in an expander (16) for turning the machine. In this manner mechanical work is extracted from the working medium. The apparatus (10) has a first heat exchanger (18) and a second heat exchanger (20) connected to the compressor (12) and the expander (16) in a closed cycle. It also has a burner (22) and a third heat exchanger (24). Air, as a Heat transfer medium, at ambient temperature T5 is induced into the second exchanger (20) to cool the working medium by receiving heat therefrom. The temperature of the working medium decreases from T4 to T1 before entering the compressor (12) for repeating the cycle. The air which is now at a higher temperature T6 is conveyed to the burner (22) where it is mixed with fuel to form a combustion gas reaching an even higher temperature at T7 and passed into the first exchanger (18) for heating the working medium at constant pressure. In this manner the temperature of working medium increases to T3 when entering the expander (16) and following expansion for conversion to mechanical power its temperature reduces to T4. The apparatus (10) thereby recovers heat at all the heat exchangers (18),(20) and (24). This reduces the amount of fuel required to heat the air for combustion.
A thermodynamic apparatus comprising a compressor, an expander and heat exchange means connecting the compressor and the expander in a closed cycle, and a compressible working fluid arranged to flow in the closed cycle;
A thermodynamic apparatus comprising a compressor, an expander and heat exchange means connecting the compressor and the expander in a closed cycle, and a compressible working fluid arranged to flow in the closed cycle, heat recovery means having a heat transfer medium arranged to recover heat by transferring at least certain amount of the heat to and/or from the working fluid, and heat storage means including a phase changeable material which remains at least partially molten at temperatures expected while the apparatus is in operation, the heat storage means being arranged for storing said transferred heat for controllably releasing said stored heat to the working fluid and having a storage tank containing another heat transfer medium in heat transfer relationship with said phase changeable material, the heat storage means thereby serving to substantially control temperature of the working fluid and to substantially even out varying temperatures caused by fuel supplies of varying calorific value and quantity.
A thermodynamic apparatus comprising a compressor arranged for compressing a compressible working fluid, an expander for expanding the working fluid, a heat exchange means interconnecting said compressor and said expander for heating the working fluid, heating means arranged for heating a heat transfer medium and for supplying the heated medium to the heat exchange means for indirectly heating the working fluid while in said exchange means, and heat storage means arranged for storing heat transferred from said heat transfer medium and for controllably releasing heat to be transferred to the working fluid, the heat storage means thereby serving to substantially control temperature of the working fluid and to substantially even out varying temperatures caused by fuel supplies of varying calorific value and quantity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.