LT6635B - The atmospheric cold steam engine and operating method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the atmospheric cold steam engine for generating mechanical energy through the use of atmospheric pressure and environmental thermal energy or excess of low temperature thermal energy released during production processes. The operating principle of the atmospheric cold steam engine is based on the characteristic of the materials to absorb or release the thermal energy during their transition from liquid to gaseous phases and vice versa. The purpose of the invention is to expand the possibilities of the heat pump by converting the thermal energy collected from the environment into the mechanical energy. The mechanical energy thus obtained can be used for the compressor of the same heat pump or be transformed into another type of an energy (electricity etc.) to be used by consumers in need.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention belongs to the category of energy transformation machines. Thermal energy is converted into mechanical energy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The prevailing heat motors and generators in the industry currently transform only relatively high temperature heat energy into mechanical or other consumer-acceptable energy. At low temperatures (0 ° C to 90 ° C), thermal energy is usually released into the environment as waste. Almost all modern thermal motors operate according to the Carnot cycle, i. operates in a certain temperature range, which is very far from the phase transition temperatures of the material used - energy carrier. Higher-temperature thermal energy, which is easily transformed into other forms of energy, is derived from the chemical energy of the fuel being burned, which is associated with intense environmental pollution. The environment is polluted by waste from combustion processes and heated by excess heat released. These ecological problems are known and solved in various ways, but not effectively enough.

Heat pumps work differently. The most common are compressor heat pumps. The heat pump collects low-temperature heat energy and concentrates it, converting it to higher-temperature heat energy. It uses mechanical energy to do this work, which in turn is transformed from electricity. Heat pumps are unique as mechanisms in that they consume several times less energy than they collect and concentrate from the environment. This becomes possible because heat pumps use the heat of the phase transformations of the material - the material is cyclically changed from the liquid phase to the gas and back. However, heat pumps also have one but the main drawback: as a product they supply heat energy for consumption, which, however, is of insufficient quality, i. temperature is not high enough to be efficiently transformed into other forms of energy that are much more in demand, e.g. mechanical or electrical. There are known multi-stage heat pumps whose final product is relatively high temperature heat energy, but such heat pumps lose their meaning because they lose their main advantage: to absorb in the environment and provide the consumer with significantly more energy than they use to support their work process.

Patented solution for using the heat pump's unique properties to use its concentrated heat energy to change the physical state of the material - refrigerant, properly selected according to the phase transition temperatures and specific and specific evaporative heat, to inspire changes in volumes and pressures . In other words, to convert low-temperature ambient or waste heat into useful mechanical energy.

Many attempts to develop similar devices are known, but many devices have a number of shortcomings, the declared parameters are questionable or even the principle of operation itself is questionable: for example, the device described in CN 1180790 cannot in principle operate in continuous continuous mode. The refrigerant fluid cannot cyclically change the physical state at the same temperature and pressure, i. change in the absence of changes in conditions, e.g. heat leakage or inflow. The device will work i.e. will produce mechanical energy only until all the liquefied gases have evaporated from the tank using ambient heat and the pressures and temperatures have leveled off. A similar device is described in patent application CN1181461: it is also a short-acting device. The liquid heated by the heat pump is directed to "take" heat from the environment, but after a while the temperature of the device's warm heat pump circuit will become higher than the ambient temperature and energy exchange will no longer take place. Perhaps the situation in this device would be saved by the partial transfer of warm circuit heat back to the environment, but the authors do not use it, so the operation of the device is short-lived, cycles will not be repeated.

The device in patent application CH647590 operates according to a direct Carnot cycle: this device requires two media, warm and cold, operates traditionally: changing the pressure causes a pressure difference, realizes a direct Carno cycle, thus obtaining mechanical energy, but with relatively small temperature changes, mechanical energy relatively little is obtained. Patent application DE3001315 contains a principle and one of the possible constructions: the device uses environmental energy and can convert part of it into mechanical energy. It differs from the present one in that only one refrigerant liquid is used, which circulates through the compressor and the turbine, which is a completely different way of obtaining mechanical energy than the membrane and atmospheric pressure, and does not use gas condensation in the liquid, so only very little thermal energy. part will become mechanical, in other words, more significant compensation of mechanical energy with thermal energy is not possible.

The device described in patent application DE102010049337 operates in a direct Carnot cycle instead of in reverse, using significantly higher temperature heat, which is emitted as excess, for example by an internal combustion engine. The main difference is that the device uses the atmospheric environment not as a heat source, but as a cooler.

Patent application FR2547399 describes a device similar to the patented one, i. works in the reverse Carn cycle, converts part of the ambient energy to mechanical, but differs in that here one circuit circulates with it the gas that remains in the gas phase, i. there are no phase transformations, and at the same time the heat of phase transformations and changes in volumes and pressures are not utilized. In addition, the applicability is questionable, because even ideally, apart from the losses, how much energy is given to and taken from the environment, the balance is zero.

The principle of operation of the device described in another patent application RU2132470 is also essentially very similar to the device provided: when the refrigerant liquid evaporates, thermal energy is taken from the environment, and when sufficient energy is absorbed, the pressure rises, which performs mechanical work. The problem is that the return of gas (liquid, helium, nitrogen, etc., as an example in the patent application) to the liquid state is not described. The claim of the patent applicants that the gas will condense into the liquid automatically after the expansion work seems unconvincing, as it should be borne in mind that the nitrogen liquefaction temperature is below -195 ° C (helium is generally close to absolute Kelvin), so liquefaction at ambient temperature will not be possible. will not be continuous, as the authors claim (the diagram does not show the work to be liquefied and heat dissipation from this stage of the process). The described scheme is not detailed, no implementation options are provided, so it is difficult to judge the nuances of operation. Possibly, as in patent application CN1180790, the device will only operate until all the liquefied gas, taking energy from the environment, changes state from a liquid to a gaseous state.

Summarizing these attempts to develop devices that convert low-temperature thermal energy to mechanical energy, they can be divided into three groups:

1) equipment operating according to the direct Carnot cycle and extracting pressure differences from small temperature differences and converting them into mechanical energy;

2) installations filled with liquefied gas and generating mechanical energy only until all the gas has evaporated using ambient heat;

3) devices, analogous to heat pumps, which concentrate the heat energy stored in the environment and convert it in one way or another into mechanical energy. Therefore, the main prototype of the present invention should be considered patent application DE3001315. It differs from the latter in that not one but two refrigerants are used, as well as another, much more energy-efficient way of obtaining mechanical energy from heat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The operating principle of the atmospheric pressure cold steam engine of the present invention is based on the property of the materials in transition to phase states, e.g. from liquid to gaseous and vice versa, to absorb or emit thermal energy. Also based on the property of materials, by changing the physical state, significantly change the volume occupied. The essence of the operating principle consists in overcoming the atmospheric pressure by evaporating the working material with the help of heat absorbed and concentrated from the environment, and after condensing this material, the atmospheric pressure transforms the thermal energy given to the material into mechanical energy. The process of energy absorption and concentration is continuous, and the transformation into mechanical energy is cyclical.

The aim of the invention is to expand the possibilities of a heat pump by converting the heat energy collected and concentrated in it from the environment (air, water, soil, by-products of production processes, etc.) into mechanical energy. The resulting mechanical energy can be used to run the same heat pump compressor (which would significantly reduce energy consumption and increase efficiency) or transformed into another type of energy (electricity, etc.) and used by external users as needed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. a diagram illustrating the construction and principle of operation of an atmospheric pressure cold steam engine is provided;

fig. an energy balance diagram illustrating three alternative embodiments of the invention is provided: 1) when the heat absorbed from the environment and the added mechanical energy are used only for the generation of mechanical energy and supplied to the consumer, and the excess thermal energy is returned to the engine; 2) when part of the mechanical energy is returned to the engine (to the extent necessary to supply the engine units with mechanical energy), the rest is supplied to the consumer and the excess thermal energy is returned to the engine; 3) when the first or second variant is realized, but the excess thermal energy is supplied to the consumer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following, the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the respective references of the respective elements mean: 1 - a cold circuit of the first refrigerant liquid for absorbing thermal energy from the environment; 2 compressors; 3 - circuit of concentrated thermal energy; 4 - expansion valve; 5 - heat exchanger between the first and second refrigerant fluids; 6 - second refrigerant liquid evaporator; 7 - valve between the second refrigerant liquid tank and the evaporator; 8 - second refrigerant liquid tank; 9 - valve; 10 - expansion-condensation cavity of the second refrigerant liquid; 11 - crankshaft and flywheel (mechanical energy output circuit); 12 - membrane; 13 - one-way valve; 14 - nozzle emulsifier; 15 - second refrigerant liquid vapor valve; 16-pump.

The principle of operation of the atmospheric pressure cold steam engine of the present invention consists in overcoming the atmospheric pressure by evaporating the working material by means of heat absorbed and concentrated from the environment, and condensing this material, the atmospheric pressure transforms the thermal energy given to the material into mechanical energy. The process of energy absorption and concentration is continuous, and the transformation into mechanical energy is cyclical.

Engine performance can be described by distinguishing the four main stages of the process and, together, the components and the two refrigerant fluids circulating in them. In the first stage, the compressor 2 is maintained at a low pressure in the structural unit 1 filled with the first refrigerant liquid, and this liquid, analogous to the refrigerant liquid in heat pumps, evaporates, uses its own and surrounding structures' thermal energy for evaporation and absorbs the deficiency from the environment. At this stage, the liquid is allowed to interact maximally with the environment in heat exchange via circuit 1. The properties of the first refrigerant fluid are very close to those of liquids used in conventional heat pumps.

In the second stage - in the circuit 3 - high pressure is maintained by means of the compressor 2 and the valve 4, the material of the first refrigerant entering this zone condenses, returns to the state of the liquid and releases the energy collected in the environment. The above-mentioned first and second stage material phase transformation and heat energy transfer processes are essentially the same as conventional heat pump operation, and the ratio between compressor consumption and ambient energy is approximately 1: 4. The processes in the second stage take place in isolation from the environment.

In the third stage - in the heat exchanger 6 - the obtained thermal energy is used for evaporation of the second refrigerant liquid. The material of this liquid and its properties - boiling point, specific heat, specific heat of evaporation (condensation), evaporating pressure, etc. parameters - selected so that after consuming the thermal energy obtained in the second stage and evaporating, the material in the gas phase reaches a pressure close to or higher than atmospheric. In this stage, as in the second, the processes take place in isolation from the environment.

In the fourth stage, the process takes place cyclically: through the valve 15, the vapor of the second refrigerant enters the cavity 10, the movable membrane 12 separated from the environment. The diaphragm is connected to the flywheel 11 by the crank. When the engine is running, when the flywheel returns the diaphragm to the extreme right position and at the same time fills the entire volume 10, the valves 9 and 15 close, steam condensation is initiated by injecting the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 5 and the second refrigerant 13. by means of a pump 16, absorbing their thermal energy and returning it to the previous stages. As the material of the second refrigerant filled with the volume 10 changes significantly from the gaseous state to the liquid state, the pressure in the cavity 10 drops significantly, becoming incomparably lower than atmospheric. The membrane, on the other hand, is subjected to atmospheric pressure, it moves to the other extreme left position, which in turn transmits the force and energy of atmospheric pressure P to the flywheel 11. Optional atmospheric energy - compressed air, springs, etc. - can be used for this purpose. the potential energy previously generated by the evaporation of the second refrigerant, and therefore the term 'atmospheric pressure' in the engine name is conditional. Atmospheric pressure was chosen as a potential energy store because it approximately corresponds to the required pressure level, and no additional assemblies are required in the design. Part of the thermal energy released by the condensation of steam in the fourth stage is returned through the valve 9, the tank 8 and the valve 7 together with a part of the liquid to the third stage. The rest of the liquid through the heat exchanger 5 returns to the fourth stage and the thermal energy to the first stage (with the engine running at optimal load, little thermal energy remains in the cavity 10, it is converted into mechanical energy, but the temperature of the condensed liquid is still slightly above ambient at the end of the stage). ). This makes it possible to reuse the "waste" thermal energy of the fourth stage without essentially going outside the mechanism.

Energy replenishment takes place in the first stage. The energy absorbed as thermal in the first stage and generated as mechanical in the fourth stage can be used for the needs of external users or part of it is returned to drive the units serving the mechanism.

The described embodiment of the invention is only one of its possible embodiments. Several modifications of the mechanism are possible: when the design and operation are optimized for mechanical energy generation, or when only part of the heat absorbed from the environment is used for mechanical energy generation (as needed to supply engine units with mechanical energy) and the remaining energy is supplied to the consumer. as shown schematically in Figure 2. In this figure, 100% of the energy is considered to be the energy circulating in the motor in the form of thermal and mechanical energy, i. not the absolute value of energy, but energy changes and exchanges within the engine and the engine with the environment and energy transformations.

Theoretically, the engine can absorb from the environment about 25% to 50% of the heat energy required for operation, based on the energy circulating in the engine, it must receive about 25% more mechanical energy, and up to 50% of heat energy can be recovered from the fourth to the first and the third stages (via heat exchanger 5 and evaporator 6). The motor thus optimized can ideally supply up to 50% of the energy converted to mechanical energy in the output circuit, i. the engine can produce more mechanical energy than it receives, compensating for the lack of thermal energy from the environment. As a result, up to 25% of mechanical energy can be obtained, even if 25% is returned to drive the mechanical circuits. Due to mechanical and hydraulic losses, of course, the engine does not give 25% output in the form of mechanical energy, but its unique operating principle allows all heat losses to be turned into useful work. Considering that the mechanical and hydraulic losses are largely converted into thermal, and the heat is purposefully used for the work, the yield can be very close to the theoretical.

The whole mechanism is designed in such a way that those structural elements that have to take energy from the environment interact with the environment with maximum heat exchange, and those whose temperature must remain constant are insulated.

With the engine running, temperatures close to or significantly below ambient are prevalent during all four stages of engine operation and at engine assemblies. Units with an average operating temperature higher than the ambient temperature are relatively small, have a small surface area, are thermally insulated, are purposefully converted to mechanical work, transferred to the user or returned to the preparatory stages of engine operation.

The properties of refrigerant fluids are selected depending on the ambient temperature in order to maximize the use of ambient thermal energy and / or to optimally receive it from stage to stage. Therefore, an engine filled with specific refrigerant fluids (analogous to heat pumps) can only operate efficiently within a certain heat source temperature range. However, unlike heat pumps, the result is not only thermal but also mechanical energy.

As mentioned earlier, several engine modifications are possible:

1) when the construction and work process are optimized for the generation of mechanical energy;

2) when part of the heat absorbed from the environment is converted into mechanical energy, which is used to supply energy to the engine units, and the remaining energy is supplied to the consumer in the form of heat.

In the first case, it is possible to transform mechanical energy into more universal energy - electricity - and its supply to consumers. In the second case, it becomes possible to use such a motor as a heat pump with an incomparably higher efficiency than currently used heat pumps, as low-temperature heat would not only be converted to higher-temperature heat, but the mechanism itself would use low-temperature heat to drive its circuits.

The source of thermal energy for such installations can be air, water bodies, groundwater, soil or waste heat from technical and domestic processes: heat emitted from ventilation or sewage systems, waste heat from production processes, low temperature heat, etc., i.e. all heat sources used by conventional heat pumps or recuperators are suitable.

Claims (7)

DEFINITION OF THE INVENTION 1. Atmospheric pressure cold steam engine having an ambient heat source, a first heat exchanger filled with refrigerant to absorb ambient heat, refrigerant circulation circuits, refrigerant supply means, evaporator, condenser and means for converting heat energy to consumer mechanical or other energy , characterized in that it has two closed circuits for non-contact refrigerant liquids, wherein the first refrigerant liquid circuit (3) is located inside the evaporator (6) of the second refrigerant circuit and wherein the first refrigerant circuit (3) is designed to be collected through the circuit (1) and a pump (2) for transferring the thermal energy of the concentrated environment to the second refrigerant liquid in the evaporator (6), thereby evaporating it; a device for transforming the thermal energy of the vapor of the second refrigerant liquid into mechanical energy, comprising a working cavity (10), a movable membrane (12) separated from the environment where the membrane (12) is connected to the mechanical energy output circuit (11); a reservoir (8) for collecting the second refrigerant liquid condensed in the working space (10), comprising a valve (7) for returning part of the condensed liquid and at the same time both the "waste" thermal energy to the evaporator (6) and the pump (16) supplying a portion of the condensed liquid to the working cavity (10) through a one-way valve (13) and a nozzle (14) for condensing the vapor of the second refrigerant liquid; an additional heat exchanger (5) between the first and second refrigerant fluids for returning to the ambient heat absorption circuit (1) the "waste" heat of the second refrigerant fluid remaining after its use for heat conversion to mechanical work in the mechanical energy output circuit (11). 2. An engine according to claim 1, characterized in that the properties of the first refrigerant fluid are such that the fluid maximally absorbs and concentrates thermal energy not only from the temperature media in which the absorption medium is located during its phase transitions caused by pressure changes caused by the compressor (2). circuit (1), but also from the “waste” heat recovered through the heat exchanger (5). 3. Engine according to claim 1, characterized in that the properties of the second refrigerant liquid - boiling point, specific heat, specific heat of evaporation (condensation), evaporation pressure - are selected so as to consume the concentrated thermal energy of the first refrigerant obtained through the circuit (3) and upon evaporation, the liquid in the gas phase would reach a pressure close to or above atmospheric. 4. An engine according to claim 1, characterized in that the mechanical energy output circuit (11) is a crankshaft and a flywheel. 5. An engine according to claim 1, characterized in that the first refrigerant circuit (3) and the evaporator (6) of the second refrigerant circuit are thermally insulated from the environment. 6. A method of operating a cold steam engine at atmospheric pressure, comprising absorbing ambient heat energy and converting it into mechanical or other energy acceptable to the consumer, characterized in that (a) using two circuits of non-contact refrigerant liquids, where the first refrigerant liquid transfers the ambient heat absorbed in the circuit (1) and the pump (2) compressed in the circuit (3) to the second refrigerant liquid in the evaporator (6), converting it to steam; b) supplying the vapor of the second refrigerant liquid to the working cavity (10), the movable membrane (12) connected to the mechanical circuit (11), at a pressure below or close to atmospheric; c) initiating the condensation of the second refrigerant liquid in the vapor cavity (10) by inertly pulling the diaphragm of the mechanical circuit (11) to the end position and filling the entire volume of the cavity (10) by injecting the second refrigerant collected in the tank (8) and cooled in the heat exchanger (5) absorbing and condensing thermal energy in the vapor cavity (10) of the second refrigerant liquid supplied from the evaporator (6) by means of a pump (16) via a valve (13) and a nozzle (14); d) when the pressure in the cavity (10) drops below atmospheric, uses atmospheric pressure to initiate the movement of the membrane (12) inside the cavity (10) by transmitting the force and energy of atmospheric pressure Patm to the flywheel of the mechanical circuit (11); e) collects the condensed second refrigerant liquid in the tank (8) and returns the "residual" heat to the previous stages: part to the evaporator (6), part through the heat exchanger (5) to the first refrigerant liquid circuit (1). 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the process of energy absorption and concentration is continuous and the transformation to mechanical energy is cyclic.