Check patentability & draft patents in minutes with Patsnap Eureka AI!

Shape memory alloy heat engines and energy harvesting systems

A heat engine, energy harvesting technology, applied in the direction of machines/engines, mechanisms that generate mechanical power, mechanical equipment, etc., can solve the problems of heat and waste that cannot be found or designed

Inactive Publication Date: 2012-08-29
GM GLOBAL TECH OPERATIONS LLC +2
View PDF4 Cites 1 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Some of this thermal energy is waste heat, which is heat for which no beneficial use can be found or designed, and is often a wasted by-product

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Shape memory alloy heat engines and energy harvesting systems
  • Shape memory alloy heat engines and energy harvesting systems
  • Shape memory alloy heat engines and energy harvesting systems

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

Embodiment Construction

[0029] Referring to the drawings, in which like reference numerals correspond to like or similar parts wherever possible throughout the several views, in figure 1 A heat recovery system or energy harvesting system is shown in . Features and components described and shown in other figures may be incorporated into and with figure 1 used together as shown in . The illustrated energy harvesting system 10 includes a heat engine 14 and a driven component 16 .

[0030] Energy harvesting system 10 utilizes a first fluid region or thermal region 18 having a first temperature. Thermal region 18 is in thermal transfer communication with a heat source, such as waste heat, or may represent any region of relatively warmer temperatures that contributes to the operation of heat engine 14 , as described herein. The energy harvesting system 10 also utilizes a second fluid region or cold region 20 having a second temperature that is generally lower than the first temperature of the hot region...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

No PUM Login to View More

Abstract

The invention provides a shape memory alloy heat engines and energy harvesting systems, and concretely to an energy harvesting system in thermal communication with a hot region and a cold region that includes a hot end heat engine in thermal communication with the hot region, a cold end heat engine in thermal communication with the cold region, and an intermediate heat engine disposed between the hot end heat engine and the cold end heat engine. The hot end heat engine includes a hot end shape memory alloy (SMA) element, the cold end heat engine includes a cold end SMA element disposed, and the intermediate heat engine includes an intermediate SMA element. A hot side of the intermediate SMA element is in thermal communication with a cold side of the hot end SMA element. A cold side of the intermediate SMA element is in thermal communication with a hot side of the cold end SMA element.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates generally to energy harvesting systems, and more particularly to energy harvesting systems for heat engines using shape memory alloys. Background technique [0002] Thermal energy can be generated through industrial, assembly and manufacturing processes. Motor vehicles, small equipment, and heavy equipment also generate heat. Some of this thermal energy is waste heat, which is heat for which no beneficial use can be found or designed, and is often a wasted by-product. The waste heat can be vented to the atmosphere. Combustion of transportation fuels also contributes to waste heat. Contents of the invention [0003] An energy harvesting system is provided in thermal communication with a hot zone and a cold zone. The energy harvesting system includes a hot end heat engine in thermal communication with the hot area, a cold end heat engine in thermal communication with the cold area, and an intermediate heat engine dispo...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
Patent Type & Authority Applications(China)
IPC IPC(8): F03G7/06
CPCF03G7/065
Inventor A.L.布朗N.L.约翰逊J.A.肖C.B.邱吉尔A.C.基夫G.P.麦克奈特P.W.亚历山大P.M.萨罗希N.D.曼卡姆W.布朗G.A.赫里拉R.J.斯柯基斯
Owner GM GLOBAL TECH OPERATIONS LLC
Features
  • R&D
  • Intellectual Property
  • Life Sciences
  • Materials
  • Tech Scout
Why Patsnap Eureka
  • Unparalleled Data Quality
  • Higher Quality Content
  • 60% Fewer Hallucinations
Social media
Patsnap Eureka Blog
Learn More

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic, Popular Technical Reports.

© 2025 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap|About US| Contact US: help@patsnap.com