EP3320189A1

EP3320189A1 - Supercritical cyclic process comprising isothermal expansion and free-piston heat engine comprising hydraulic extracting of energy for said cyclic process

Info

Publication number: EP3320189A1
Application number: EP16723930.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jan Trzcionka
Original assignee: Nexus GmbH
Current assignee: Nexus GmbH
Priority date: 2015-04-17
Filing date: 2016-04-08
Publication date: 2018-05-16
Anticipated expiration: 2036-04-08
Also published as: WO2016165687A1; CN107636261B; DE102015105878B3; CN107636261A; EP3320189C0; EP3320189B1; DE112016001781A5

Abstract

Supercritical cyclic process, which enables an almost complete conversion of heat into mechanical energy, and reciprocating piston device in order to convert same. The isothermal expansion of the gaseous working medium is carried out by supplying heat via the cylinder wall and an oscillator piston which has turbulator slots, which oscillator piston oscillates in a linear manner in the expanding working chamber. The external heat is almost entirely supplied during the isothermal expansion at a slow stroke frequency, while all other steps – isochoric pressure build-up, isobaric expansion and isobaric reliquefaction – are almost completely carried out by means of the internal recuperator. The working piston is designed as a hollow free piston having sealing rings on the cold end and, just as the oscillator piston drive, follows the stroke profile of control piston, which is driven by the external master drive. All external piston drives are operated in a largely force-neutral manner with hydraulic pressure equalisation and require only little mechanical supply of energy as a result of the process. Owing to the elongated design, the device has a high thermal resistance in the direction of the hydraulic pressure chambers and/or cold poles and requires relatively little external cooling as a result of the process.

Description

Supercritical cycle with isothermal expansion and free piston heat engine with hydraulic energy extraction for this cycle

description

Field of the invention

The invention relates to a cycle process for a heat engine with external heat and a heat engine with external Wärmeuhr, which operates according to the inventive cycle. Specifically, the invention relates to supercritical cycle processes and, furthermore, to heat engines designed with isothermal expansion with or without phase change.

Background and state of the art

The currently used heat engines in the lower power range up to 150kW mainly use hot gas processes without phase transformation with internal or external heat supply, whereby the maximum working pressure is usually below 150 bar. The Clausius

The Rankine process as a high-pressure process with phase transformation is now almost exclusively used in large multi-stage water or ORC steam turbines in the upper power range.

All today's systems have been optimized according to the ideal gas or vapor cycle, the Carnot cycle with its isothermal proportions is considered unattainable limit. However, these systems have the following properties, which in each case reduce the useful work and lifetime. The resulting efficiencies are generally accepted.

Hot gas process with internal combustion: very good heat input at high speed, high compression work, no recuperability, 5 high cooling losses, high pressure and temperature difference, wear and corrosion very high (for example internal combustion engines);

Hot gas process with external combustion: poor heat input therefore high heater temperatures at high speeds from 300 to 3500 rpm, little or no compaction work, good recuperability, low cooling losses, mean pressure and temperature difference, wear and corrosion low, sealing problems of the Working medium (eg Stirling engines, gas turbines);

Rankine process (water or ORC): good heat input and no compression work in liquid phase, very poor recuperability only when overheating (economizer), large cooling losses at the lowest temperature level, high pressure and low temperature difference, highest possible speeds (turbines with multi-stage structure therefore very expensive), low wear and high corrosion (steam turbines, steam engines). Today, all modern systems rely on maximizing working temperature, working pressure and speed to improve efficiency and mass / power-to-weight ratio in the "classic sense", with exceptions being found only in the lower-end alternative power range (eg solar heat utilization) .isothermal expansion or compression Although it allows the highest possible efficiency, it is diametrically opposed to the current systems due to the short cycle times envisaged.The following improvements to the classical cycle processes and their implementation have already been proposed or realized.

The patent US 3 237 403A describes a supercritical cycle with phase transformation. C02 is proposed for turbines with isentropic expansion and waste heat recuperation via a countercurrent heat exchanger. Due to the internal cooling of the working medium after isentropic expansion, only a portion of the heat supplied can be recuperated. The return of the working medium and the pressure build-up happens under energy losses classically over condenser and boiler feed pump. In sum, therefore, only small improvements in expansion rate and energy efficiency can be achieved.

In the patent DE 10 2006 02 85 61 B3 the injection of a hot liquid into the working gas with subsequent pumping is proposed to approximate the isothermal heat input. The engine is a large volume Stirling low-speed rotor with oscillating hydraulic energy output.

Patent DE 10 2008 04 28 28 B4 uses liquid pistons for a classic Stirling cycle. The alternating immersion in a structured heat exchanger improves the isothermal heat transfer during compression and expansion and small dead spaces. Recuperation takes place in the gas area via countercurrent heat exchangers. However, the fluid seal and energy conversion requires a heat-resistant fluid at very high gas temperatures and appropriate fluid fittings.

The patent application DE 10 2009 05 72 10 AI describes a multi-cylinder Stirling engine classic design, in which a supercritical phase transformation is used with quasi-isentropic expansion in order to improve the efficiency. The problems of isothermal heat input, the large gas dead spaces and working space seal to the outside remain unresolved here.

The patent application DE 34 27 219 AI relates to a supercritical steam engine cycle process in which serving as a working, in the supercritical temperature range and pressure range directly recovered from the liquid phase, at constant supercritical pressure further superheated hot or cold gas supplied to a gas turbine in the same up close expands adiabatically or polytropically to the critical point of the working substance and the cooling of the gas is taken to 5 before its complete liquefaction by means of a heat pump and / or expansion chamber.

The patent application US 2013/0151576 AI relates to a system with a closed cycle for waste heat utilization, comprising a heat exchanger, the heat from an external Transferring heat source to a working medium, an expansion machine in fluid communication with an outlet of the heat exchanger and configured to expand the working medium and produce mechanical energy, a recuperator fluidly connected to an outlet of the expansion machine, and configured; Removing heat from the working medium, a condensing unit in fluid communication with an outlet of the recuperator and configured to condense the working medium, and a pump in fluid communication with an outlet of the condensing unit and configured to form the condensed working medium to pump back into the recuperator, wherein the recuperator is in fluid communication with the heat exchanger, so that the working fluid follows a closed path.

The patent application US 2011/0 271 676 AI relates to a process in which a working fluid is expanded into isentropic and two-stage. This is followed by condensation in a heat exchanger using the already recombined compressed working fluid.

The patent US 8,783,034 B2 relates to a thermodynamic cycle for hot days, in which a pump drives a working fluid through a heat exchanger, where it is heated and is expanded by a turbine. Thereafter, it is cooled to ambient temperature and liquefied by a multi-stage compressor with Zwischenkühiung.

The patent US 8,006,496 B2 relates to a motor with working fluid in a closed circuit with at least one pump for the pressure build-up in the fluid and for the further pressure build-up during the recuperative heat absorption, and a heater to the fluid over its critical temperature to its max. To bring working temperature. The output is followed by an expander for mechanical energy conversion with reflux to the recuperative heat exchanger.

The patent US 4 077 214 A relates to a heat engine for condensable wet steam as a working medium, consisting of cylinder and a piston. In the upper dead space, the heat input is tuned to a certain minimum possible dead space volume.

task

The object of the invention is to improve the thermodynamic efficiency over the cycle while avoiding the main disadvantages and taking advantage of certain advantages of the above-mentioned methods. The aim is also to increase longevity, low production costs and flexibility with regard to the heat source. A major problem of high-compression Stirling engines is also the sealing of the working fluid to the outside and the subsequent Energieiückkopiung.

The use should be made primarily in the decentralized power generation as an alternative to previous combined heat and power plants or in their exhaust gas downstream power generation, as well as in the use of biomass and geothermal energy. solution

This object is achieved by the methods and apparatus according to the claims.

Accordingly, a supercritical cycle with phase transformation is provided for heat engines with working space-external heat supply, whereby a working medium in a working space under working space-external heat supply is expanded supercritically at a predetermined upper working temperature,

then isobarically reliquefied at a predetermined lower working pressure pu to a predetermined lower operating temperature, wherein the predetermined lower operating temperature is below the critical temperature of the working medium, the heat energy released thereby being temporarily stored in a heat buffer device,

when heat is supplied from the intermediate heat storage device an isochoric pressure build-up in the liquid phase is achieved,

isobarically expanded supercritically with a predetermined upper working pressure to the predetermined upper operating temperature while supplying heat from the heat buffer device;

wherein the cycle always runs above the critical pressure of the wet steam curve of the working medium.

Advantageously, the external heat energy supply during the isothermal expansion and all process steps except the isothermal expansion are made possible by a recuperation of the heat energy for using the heat buffer device.

Further advantageously, the difference between the predetermined upper working temperature and the predetermined lower working temperature is greater than 150 Kelvin, in particular several 100 Kelvin, and wherein the lower working pressure is at least above the critical pressure of the working medium and the difference between the upper working pressure and the lower Working pressure is more than 50 bar, in particular several hundred bar and wherein the expansion rate is more than seven times the liquefied working volume.

Next advantageously, a cold pole is maintained by heat bridges to Wärmepol through working space-external heat extraction.

Furthermore, the invention comprises a heat engine with external heat supply and hydraulic energy extraction for carrying out a thermodynamic cyclic process with isothermal expansion, isochoric pressure buildup and isobaric work volume expansion and work volume contraction, for carrying out the cycle according to the invention, comprising: at least one working cylinder and one contraction cylinder, wherein in the working cylinder a working piston is arranged to be movable to and fro, which defines a working space in which a working medium is periodically contractible and expandable,

Wherein, in the contraction cylinder, a control piston is arranged to reciprocate, wherein in the contraction cylinder further a heat storage device is arranged, wherein the heat storage device stores heat energy during the work volume contraction and provides the stored heat energy for the subsequent isochoric pressure build-up and further isobaric expansion,

on the working cylinder, a heating device for supplying working space-external heat is arranged, by means of which the working fluid in the cylinder is heated isothermally, wherein in the working cylinder further comprises a thermally conductive oscillator piston is arranged, which is movable in the expanding working space of the working cylinder and forth for transmitting external Heat is designed via the cylinder wall into the working medium, wherein the oscillator piston has openings in its axial direction 5, which are dimensioned so that the working fluid is forced through turbulent and swirled after exiting the oscillator piston in the working cylinder.

Advantageously, hydraulic areas are provided which are under the same pressure as the working fluid in the working space and transmit a volume change of the working fluid to the outside of the working space and ensure additional hermetic sealing of the working space.

Further advantageously, the heat engine may comprise: a master drive in the form of a cam or a linear actuator for actuating the control piston and a slave drive in the form of a linear or linear actuator, which is synchronized with the master drive and is axially connected to the oscillator piston, and wherein the master drive and the slave drive for the purpose of differential pressure compensation are either completely or partially within the hydraulic ranges.

Next advantageously, the heat engine may have: Each a pressure chamber externally driven magnetic coupling, which is magnetically coupled to the oscillator piston from the outside, and a pressure-externally driven magnetic coupling, which is magnetically coupled to the control piston from the outside displaceable.

Further advantageously, the heat engine may comprise a static regenerator and heat sink or a movable regenerator connected to the control piston.

Further advantageously, the contraction cylinder can be dimensioned such that it can accommodate the entire liquefied working medium.

Further advantageously, cooling devices can be arranged on the contraction cylinder.

Further advantageously, the working piston can be designed as an extended free piston and medium separating piston between the working space and the hydraulic area, the piston piston tions on the side of the cold pole outside the hot working space, wherein the cold pole can be provided with a cooling device.

Further advantageously, the control piston can be designed either with piston seals as a media separating piston between the cold region of the working chamber and the hydraulic region or within the cold region of the working medium as a displacer without piston seals.

Further advantageously, the heater can be used as a combustion head with heat exchanger ribs or formed as an insulated heating sleeve, which is filled with a heat transfer medium.

Further advantageously, the entire machine can be designed as a low-speed rotor with a high maximum working pressure and a high expansion rate.

In summary, therefore, the invention relates to a cyclic process that allows almost complete conversion of heat into mechanical energy and implement the reciprocating device to this. This completely supercritical circular process with isothermal expansion allows a very high rate of recuperation despite phase change, since every change in the energy of the working medium in the upper and lower isobars is associated with a non-latent temperature change at about the same level. The isothermal expansion also allows the greatest possible expansion ratio of the working medium in the context of this cycle. It exceeds that of pure, externally heated hot gas engines by a maximum of 1: 3 by a multiple. Since the pressure is built up (see point 3 to point 4 in Fig. 1), also eliminates the mechanical Vorverdichtungsarbeit. Extremely high pressures of several 100 bar are achieved in the fluid working medium, which are determined by the generator load with pressure relief valve. In order to implement these pressures generatonsch at low stroke frequency and to achieve the best possible sealing of the working space, the device according to the invention is provided with a hydaulischen energy conversion. The isothermal expansion (1-2) of the gaseous working medium is realized by supplying heat through the cylinder wall and an oscillator piston with turbulator slots, which oscillates linearly in the increasing working space. Almost all of the external heat is applied during isothermal expansion (1-2) at slow stroke rate, while all other steps: isochoric pressure build-up (3-4), isobaric expansion (4-1), and isobaric reliquefaction (2-3) are almost complete the internal recuperator can be realized. The working piston is designed as a hollow free piston with sealing rings at the cold end and follows, as well as the oscillator piston drive, the stroke of the control piston, which is driven by the external master drive. All external piston actuators are operated with virtually no force with hydraulic pressure equalization and require only low mechanical energy input due to the process. Due to the elongated design, the device has a high thermal resistance in the direction of the hydraulic pressure chambers or cold poles and requires process-related relatively little external cooling.

The invention is associated with the following priorities and advantages: Flexibility in the selection of the heat carrier and high efficiency.

Both requirements can be ideally solved by external combustion with recuperative burner air preheating.

Since turbines in the lower line area are too expensive and too inefficient, so far only the hot gas or Stirling engine is used here. However, many problems have prevented its wider use such as tightness, bad isothermal heat input, dead space, complicated, too complex, too expensive. In combustion engines with internal combustion, a preheating of the intake air is generally not possible because the proportionally decreasing degree of filling precludes this. Fuel selection is also very limited.

A possible isothermal heat contribution

This requires time, the largest possible heat exchanger surface and a high thermal conductivity of the working medium. But this is countered by the requirement for the highest possible speed and low dead space losses. Therefore, the current Stirling engines and gas turbines always represent only a compromise in this regard.

Low to no compaction work

This is only possible with cyclically operating piston machines under isochoric heat supply with force-neutral or differential-pressure-neutral displacement of a specific working volume via the external heat source.

Due to the supercritical cyclic process, the machine according to the invention (according to FIG. 3) uses a working medium with an upper working pressure of several 100 bar, high specific density and therefore high thermal conductivity. Since this cycle always runs above the critical pressure of the wet steam curve, all heat exchanges are non-latent, i. associated with a temperature gradient. This allows in principle the heat recovery in the area of isobaric expansion or contraction in a countercurrent heat exchanger or recuperator and is already utilized in hot gas processes. However, the special feature of the supercritical cycle process is that at the same time a phase transformation takes place, provided that the lowest process temperature Tu is below the critical temperature of the working medium. This results in principle in a high expansion rate in the gas phase and no compression work (with isochoric heat) in the liquid phase. Since the required external heat supply is almost exclusively isothermal, theoretically a nearly complete energy conversion is achieved. The application possibilities of the system are determined by the choice of the working medium and can also be in the field of power generation, geothermal or solar thermal energy. The critical temperature of the working medium should always be just above that of the cold pole, and as far below the maximum working temperature To. The maximum working pressure po is determined solely by the counter-torque of the generator, but should suitably be in the range of hydraulic systems.

Through this interaction of the individual components, the same performance is achieved at stroke frequencies of about 1 / s as with a helium Stirling engine with the same displacement at less than 100 bar and 1500 U / min. The high thermal conductivity of the supercritical, partially liquid Ar Beitsmediums and the low stroke frequency with the participation of an oscillator piston as the active heat exchanger is the basis of the invention for a, approximately isothermal heat input during expansion. Due to the low piston speed, the clean working fluid and the hydraulic energy extraction and lubrication, this system has a much longer life and less wear than currently common hot gas engines. The hydraulic oil is always in pressure equilibrium with the working medium behind the bilateral media separating pistons and guarantees a hermetic seal to the outside in addition to the piston seals. It should therefore be a polar working medium are used, which is largely insoluble in mineral oil (eg, dipolar water is not soluble in the "unpolar solvent" oil).

The two-cylinder variant with 180 ° phase offset is chosen to achieve the most uniform possible hydraulic energy extraction. However, the number of cylinders can be configured from one to several, with a pressure accumulator and a leak oil pump should be used to pusicherzustellen the lower working pressure. As hydraulic components, incl. Hydraulic motor, hydraulic seals, valves and hoses series parts from 220 to 700 bar can be used.

The system is designed to be stretched to maximize thermal resistance (similar to ohmic resistance) from the hot working zone to the cold zones at both ends of the cylinder, thus minimizing cooling losses.

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments and the drawing. Below are the brief descriptions of the drawings:

Fig.1: idealized supercritical (T-p-v-p) cycle after the machine of the invention operates on the example of the log-ph diagram of CO2 as a working medium;

2 shows a hydraulic circuit of the machine in a double-cylinder arrangement for energy output;

Fig.3: Two working cylinders in the preferred design with 180 ° phase offset and mechanical control;

FIG. 4: Structure as in FIG. 3 with control via internal differential pressure compensated linear actuators;

Fig.5: Design variant with magnetically coupled external servo drive with differential pressure compensation and the control piston as a plunger without media separation; and

Fig.6: Off-time control curves of the 3 actuators.

Fig. 1 is an idealized log-ph diagram of the supercritical isothermal (Tp-vp) cycle according to which this system operates in accordance with the invention. The idealized cycle runs around to the right through the vertices 1 to 4 using the example of the working medium C02. It is completely above the critical pressure and just below the critical temperature of the working medium to achieve a phase change from the liquid to the supercritical gas state. The temperature range of the heat source is therefore crucial for the selection of the working medium (eg CO 2, NH 3, other refrigerants, water, etc.). Due to the phase change and the isothermal external heat supply, an expansion ratio> 10 can be achieved despite the high process pressures. In pure hot gas processes (Ericsson, Stirling et al.) With maximum working pressures around 40 to 100 bar, this is usually between 2 and 3 at the same time. The isothermal expansion (l-4) also causes a very high degree of recuperation during isobaric expansion (4-1). or contraction (2-3), achieved with minimum cooling water requirement. Due to the isochoric pressure build-up under heat supply (3-4) in the liquid phase, an extremely high working pressure po without mechanical energy supply can be realized. In theory, all of this leads to an almost complete conversion of the externally supplied heat into mechanical energy. The practical efficiencies with CO 2 above a working temperature T o of 450 ° C are 60% higher than those of pure hot gas processes without phase transformation or over that of the Rankine cycle or ORC process with their large cooling losses.

From point 1 to point 2, there is an idealized isothermal expansion (T) during which the entire external heat supply takes place. This external heat input corresponds to the enthalpy difference between point 2 and point 2 * on the x-axis in kJ / kg, based on the working medium. As can be seen at the oblique Isochoren, this is a maximum volume expansion of the working medium to the lower isobars possible. Since the isotherms in the hot zone are almost vertical, there is the possibility of an almost complete energy recuperation on completion of the isobaric expansion on the x-axis. For the highest possible degree of recuperation with minimal cooling, the respective temperature and enthalpy difference on the upper and lower isobars, starting from point 1 and point 2 at To to fluid point 3 at Tu, and their temperature levels must be approximately equal. In the right-hand process, the heat tends to flow from the lower isobaric pu to the upper isobaric po, with each energy change (unlike the latent boiling process) associated with a corresponding temperature change.

In comparison, in the isentropic expansion from point 1 to point 2, the volume expansion rate is less and, after expansion, a smaller temperature and enthalpy difference remains up to the fluid point at Tu in the working medium, although the same amount of external heat is added to the Enthalpy difference between point 2 to 2 * was supplied. This has a direct negative impact on the overall efficiency of the cycle. Current systems (engines, gas turbines) use (as already described) primarily the isentropic expansion, often without recuperation.

From point 2 to point 3, the isobaric supercritical reliquefaction takes place by intermediate storage of the extracted heat in the recuperator (or via a countercurrent heat exchanger with heat release according to items 4 to 1). There is no additional mechanical see work to W = dp x dV and required, since the volume change with pressure compensation at the working and the control piston at a constant lower back pressure pu occurs. The more completely the liquefaction succeeds in minimizing harmful residual gas dead spaces, the higher the expansion ratio and thus the efficiency.

From point 3 to point 4, the subsequent expansion is initiated with an isochoric pressure build-up by heat from the recuperator and requires by the successive pressure equalization at constant working volume no additional mechanical pumping work to W = dp x dV and dV = 0. This successive pressure equalization is cyclic workflow of the reciprocating piston system of the invention allows and is so eg not possible with acyclic turbine processes.

From point 4 to point 1, the isobaric expansion is carried out by further heat supply from the recuperator (or a countercurrent heat exchanger with heat removal from point 2 to point 3). The constant upper working pressure po during this process is independent of the working medium and is determined solely by the generator counter-moment. The higher the difference between the upper and lower working pressure, the higher the turnover.

In Fig.2 the circuit diagram for the hydraulic energy conversion of the translation is shown in a continuous rotation with translation to generator speed. Generator 20 is connected via a coupling with hydraulic motor 22 and flywheel 21. The high pressure side HD is alternately filled by the check valves 25.1 via the respective high pressure lines 26.1 of the working cylinder. Possible pressure peaks are smoothed with the pressure control valve 24.1. The low pressure side ND allows the oil return from the hydraulic motor 22 in the working cylinder via the check valves 25.2 and the respective low pressure lines 26.2 of the working cylinder. The pressure level on the low pressure side ND is maintained with the pressure regulating valve 24. 2, the pressure accumulator 28 and the leak oil pump 29. The lines 27 are bypass lines to allow pressure equalization between both ends of the working cylinder.

In Figure 3, the preferred construction is shown in two-cylinder arrangement with 180 ° phase offset with mechanical control, as at burner temperatures up to 1200 ° C for the supercritical cycle according to claim 1-4 (Fig.l) but also with real hot gas (eg Air, helium, etc.) can be used with the same process flow.

The duty cycle in the upper cylinder starts with the isothermal expansion stroke of the working piston 3 after the control piston 1 has been extended to the maximum of the common master cam drive lb-ld. The working piston 3 is a differential free piston, which always strives for the two-sided pressure balance and is moved by the slightest pressure differences. It is designed as an insulating hollow piston with inner tube and seals near the cold pole at HR1. During expansion, the gaseous working medium in the working chamber AR is reheated uniformly by means of the oscillating piston 5, which has been heated via the cylinder wall 4. This oscillates during expansion with increasing amplitude between the solid liquefaction cylinder 2 and the working piston 3 back and forth. The respective oscillator piston is moved by a linear slave servo drive 5.b, which is synchronized with the master drive lb-ld. The oscillator piston 5 has circumferentially in the axial direction of fine slits through which the working gas is pushed through turbulent, and then swirled. This ensures that whenever possible every molecule of the working gas with the hot oscillating piston 5 and the cylinder wall 4 comes into contact again during the expansion and is thus reheated. During the isothermal expansion process, the working pressure decreases continuously, while the temperature of the working gas and the surrounding components around the working space AR by the external heat supply remain approximately constant. As a result, the formation of alternating voltage cracks and temperature fluctuations in this highly stressed cylinder region 4 is prevented.

The back contraction or re-liquefaction in AR takes place continuously and simultaneously with the retraction movement of the control piston 1 over the entire path. The oscillator piston rests against the working piston 3 and is passively moved by it. The Rückkontraktion or re-liquefaction is isobaric, the lower system pressure pu via a pressure control valve, a leak oil pump and a pressure accumulator is kept stable. Almost all of the heat removal can take place non-latently via the regenerator 7 in accordance with the cycle in FIG. The advantage of a regenerator over a countercurrent heat exchanger is that it can be used e.g. Made of pressure-stable fine steel wire and therefore allows a maximum surface and turbulence of the working medium even at the highest working pressures. However, it requires a cyclically alternating flow through a coordinated amount of the working medium and is therefore required, for example. not used in turbines, despite its advantages. Unlike the countercurrent heat exchanger, the regenerator can be over-dimensioned with regard to the heat storage capacity per stroke in order to ensure the greatest possible heat exchange.

To then securely contract or liquefy the working medium, it is pressed by the turbulator slots of the heat sink insert 6, similar to those of the oscillator piston 5. Heat sink 6, contraction cylinder 2 and hydraulic range HR1 are adequately cooled by a water-cooling jacket or air cooler 8. The optional water cooling jacket or air cooler 9 should also prevent the heating in the direction of HR2. This heat dissipation depends primarily on the thermal resistance of the thermal bridges from AR to HR1 and HR2 and is not (as usual) due to the cycle. It thus also serves to maintain the temperature gradient between the hot pole in AR and the cold poles in HR1 and HR2 and requires comparatively small amounts of cooling water. Depending on the working medium can be used for cooling and preheated fresh water or heating water.

The volume of the contraction cylinder 2 incl. The turbulator slots in the heat sink insert 6 is sized so that it can accommodate the entire contracted or liquefied working fluid at top dead center OT (= AR minimum). Upon reaching the TDC by the control piston 1 and the working piston 3 is inevitably in TDC, so that the harmful dead space of the gas phase is limited solely to the hot cavities in the regenerator 7 and turbulator slots of the now clamped oscillator piston 5. This will, in contrast to usual Stirling machines and gas turbines, despite a large heat exchanger surface and turbulence simultaneously achieved a minimum of harmful gas dead space in the TDC.

The following isochore pressure build-up is instantaneously realized by pushing out the control piston of a small subset of the contracted or liquid working medium via recuperative heat supply. The associated successive pressure equalization is only possible in cyclic work processes and not in continuous processes (for example, turbines with boiler feed pump). It reduces the work required to build up the working pressure on the back pressure of the working medium. Because of the external rod drive 1.a comes here still the differential piston work (stroke x rod cross-section) of the control piston added.

Upon reaching the upper working pressure po further expulsion of the control piston 1 leads to an isobaric expansion or gasification of the subsequent working medium using the previously stored in the regenerator 7 thermal energy and temperature To. The stroke of the working piston 3 in relation to the control piston 1 is determined by the temperature-dependent specific expansion rate of the working medium and the upper working pressure po. The oscillator piston 5 is not moved during the entire isobaric expansion and remains in the left dashed position. The upper working pressure po is determined by the working medium and the controlled load torque of the generator. It can be maintained under these circumstances as long as the control piston extends continuously and still pushes working medium into the hot working space AR. When the control piston on the heat sink insert 6 (UT) has arrived, the working pressure inevitably drops.

The isolated combustion chamber 10 has the task to guide the fuel gases so that they transfer the heat of the fuel gases optimally to the cylinder ribs of the working cylinder 4. The still hot exhaust gases (just above To) are then used via a separate countercurrent heat exchanger either for burner air preheating or heating of heating or service water.

4 illustrates a hermetic control variant in comparison to FIG. 3. Both the control pistons and the oscillator pistons are moved by means of linear drives or hydraulic cylinders. They are located within the hydraulic fluid in HR 1 and HR 2 in complete differential pressure compensation. The drive motors can also be arranged outside the pressure chamber HR 1 and HR 2 via rotary feedthroughs. Apart from the more complex servo or proportional control for each cylinder, the mechanical structure is simpler and less subject to wear. This version is therefore useful for larger, cost-intensive systems, where it depends primarily on durability and reliability.

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the design according to FIG. 3, which is particularly useful for low-temperature applications. The entire system is hermetically sealed and the actuators are moved with magnetic couplings and differential pressure compensation.

The control piston is designed here as a purely sealless displacer 1 with magnet ring 1.a and recuperator 1.c as an assembly. He is completely inside the working medium and is moved over the magnetic ring 1.b. The use of low temperature may require a working fluid whose critical temperature is below ambient temperature. The liquefaction temperature around the displacer 1 must be at least 10 K below this critical temperature. This can be achieved, for example, via a small external heat pump. Since hydraulic oil becomes viscous at these degrees of coldness or falls below its pour point and seals become brittle, this version has been equipped with a sealless displacer 1. However, the thermal resistance is lower here compared to the version in FIG. 3, which results in higher cooling losses in the region HR1. In place of the ribbed cylinders occur here insulated heating sleeves 4 with heating water or heat transfer oil. The oscillator piston 5 is here moved with a hollow magnet rod 5.a via a magnet ring 5.b. The hydraulic fluid in HR2 can flow around and around the magnet rod, ensuring full pressure balance and minimal flow resistance. The cooling on this page can be omitted, provided that the working temperature of the working medium does not exceed the limit temperature of the hydraulic oil in the room HR2 inadmissible.

In general, the entire arrangement is to be isolated as best as possible (FIGS. 10 and 11), since the cold pole in the area HR1 may be below, and the hot pole in the working space AR above the ambient temperature, and these will be adversely affected in both cases.

6 shows the path-time control diagram for the three actuators: working piston, oscillator piston and control piston. The control points 1 to 4 relate to the cycle process according to the invention according to FIG. 1, but can also be used for a normal hot gas process, whereby the working pressure and the expansion rate should be lower here.

Claims

claims

1. Supercritical cycle with phase transformation for heat engines with working space-external heat, wherein a working medium

Isothermally supercritically expanded (1-2) in a working space under working space-external heat supply isothermally at a predetermined upper working temperature (To), then reliquefied supercritically with a predetermined lower working pressure (Pu) to a predetermined lower working temperature (Tu), wherein the predetermined lower working temperature (Tu) is below the critical temperature of the working medium, wherein the heat energy released in this case is temporarily stored in a heat buffer device (7, 1c) (2-3),

under heat supply from the intermediate heat storage device (7, lc) an isochoric pressure build-up in the liquid phase is achieved (3-4),

Isobar is further supercritically expanded to the predetermined upper working temperature (To) under heat supply from the intermediate heat storage device with a predetermined upper working pressure (Po) (4-1),

The cycle according to claim 1, wherein the external heat energy supply occurs during the isothermal expansion (1-2) and wherein all process steps except the isothermal expansion (1-2) are enabled by recuperation of the heat energy by the heat buffer device (7).

3. cycle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the difference between the predetermined upper working temperature (To) and the predetermined lower working temperature (Tu) is greater than 150 Kelvin, in particular several 100 Kelvin, and wherein the lower working pressure at least above the critical pressure of Working medium is and the difference between the upper working pressure (po) and the lower working pressure (pu) is more than 50 bar, in particular several hundred bar and wherein the expansion rate is more than seven times the liquefied working volume.

4. cycle according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a cold pole is maintained through thermal bridges to Wärmepol out by working space-external heat extraction.

5. Heat engine with external heat supply and hydraulic energy extraction for carrying out a thennodynamic cycle with isothermal expansion, isochoric pressure build-up and isobaric work volume expansion and work volume contraction, for carrying out the cyclic process according to one of the preceding claims, comprising: at least one working cylinder (4) and one contraction cylinder (2), wherein in the working cylinder (4) a working piston (3) is arranged to move back and forth, which defines a working space (AR) in which a working medium is periodically contractible and expandable,

wherein in the contraction cylinder (2) a control piston (1) is arranged to move back and forth,

wherein in the contraction cylinder (2) further a heat storage device (7,1c) is arranged,

wherein the intermediate heat storage device (7, 1c) stores heat energy during work volume contraction and provides the stored heat energy for subsequent isochoric pressure buildup and further isobaric expansion, to the working cylinder (4) is arranged a working space external heat supply heater means Working medium in the working cylinder (4) is heatable isothermally,

wherein in the working cylinder (4) further comprises a thermally conductive oscillating piston (5) is arranged, which in the expanding working space (AR) of the working cylinder (4) is movable back and forth and configured to transfer the externally supplied heat through the cylinder wall (4) in the working medium is

wherein the oscillator piston (5) has openings in its axial direction, which are dimensioned so that the working fluid is forced through turbulent and after exiting the oscillator piston (5) in the working cylinder (4) is swirled.

6. Heat engine according to the preceding claim, wherein hydraulic areas (HR1, HR2) are provided, which are under the same pressure as the working fluid in the working space (AR) and a volume change of the working medium to outside of the working space (AR) transmitted and an additional hermetic seal of the Ensure working space.

7. Heat engine according to one of claims 5 to 6, further comprising: a master drive in the form of a cam 5 (lb, lc, ld) or a linear actuator (La) for actuating the control piston (1) and a slave drive in the form a linear gear (5b) or linear actuator (5.a), which is synchronized with the master drive (lb, 1, ld, l .a) and is axially connected to the oscillator piston (5), and wherein the master drive and the slave drive for the purpose of differential pressure compensation either completely or partially within the hydraulic ranges (HR1, HR2) are located.

8. Heat engine according to one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising in each case a pressure space-externally driven magnetic coupling (5 b), which is magnetically coupled to the oscillator piston (5 a) from the outside, and a pressure-space externally driven magnetic coupling (lb), the with the control piston (La) is displaceably magnetically coupled from the outside.

9. Heat engine according to one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the heat buffer device (7, lc) comprises a static regenerator (7) and heat sink (6) or connected to the control piston movable regenerator (lc).

10. Heat engine according to one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the contraction cylinder (2) is dimensioned such that it can accommodate the entire contracted working fluid and wherein the contraction cylinder (2) cooling means (6, 8) are arranged.

11. Heat engine according to one of claims 5 to 10, wherein the working piston (3) as an extended free piston and medium separating piston between the working space (AR) and the hydraulic area (HR2) is configured, the piston seals on the side of the cold pole (HR2) outside the hot Working space (AR), wherein the cold pole can be provided with a cooling device (9).

12. Heat engine according to one of claims 5 to 11, wherein the control piston (1) either with piston seals as Medientrennkolben between the cold region of the working space (AR) and the hydraulic range (HR1) or within the cold region of the working medium (AR) as Displacer is designed without piston seals.

13. Heat engine according to one of claims 5 to 12, wherein the heating device (4) is designed as a combustion head with heat exchanger fins or as an insulated heating sleeve, which is filled with a heat transfer medium.

14. Heat engine according to one of claims 5 to 13, wherein the entire machine is designed as a low-speed rotor with high maximum working pressure (po) and high expansion rate.