77 results about "Isothermal process" patented technology

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for making a prototype injection molded part. An extruder of the type used for fused deposition modeling injects production thermoplastic material into a heated nonconductive plastic mold tool slowly at low pressure in an isothermic process. The mold tool may be built from a CAD drawing by fused deposition modeling or another rapid prototyping technique. Using the present invention, an injection molded prototype part can be made from a digital representation of the part within 24 hours by an engineer in an office environment.

This invention provides means for producing power by using isothermal compressors and isothermal expanders. One embodiment has an isothermal compressor that compresses air (or other gas), passes the air through a counter-flow heat exchanger, which heats the air, uses the heated air to drive an isothermal expander for power generation, and passes the expander exhaust back through the counter-flow heat exchanger to heat the input air to the expander. Another embodiment has a boiler that produces vapor that flows through a counter-flow heat exchanger to superheat the vapor. The vapor then flows through an isothermal expander for power generation. The exhaust from the isothermal expander flows back through the counter-flow heat exchanger to supply heat to super heat the vapor coming from the boiler. The description presents several devices that can perform at near isothermal conditions, including a modified Tesla turbine.

A thermodynamic system that can approximate the Ericsson or Brayton cycles and operated in reverse or forward modes to implement a cooler or engine, respectively. The thermodynamic system includes a device for compressing a first fluid stream containing a first gas-liquid mixture having a sufficient liquid content so that compression of the gas within the first gas-liquid mixture by the compressing device is nearly isothermal, and a device for expanding a second fluid stream containing a second gas-liquid mixture having a sufficient liquid content so that expansion of the gas within the second gas-liquid mixture by the expanding device is nearly isothermal. A heat sink is in thermal communication with at least the liquid of the first gas-liquid mixture for transferring heat therefrom, and a heat source is in thermal communication with at least the liquid of the second gas-liquid mixture for transferring heat thereto. A device is provided for transferring heat between at least the gas of the first gas-liquid mixture after the first fluid stream exits the compressing device and at least the gas of the second gas-liquid mixture after the second fluid stream exits the expanding device. The compressing and expanding devices are not liquid-ring compressors or expanders, but instead are devices that tolerate liquid flooding, such as scroll-type compressors and expanders.

Engine embodiments primarily designed for aircraft propulsion and power generation incorporating the Carnot cycle for efficient combustion with typical embodiments including air compressors having one or more stages with isothermal compression and including combustion and expansion chambers having in part isothermal expansion before final adiabatic expansion.

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.