JP5494076B2 - Heat engine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat engine that displaces a liquid piston by expansion of steam, converts the displacement of the liquid piston into mechanical energy, and outputs the mechanical energy.

  Conventionally, this type of heat engine is described in Patent Document 1. In this prior art, the working medium is sealed in a tubular container in a liquid phase state, and an expansion process for expanding the vapor of the working medium at one end of the container, and a cooling unit formed with the expanded steam in the middle part of the container The liquid phase working medium is displaced as a liquid piston by repeatedly performing a compression process of cooling and condensing in step, and the displacement of the liquid piston is converted into mechanical energy and output.

JP 2007-255259 A

  However, in the above prior art, when the driving frequency of the liquid piston increases, the liquid surface of the liquid piston is likely to be disturbed by the inertial force of the liquid piston. When the liquid surface of the liquid piston is disturbed, steam is caught in the liquid piston, and the steam caught in the liquid piston is cooled and condensed by the liquid piston without contributing to the displacement of the liquid piston.

  In other words, when the vapor is caught in the liquid piston, the vapor is condensed without contributing to the displacement of the liquid piston, which causes a decrease in output.

  An object of this invention is to suppress that vapor | steam is caught in a liquid piston in view of the said point.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a tubular container (11) in which a liquid piston (15) made of a working medium in a liquid phase is encapsulated in a flowable manner;
An external evaporator (20) provided outside the container (11) and generating vapor of the working medium;
An intake means (131) disposed at one end of the container (11) and configured to suck the steam generated in the external evaporator (20) into the container (11);
An expansion part (121) provided at one end side portion of the container (11) and expanding the vapor of the working medium supplied from the external evaporator (20) ;
An output portion (14) provided at the other end portion of the container (11), which converts the displacement of the liquid piston (15) caused by the expansion of the vapor into mechanical energy and outputs the mechanical energy;
A liquid piston discharge means (18) for maintaining a predetermined amount of the liquid piston (15) in the container (11) by discharging a part of the liquid piston (15) from the container (11);
An exhaust means (132) for exhausting the vapor that has not been condensed inside the container (11) from the container (11);
A viscous force / surface tension acting part (21 ) for applying a viscous force and a surface tension to the liquid surface of the liquid piston (15) displaced from the output part (14) side toward the expanding part (121) side; equipped with a,
The viscous force / surface tension acting part is composed of a rectifier (21) through which the liquid piston (15) is divided and circulated,
A plurality of rectifiers (21) are arranged apart from each other in the displacement direction of the liquid piston (15), are made of ceramic, and have a surface subjected to water repellent treatment .

  According to this, a viscous force and a surface tension act on the liquid surface of the liquid piston (15) displaced from the output part (14) side toward the expansion part (121) side so as to cancel the inertial force. As a result, the inertial force acting on the liquid piston (15) can be effectively reduced.

  For this reason, since disturbance of the liquid level of the liquid piston (15) can be suppressed, it is possible to suppress the vapor from being caught in the liquid piston (15).

  In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis of each means described in this column and the claim shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later.

It is a whole lineblock diagram showing typically the heat engine in a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is a PV diagram and a time chart which show operation in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the behavior of the liquid piston in the expansion part in 1st Embodiment and a comparative example. It is principal part sectional drawing of the modification of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the heat engine in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of the modification of 2nd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the heat engine in 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the heat engine in 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of the 1st, 2nd modification of 4th Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the heat engine in 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the heat engine in 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the heat engine in 7th Embodiment of this invention.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a heat engine 10 in the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the up arrow indicates the vertical direction (gravity direction), and the down arrow indicates the vertical direction.

  The heat engine 10 is also called a liquid piston steam engine, and is used as a drive source for driving the drive target device 1.

  The heat engine 10 includes a container 11 in which a working medium (specifically water) is sealed so as to be able to flow in a liquid phase state, and an external evaporator that supplies steam (specifically, water vapor) of the working medium into the container 11. 20.

  The external evaporator 20 heats water that is a working medium to generate steam. In this example, a high-temperature gas such as exhaust gas is used as a heat source for the external evaporator 20. Specifically, the external evaporator 20 is disposed in the flow of the high temperature gas, and the water inside the external evaporator 20 is heated and evaporated by heating the external evaporator 20 with the high temperature gas.

  The container 11 includes a tubular liquid piston displacement portion 12 in which water is reciprocally displaced, a steam valve 13 provided on one end side of the liquid piston displacement portion 12, and the other end of the liquid piston displacement portion 12. And the output unit 14 provided on the side. Hereinafter, water displaced by the liquid piston displacement portion 12 is referred to as a liquid piston 15.

  The steam valve 13 has an intake port 131 for sucking the steam from the external evaporator 20 into the liquid piston displacement portion 12 and an exhaust port 132 for exhausting the steam from the liquid piston displacement portion 12. The port 131 and the exhaust port 132 are opened and closed at a predetermined timing. The intake port 131 serves as an intake means for sucking the vapor generated in the external evaporator 20 into the container 11. The exhaust port 132 serves as an exhaust means for exhausting steam from the container 11.

  One end of the liquid piston displacement part 12 constitutes an expansion part 121 where the vapor supplied from the external evaporator 20 expands. As shown in FIG. 2A, the expansion portion 121 is formed with an intake passage 121 a that communicates with the intake port 131 and an exhaust port 121 b that communicates with the exhaust port 132.

  The intake port 131 and the exhaust port 132 communicate with the expansion portion 121 at a predetermined timing. Such a steam valve 13 can be composed of, for example, a rotary valve or a poppet valve.

  The expansion part 121 extends in the direction of gravity (vertical direction), and the intake passage 121a and the exhaust passage 121b extend in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the intake port 131 and the exhaust port 132 are disposed on the horizontal direction side of the inflating portion 121.

  In addition, if the expansion part 121 is also heated with a high temperature gas like the external evaporator 20, the condensation of the vapor | steam in the expansion part 121 can be suppressed.

  The rectifier 21 is disposed in the expansion part 121. The rectifier 21 is composed of a perforated plate, a mesh plate, or the like, and divides and distributes the liquid piston 15. For example, the rectifier 21 can be composed of a honeycomb plate as shown in the plan views of FIGS. As a material of the rectifier 21, ceramic, stainless steel or the like can be adopted.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of rectifiers 21 (for example, two) are arranged apart from each other in the displacement direction of the liquid piston 15. The interval between the rectifiers 21 is the distance from when the liquid piston 15 passes through one rectifier 21 until the droplet is generated (specifically, the tube diameter of the expansion part 121: 55 mm, the drive frequency: 30 Hz, reciprocation) In the case of a flow amplitude of 20 mm, it is about 10 mm or less. In the present embodiment, the surface of the rectifier 21 is subjected to water repellent treatment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate portion of the liquid piston displacement portion 12 constitutes a cooling portion 122 that cools and condenses the vapor expanded in the expansion portion 121. The cooling unit 122 is inserted into the cooler 16. An inlet 161 and an outlet 162 for cooling water (cooling fluid) are formed in the cooler 16 so that the cooling water circulates.

  The steam expanded in the expansion unit 121 is cooled and condensed by exchanging heat with cooling water in the cooling unit 122. A radiator (not shown) for dissipating heat taken from the steam by the cooling water is disposed in the circulating circuit of the cooling water.

  The cooling unit 122 extends in the extending direction of the expansion unit 121, that is, in the direction of gravity (vertical direction). Thereby, the container 11 is formed so that the displacement range of the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 on the expanding portion 121 side extends in the direction of gravity.

  The output unit 14 converts the displacement of the liquid piston 15 in the liquid piston displacement unit 12 into mechanical energy and outputs the mechanical energy. Specifically, the output unit 14 converts the displacement of the liquid piston 15 into a rotational motion of the output shaft 141 and outputs the converted rotational motion. The output shaft 141 is connected to the generator 1 that is a device to be driven, and the generator 1 is driven by the rotation of the output shaft 141. An inertia force generating member (not shown) such as a flywheel is connected to the output shaft 144.

  The synchronizing means 17 drives the steam valve 13 in synchronization with the rotational phase of the output shaft 141. In this embodiment, the synchronization means 17 synchronizes the steam valve 13 with the output shaft 141 mechanically. In the example of FIG. 1, the synchronization means 17 includes pulleys 171 and 172 and a belt 173.

  The liquid piston discharging means 18 maintains a predetermined amount of the liquid piston 15 in the container 11 by discharging a part of the liquid piston 15 from the container 11. Specifically, the liquid piston discharge means 18 includes a discharge pipe 181 connected to a portion of the container 11 between the cooling unit 122 and the output unit 14, and a relief valve 182 that opens and closes the liquid piston discharge pipe 181. It is configured. The relief valve 182 opens when the internal pressure of the container 11 exceeds a predetermined pressure.

  In this example, since water is used as the working medium, the container 11 is basically made of stainless steel. However, the expansion part 121 and the cooling part 122 of the container 11 are made of copper or aluminum having excellent thermal conductivity. May be formed.

  Next, the operation in the above configuration will be described based on the PV diagram and the time chart shown in FIG. The volume V shown in FIG. 3 is the volume of the container 11 and fluctuates with the displacement of the liquid piston 15. The pressure P shown in FIG. 3 is the internal pressure of the container 11. The top dead center shown in FIG. 3B means a state in which the liquid piston 15 is closest to the expansion portion 121 side. The bottom dead center shown in FIG. 3B means that the liquid piston 15 is closest to the output unit 14.

  In a state immediately after the liquid piston 15 reaches top dead center, when the intake port 131 is opened by the operation of the steam valve 13, the steam from the external evaporator 20 is sucked into the expansion portion 121. The steam pressure shown in FIG. 3B is the pressure of the steam sucked into the expansion part 121.

  When the intake port 131 is closed after being opened for a predetermined time, the high-temperature and high-pressure steam supplied to the expansion unit 121 expands and the liquid piston 15 is pushed out to the output unit 14 side. The displacement direction of the liquid piston 15 at this time is hereinafter referred to as an expansion direction. The stroke in which the liquid piston 15 is displaced in the expansion direction is hereinafter referred to as an expansion stroke.

  In the expansion stroke, the liquid piston 15 is displaced in the expansion direction, whereby the output shaft 141 of the output unit 14 rotates and mechanical energy is output.

  When the vapor expanded in the expansion unit 121 enters the cooling unit 122 and the liquid level of the liquid piston 15 falls to the cooling unit 122, the vapor is cooled and condensed in the cooling unit 122. As a result, the force that pushes the liquid piston 15 toward the output unit 14 disappears, so that the liquid piston 15 returns to the top dead center side by the inertial force of an inertial force generating member (not shown) of the output unit 14. The displacement direction of the liquid piston 15 at this time is hereinafter referred to as a compression direction. The stroke in which the liquid piston 15 is displaced in the compression direction is hereinafter referred to as a compression stroke.

  In the compression stroke, the operation of the steam valve 13 opens the exhaust port 132 at a predetermined timing, and the steam that has not been completely condensed by the cooling unit 122 is exhausted from the exhaust port 132. The exhaust port 132 is closed shortly before the liquid piston 15 reaches top dead center.

  By repeating such an operation, the liquid piston 15 in the liquid piston displacement portion 12 is periodically displaced (so-called self-excited vibration), and the output shaft 141 of the output portion 14 is continuously rotated. .

  Next, the effect by the rectifier 21 is demonstrated. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating the behavior of the liquid piston 15 in the inflating portion 121 in the present embodiment. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating the behavior of the liquid piston 15 when the rectifier 21 is not disposed in the inflating portion 121 as a comparative example.

  In the comparative example of FIG. 4B, since the rectifier 21 is not disposed in the inflating portion 121, when the liquid piston 15 is displaced at a certain acceleration or more, the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 is deformed by the inertial force of the liquid piston 15. Drops are generated (disturbed). For this reason, steam is entrained in the liquid piston 15, and the steam entrained in the liquid piston 15 is cooled and condensed by the liquid piston without contributing to the displacement of the liquid piston 15, resulting in a decrease in output.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the rectifier 21 is disposed in the inflating part 121, even if the liquid piston 15 is displaced at a certain acceleration or more, the liquid piston 15 after passing through the rectifier 21 is suppressed from being deformed. The

  Specifically, when the liquid piston 15 passes through the rectifier 21, the viscous force and the surface tension act on the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15, so that the liquid piston 15 is displaced from the output unit 14 side toward the expansion unit 121 side. A viscous force and surface tension act on the liquid piston 15 so as to cancel the inertial force. In other words, the rectifier 21 constitutes a viscous force / surface tension acting portion that applies a viscous force and a surface tension to the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 that is displaced from the output portion 14 side toward the expanding portion 121 side. ing.

  For this reason, since the inertia force which acts on the liquid piston 15 can be reduced effectively, the deformation of the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 can be suppressed and the generation of droplets can be suppressed. As a result, since it is possible to suppress the vapor from being caught in the liquid piston 15, the output can be improved as compared with the comparative example.

Incidentally, since water is used as the working medium in the present embodiment, the temperature of the operating liquid piston 15 is less than 100 ° C. (about 80 ° C.). When the liquid piston 15 is 100 ° C., the viscosity of the liquid piston 15 is 0.284 N · S / m ² .

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the rectifier 21 applies not only the viscous force but also the surface tension to the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 to reduce the inertial force, so that the rectifier 21 applies only the viscous force to the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15. Compared with the case where the inertial force is reduced by acting on the pressure, the pressure loss and condensation heat loss due to the rectifier 21 can be reduced, and the decrease in the output due to the rectifier 21 can be suppressed.

  Here, the pressure loss due to the rectifier 21 is a pressure loss when the steam passes through the rectifier 21, and the condensation heat loss due to the rectifier 21 means that when the steam passes through the rectifier 21, the steam and the rectifier 21 It is a heat loss by condensing by heat exchange.

  In addition, if the ceramic etc. with small heat capacity are employ | adopted as a material of the rectifier 21, the condensation heat loss by the rectifier 21 can further be reduced.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, since the liquid film is made difficult to adhere to the surface of the rectifier 21 by performing the water repellent treatment on the surface of the rectifier 21, the liquid film remaining on the surface of the rectifier 21 is boiled with a delay. Can be prevented.

  Incidentally, according to the present embodiment, the output can be improved as compared with the case where the output unit 14 is controlled so as to reduce the inertial force in the vicinity of the top dead center and the disturbance of the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 is suppressed. That is, by controlling the rotation of the output shaft 141 so that the rotation speed of the output shaft 141 of the output unit 14 decreases near the top dead center, the inertial force is decreased near the top dead center, and the liquid piston 15 Although the disturbance of the liquid level can be suppressed, when this means is employed, the work for controlling the rotation of the output shaft 141 is lost, leading to a decrease in output.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since such control is not performed, the output is not reduced due to a loss for performing such control.

  FIG. 5 shows a modification of the present embodiment. As in this modification, only one rectifier 21 may be provided.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the viscous force / surface tension acting part is composed of the rectifier 21, but in the second embodiment, the viscous force / surface tension acting part is the expansion part 121 as shown in FIG. 6. Of these, the projection 22 is formed to project from the end opposite to the output unit 14 toward the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15.

  The protruding portion 22 is disposed over the entire cross section when the expanding portion 121 is cut in a direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 6) orthogonal to the displacement direction of the liquid piston 15. The protrusion 22 is preferably formed in a shape having a long wet tabular length. In this embodiment, the protrusion 22 is composed of a collection of thin tubes extending in the displacement direction of the liquid piston 15. For example, FIG. , (C), the same honeycomb plate can be used.

  According to this embodiment, when the liquid piston 15 is displaced toward the expanding portion 121 side, the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 collides with the protrusion 22 in the vicinity of the top dead center. Force and surface tension can be applied.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the viscous force and the surface tension are applied to the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 in the vicinity of the top dead center where the greatest inertial force is applied to the liquid piston 15, the inertial force that is applied to the liquid piston 15 is applied. Can be effectively reduced. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the vapor from being caught in the liquid piston 15.

  FIG. 7 shows a modification of the present embodiment. In this modification, the protrusion 22 is arranged at the center of the cross section of the inflating part 121. According to this, since the viscous force and the surface tension are applied to the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 at the central portion of the cross section of the expanding portion 121 where the displacement speed of the liquid piston 15 becomes the largest and the inertial force increases, the liquid piston 15 is applied to the liquid piston 15. The working inertia force can be reduced more effectively.

  Incidentally, the reason why the displacement speed of the liquid piston 15 becomes the largest at the center of the cross section of the inflating portion 121 is that the displacement speed decreases due to the viscous force from the tube wall of the container 11 at the outer periphery of the cross section, whereas at the center of the cross section. It is because it is difficult to receive viscous force from the tube wall of the container 11.

(Third embodiment)
In the second embodiment, the protrusion 22 is composed of a collection of thin tubes, but in the third embodiment, the protrusion 22 is formed in a hemispherical shape as shown in FIG.

  According to this, when the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 collides with the protrusion 22, the protrusion 22 applies a viscous force τ and a surface tension σ to the liquid piston 15. For this reason, the effect similar to the said 2nd Embodiment can be acquired.

(Fourth embodiment)
In the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the viscous force / surface tension acting part is composed of a floating member 23 floated on the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15. The floating member 23 is formed in a spherical shape. Yes. The outer diameter of the floating member 23 is smaller than the inner diameter of the container 11, and a gap is provided between the floating member 23 and the tube wall of the container 11. As a material of the floating member 23, a material having a specific gravity smaller than that of the liquid piston 15 and having heat resistance against high-temperature steam (for example, silicon rubber or polyethylene resin) is selected.

  According to the present embodiment, when the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 is displaced from the lower side in the gravitational direction toward the upper side in the gravitational direction, the floating member 23 causes the viscous force τ and the surface tension σ to act on the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15.

  In particular, according to the present embodiment, since the floating member 23 continues to contact the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 while the liquid piston 15 is displaced between the top dead center and the bottom dead center, the liquid piston 15 is viscous to the liquid surface. The force τ and the surface tension σ can be made to act reliably. For this reason, since the inertia force which acts on the liquid piston 15 can be reduced effectively, the deformation of the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 can be suppressed and the generation of droplets can be suppressed.

  FIGS. 10A and 10B show a modification of the present embodiment. In the first modification of FIG. 10A, the floating member 23 is formed in a flat plate shape. A gap is provided between the floating member 23 and the tube wall of the container 11. As the material of the floating member 23, it is preferable to use a porous material or a foam material having a long wetting length.

  In the example shown in FIG. 10A, two floating members 23 are stacked. This is to prevent the floating member 23 from floating from the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 when the driving frequency of the liquid piston 15 is very high.

  Further, as in the second modification of FIG. 10B, the floating member 23 may be formed in a film shape.

(Fifth embodiment)
In the fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a repulsive force action unit 24 that applies a repulsive force downward in the direction of gravity to the floating member 23 that is displaced toward the upper side in the direction of gravity is provided.

  The repulsive force acting part 24 is constituted by a magnet 24 a integrated with the floating member 23 and a magnet 24 b arranged at the end of the inflating part 121. Both magnets 24a and 24b are arranged so that the same poles face each other.

  A gap is provided between the magnet 24 a arranged on the floating member 23 and the tube wall of the container 11. A stopper 25 is provided on the tube wall of the container 11 to prevent the floating member 23 and the magnet 24 a from sinking into the liquid piston 15.

  When the liquid piston 15 is displaced from the lower side in the gravitational direction toward the upper side in the gravitational direction, the floating member 23 is lifted by the force of the liquid piston 15 and floats on the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15. Thereby, the floating member 23 causes the viscous force τ and the surface tension σ to act on the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15.

  When the floating member 23 approaches the end of the inflating part 121, a magnetic force that repels the same poles of the magnets 24 a and 24 b is generated, and this magnetic force acts on the floating member 23 as a repulsive force downward in the gravity direction. .

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the repulsive force can be applied to the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 in addition to the viscous force and the surface tension, so that the inertial force acting on the liquid piston 15 is more effective. Can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the floating member 23 from colliding with the end wall surface of the inflating part 121 due to the repulsive force of the repulsive force acting part 24.

(Sixth embodiment)
In the fifth embodiment, the repulsive force acting part 24 is constituted by the magnets 24a and 24b. However, in the sixth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the repulsive force acting part includes the floating member 23 and the expanding part. It is comprised by the elastic member 26 arrange | positioned between 121 edge part wall surfaces.

  As the elastic member 26, for example, a spring can be used. The elastic characteristics of the elastic member 26 (the spring constant when a spring is used) are the magnitude of the inertial force acting on the liquid piston 15 (in other words, the driving frequency of the liquid piston 15), and the floating member 23 is It is set in consideration of the viscous force acting on the liquid surface and the surface tension.

  According to the present embodiment, when the floating member 23 is displaced toward the end of the inflating portion 121, an elastic restoring force of the elastic member 26 is generated, and this elastic restoring force is repelled downward in the direction of gravity with respect to the floating member 23. Acts as a force. For this reason, the effect similar to the said 5th Embodiment can be acquired.

(Seventh embodiment)
In the seventh embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the inflating part 121 and the vicinity thereof in the container 11 are formed in an expanded tubular shape with a cross-sectional area increasing toward the opposite side to the output part 14. In the vicinity of the top dead center, a larger viscous force and surface tension are applied to the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15. The present embodiment can be applied in combination with the first to sixth embodiments.

  According to the present embodiment, the inflated portion 121 and its vicinity are made wide and tubular, so that the wet spot length of the inflatable portion 121 and its vicinity is increased. For this reason, a larger viscous force and surface tension can be applied to the liquid piston 15 that is displaced toward the top dead center.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, the expansion part 121 and its vicinity site | part are made wide, and the cross-sectional area of the expansion part 121 and its vicinity site | part becomes large as it goes to a top dead center side. For this reason, the flow velocity of the liquid piston 15 decreases and the inertial force of the liquid piston 15 also decreases toward the top dead center side, so that the deformation of the liquid surface of the liquid piston 15 is further suppressed and the generation of droplets is further suppressed. be able to.

  In the present embodiment, an opening constituting the intake passage 121a and the exhaust passage 121b is formed at the upper end of the expansion portion 121. Therefore, the intake port 131 and the exhaust port 132 are arranged on the extension direction side (the upper side in the gravity direction) of the expansion portion 121 of the expansion portion 121.

(Other embodiments)
(1) In the said 1st Embodiment, although the rectifier 21 is arrange | positioned at the expansion part 121, the arrangement position of the rectifier 21 is not limited to this. For example, the rectifier 21 may be disposed in an arbitrary portion between the top dead center and the top dead center in the container 11.

  (2) In each of the above embodiments, water is used as the working medium. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a refrigerant may be used as the working medium.

  (3) In each of the above embodiments, the cooling unit 122 cools and condenses the steam and pushes the liquid piston 15 back to the expansion unit 121 side by the inertial force of an inertial force generating member (not shown). The liquid piston 15 may be pushed back to the expansion unit 121 side only by the inertial force of an inertial force generating member (not shown) without cooling and condensing the vapor in the cooling unit 122.

  Incidentally, even in this case, the liquid piston discharging means 18 is necessary. That is, in the heat engines of the above embodiments, a portion of the steam condenses when the steam expands during the expansion stroke.

  (4) In each of the above embodiments, the vapor generated in the external evaporator 20 is supplied to the expansion unit 121, but without using the external evaporator 20, the upper part of the expansion unit 121 is heated to form a part of the liquid piston 15. The vapor may be generated in the expansion part 121 by evaporating the water.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Container 14 Output part 15 Liquid piston 20 External evaporator 21 Rectifier (viscosity force / surface tension action part)
121 Expansion part

Claims (1)

A tubular container (11) in which a liquid piston (15) made of a working medium in a liquid phase is encapsulated in a flowable manner;
An external evaporator (20) provided outside the container (11) for generating vapor of the working medium;
An intake means (131) disposed at one end side portion of the container (11) and for sucking the vapor generated in the external evaporator (20) into the container (11);
An expansion section (121) provided at one end side portion of the container (11) and configured to expand the vapor of the working medium supplied from the external evaporator (20) ;
An output unit (14) provided at the other end portion of the container (11), which converts the displacement of the liquid piston (15) caused by the expansion of the vapor into mechanical energy and outputs the mechanical energy;
Liquid piston discharging means (18) for maintaining a predetermined amount of the liquid piston (15) in the container (11) by discharging a part of the liquid piston (15) from the container (11); ,
An exhaust means (132) for exhausting the steam that has not been condensed inside the container (11) from the container (11);
Viscous force / surface tension acting part (2) for applying a viscous force and a surface tension to the liquid surface of the liquid piston (15) displaced from the output part (14) side toward the expanding part (121) side. 1) and equipped with a,
The viscous force / surface tension acting part is composed of a rectifier (21) through which the liquid piston (15) is divided and circulated,
A plurality of the rectifiers (21) are arranged apart from each other in the displacement direction of the liquid piston (15), are made of ceramic, and have a water repellent treatment on the surface. .

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