36results about "Heater tubes" patented technology

An external combustion engine having an exhaust flow diverter for directing the flow of an exhaust gas. The external combustion engine has a heater head having a plurality of heater tubes through which a working fluid is heated by conduction. The exhaust flow diverter is a cylinder disposed around the outside of the plurality of heater tubes and includes a plurality of openings through which the flow of exhaust gas may pas. The exhaust flow diverter directs the exhaust gas past the plurality of heater tubes. The external combustion engine may also include a plurality of flow diverter fins coupled to the plurality of heater tubes to direct the flow of the exhaust gas. The heater tubes may be U-shaped or helical coiled shaped.

A Stirling cycle machine. The machine includes at least one rocking drive mechanism which includes: a rocking beam having a rocker pivot, at least one cylinder and at least one piston. The piston is housed within a respective cylinder and is capable of substantially linearly reciprocating within the respective cylinder. Also, the drive mechanism includes at least one coupling assembly having a proximal end and a distal end. The linear motion of the piston is converted to rotary motion of the rocking beam. Also, a crankcase housing the rocking beam and housing a first portion of the coupling assembly is included. The machine also includes a working space housing the at least one cylinder, the at least one piston and a second portion of the coupling assembly. An airlock is included between the workspace and the crankcase and a seal is included for sealing the workspace from the airlock and crankcase. A burner and burner control system is also included for heating the machine and controlling ignition and combustion in the burner.

A device and method for controlling the flow of a gaseous fuel from a fuel supply to a pressurized combustion chamber. A fuel pump is included in the gas train from supply to chamber. The fuel pump increases the pressure of the gas to allow efficient injection into the chamber. The pump is modulated to control the fuel flow. Both alternating current and pulse-width-modulated direct current signals may be used to control the flow. The pump may be a piston pump or a diaphragm pump. Feedback may be provided from sensors that determine operating parameters of the engine and such sensor signals may be used by the controller to maintain a parameter, such as temperature, at a specified value. An acoustic filter can be included in the gas train to significantly reduce gas flow pulsations generated by the pump. This filter improves the uniformity of the combustion process.

The invention relates to a characteristic absorption spectrum radiation heat absorber, a Stirling engine and an operation method. By means of the radiation heat absorber, radiation energy can be fast absorbed by working medium gas in the Stirling engine, and when solar energy is insufficient, stable operation of the Stirling engine is ensured by adopting an auxiliary heating mode. A fast heat absorbing heater adopting characteristic absorption spectrum gas to absorb heat mainly comprises a heater base, an optical energy converting device, a heating tube, a combustion chamber and a heating tube valve. The optical energy converting device converts solar energy into radiation energy adjacent to a characteristic absorption peak of the working medium gas, and the working medium directly absorbs radiation energy stereoscopically. The radiation heat absorber is beneficial for enhancing radiation heat exchange at the hot end of the Stirling engine, efficiently using high-temperature energy of a focus sunlight center and reducing the dead volume of the hot end, solves the tube bursting problem of the Stirling heater, improves the engine efficiency, achieves photo-thermal complementary utilization and improves stability of the engine.

The invention provides an apparatus for generating heat and transferring the heat to a heater head of an external combustion engine, preferably, a Stirling engine. Fuel and air are introduced into a combustion chamber and mixed to form an air / fuel mixture. The air / fuel mixture is combusted over a combustion catalyst positioned in physical contact with a heat spreader, which itself is positioned in physical contact with a heat acceptor surface. The heat acceptor surface is secured in thermal communication with the heater head. Depending upon the design of the heater head, heat flux from the heat acceptor surface into the heater head may occur radially or non-radially.

The invention relates to a thermodynamic machine that includes at least one chamber (21) in which an isothermal expansion and / or compression is to be carried out, said chamber being longitudinally defined by first and second walls (23, 25) that are mobile relative to each other. The chamber (21) is divided by partitions (31, 33) extending longitudinally from each of the first and second walls, the partitions being interleaved within each other, and the distance between the partitions extending from a same wall being such that the ratio between the distance squared and the cycle duration of the thermodynamic machine is lower than the average thermal diffusivity of the gas contained in the chamber.

A Stirling engine with internal regenerator and integral geometry for heat transfer and fluid flow has a displacer piston with a plurality of cavities traversing through the displacer piston and arranged in a specific cross sectional geometry. A heater head has heater fin protrusions that are arranged in the specific geometry, and a cooling bridge has cooler fin protrusions that are in the specific geometry. The displacer piston alternates between the heater head and the cooling bridge, with the cavities of the piston alternately enveloping the heater protrusions and the cooling protrusions, providing more efficient heat transfer to and from the working fluid. Each cavity in the displacer also contains a regenerator core, further improving heat transfer efficiency. The heater fin protrusions may also contain thermally conductive cores. A bellows assembly may also be used to seal the displacer piston from the heater head in order to reduce unswept volume.

A system for energy conversion including a closed cycle engine containing a volume of working fluid is provided. The engine includes a double-ended piston assembly including a pair of pistons coupled to a connection member. An expansion chamber is separated from a compression chamber by the piston. The engine defines an outer end and an inner end relative to a lateral extension of the piston assembly. A heater body is positioned thermally proximal to the expansion chamber and thermally distal to the compression chamber, and the heater body is positioned at the outer end of the engine. A load device is operably coupled to the piston assembly at the inner end of the engine. The load device is positioned between the pair of pistons of the piston assembly.

The invention discloses an adaptive device and method suitable for overtemperature of Stirling engine heating tubes, including a plurality of memory alloys, each of which is arranged on the inner wall of the heating tube; when the temperature in the heating tube is lower than that of the memory alloy When the temperature threshold is reached, each memory alloy is attached to the inner wall of the heating pipe; when the temperature in the heating pipe exceeds the temperature threshold of the memory alloy, each memory alloy is bent along the radial direction of the heating pipe. When the shape of the memory alloy changes and bends, when the gas working medium with the same mass flow rate flows through, the bent memory alloy enhances the disturbance of the air flow, improves the convective heat transfer coefficient, and strengthens the convective exchange between the gas working medium and the heating tube. Heat, in order to achieve the purpose of reducing the temperature of the heating tube. The invention enhances heat exchange without causing waste of energy, without suspending the operation of the power generation device, so that the operation is more stable, and at the same time of cooling the heating tube, it can not only effectively use solar energy, but also not interrupt the power generation, so as to ensure stable power output .

A system for electricity generation using heat contained in exhaust gas from a combustor (enclosed flare) to drive an external combustion Stirling cycle engine which directly drives at least one alternator or generator. A battery is connected to the alternator or generator through a divider circuit followed by a filter circuit. Electric power distribution circuits are electrically connected to output circuits of the alternators or generators for consumption of the electric power on-site, for sale to a commercial electric power distribution grid, or for any other desired uses.