Inertia free drive for cryogenic piston expander

Abstract

A cryogenic piston expander may reduce or eliminate the inertia of system, as compared to conventional cryogenic piston expanders that utilize a heavy flywheel. The cryogenic piston expander of the present invention may use a single bent running from a motor to a large sprocket mounted on a main shaft of the cryogenic piston expander.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional patent application No. 61 / 366,622, filed Jul. 22, 2010, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to cryogenic piston expanders and, more particularly, to an inertia free drive for a cryogenic piston expander.[0003]Systems operating at cryogenic temperatures generally have a cryogenic refrigeration unit attached to the system to minimize or eliminate boil-off of the cryogenic coolant. A cryogenic refrigeration unit including an expansion device, compressor, and heat exchanger is known. High pressure fluid from the compressor is passed through the heat exchanger and introduced into the expansion device, such as a cryogenic piston expander. Expansion of the fluid in the expansion device reduces the temperature and pressure of the fluid. Heat energy is transferred from the expanding fluid by the ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]In one aspect of the present invention, a cryogenic piston expander comprises a motor adapted to drive a motor shaft; a first sprocket attached to the motor shaft; a second sprocket

Problems solved by technology

Conventional cryogenic piston expanders require a large amount of inertia, typically due to the rotation of a large flywheel.

This large amount of inertia may increase the load on the variable frequency drive (VFD) motor, cause belt dusting and may require frequent maintenance.

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