Hydropneumatic accumulator with a compressible regenerator

A hydropneumatic accumulator with a compressible regenerator comprising a shell with a fluid reservoir of variable volume connected with a fluid port and a gas reservoir of variable volume connected with a gas port, with the gas and fluid reservoirs of variable volume separated by a separator movable relative to the shell, and with the gas reservoir containing a compressible regenerator filling the gas reservoir so that the separator movement reducing the gas reservoir volume compresses said regenerator, wherein the regenerator is made of leaf elements located transversally to the separator motion direction and dividing the gas reservoir into intercommunicating gas layers of variable depth, wherein the leaf elements of the regenerator are kinematically connected with the separator allowing for increase of the depth of the gas layers separated by them at the gas reservoir volume increase and for decrease of the said gas layers depth at the gas reservoir volume decrease, wherein the leaf elements are made of elastic metal and are joined to each other into a multilayer spring, wherein the separator is made in the form of a piston with a chamber and bellows in it separating the chamber into a fluid part and a gas part communicating with the fluid and gas reservoirs, respectively, through the windows in the piston, while the bellows are made of the leaf elements located transversally to the piston motion direction dividing the gas part of the chamber in the piston into intercommunicating gas layers of variable depth and allowing for increase of the depth of the gas layers separated by said leaf elements at the volume of the gas part of said chamber increase and decrease of said gas layers depth at decrease of said gas part volume.

A method of operating a hydropneumatic accumulator with a compressible regenerator comprising a shell with a fluid reservoir of variable volume connected with a fluid port and a gas reservoir of variable volume connected with a gas port, made so that to provide charging said gas reservoir with gas pressurized up to more than 7 MPa, with the gas and fluid reservoirs of variable volume separated by a separator movable relative to the shell made so that the fluid, when being pumped through said fluid port into said fluid reservoir, displaces said separator reducing the volume of said gas reservoir and increasing gas pressure in it, and the compressed gas, when expanding, displaces said separator reducing the volume of said fluid reservoir and displacing fluid out of it through said fluid port, and with the gas reservoir containing a compressible regenerator filling the gas reservoir so that the separator movement reducing the gas reservoir volume compresses said regenerator, wherein the regenerator is made of leaf elements located transversally to the separator motion direction and dividing the gas reservoir into intercommunicating gas layers of variable depth, wherein the leaf elements of the regenerator are kinematically connected with the separator allowing for increase of the depth of the gas layers separated by them at the gas reservoir volume increase and for decrease of the said gas layers depth at the gas reservoir volume decrease, the method comprising:

• a) pumping the fluid through said fluid port into said fluid reservoir, which:
• displaces said separator reducing the volume of said gas reservoir;
• increases gas pressure in the gas reservoir above 7 MPa;
• and compresses said regenerator;
• and
• b) expanding the compressed gas in said gas reservoir, which:
• displaces said separator reducing the volume of said fluid reservoir;
• displaces fluid out of the fluid reservoir through said fluid port;
• and expands said regenerator.