Heat Engine Cylinder Control for Fluctuating Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat engines face inefficiencies in decoupling work from cylinder-piston units, particularly in managing fluctuating ambient conditions and maintaining optimal preload pressures for expansion fluids like liquid carbon dioxide, which affects their operational efficiency and environmental impact.
Innovation Solution
The heat engine employs a dual-pressure system where the preload fluid also serves as the working fluid, using check valves to create pressure differences for hydraulic load and mechanical work, with a control device adjusting the number of cylinder-piston units in heating and cooling phases and pressure ranges to maintain optimal operating conditions, and incorporates forced cooling mechanisms for enhanced efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a common preload fluid is used to establish uniform preload pressure in all cylinder-piston units, then the system structure is simplified, but the ability to adapt to fluctuating ambient conditions and maintain optimal individual pressures is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the common preload fluid system into individual preload circuits for each cylinder-piston unit. Each unit has its own preload pump and control valve, allowing independent pressure regulation. This segmentation enables each cylinder to adapt to fluctuating ambient conditions while maintaining overall system simplicity through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic pressure control for each cylinder-piston unit through programmable control valves that can adjust preload pressure in real-time based on ambient conditions and operational requirements. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the system to maintain optimal performance despite fluctuations in temperature and load conditions.
2Productivity
If liquid carbon dioxide is used as expansion fluid with high coefficient of thermal expansion, then operational efficiency in low-temperature range is improved, but maintaining minimum preload pressure under fluctuating conditions becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates pressure sensors in each cylinder-piston unit that continuously monitor preload pressure and provide feedback to the control system. When pressure drops below the minimum required level, the control valve automatically adjusts to restore pressure, ensuring reliable operation of the liquid carbon dioxide expansion fluid under all ambient conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses programmable control to anticipate and prevent pressure drops below minimum levels. The control system is configured with predetermined pressure thresholds and automatically activates corrective actions before reliability is compromised, ensuring continuous optimal operation of the expansion fluid.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the number of cylinder-piston units in heating and cooling phases is balanced, then system stability is improved, but responsiveness to rapidly changing ambient conditions is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic switching of cylinder-piston units between heating and cooling phases with programmable timing. This allows the system to maintain overall stability through balanced operation while responding rapidly to changing conditions by adjusting the phase timing and sequence of individual units according to real-time ambient conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enhances the heat engine's efficiency by adapting to fluctuating conditions, ensuring minimum preload pressures are maintained, and allows for environmentally friendly CO2 recycling, contributing to carbon sequestration through optimized operation and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Implementation Method 1
each of which contains an expansion fluid that is under a preload pressure, which changes its volume when the temperature changes and thus moves the piston
Implementation Method 2
by creating two pressure levels in the preload fluid, which are separated from one another by the check valves mentioned during the extension movement (high pressure) and retraction movement (low pressure) of the pistons, a pressure difference can be obtained which is direct used to drive a hydraulic load and converted there into mechanical work
Implementation Method 3
a control device that controls the heat supply device in order to alternately heat and cool each expansion fluid and thereby move the pistons
Implementation Method 4
a control device that controls the heat supply device in order to alternately heat and cool each expansion fluid and thereby move the pistons
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2c
Figure 3
AI summary
Heat engine (1) having at least two cylinder/piston units (2-5) which in each case contain an expansion fluid (8) under a charging pressure, a device (16-20) for the individually controllable heat supply to the expansion fluid (8) of each cylinder/piston unit (2-5), and a control device (21) which controls the heat supply device (16-20), wherein the pistons (7) of the cylinder/piston units (2-5) are loaded by a common charging fluid (9), the charging fluid (8) is guided from the cylinder/piston units (2-5) via first non-return valves (12') to an inlet (11') and via second non-return valves (12'') which are directed in the opposite direction to an outlet (11'') of a hydraulic load (10), the control device (21) is equipped with a first pressure gauge (22'') for the pressure (p2) of the charging fluid (9) at the outlet (11'') of the load (10), and the control device (21) controls the heating and cooling phases of the heat supply device (16-20) at least depending on the measured outlet pressure (p2), in order to keep said pressure within a predetermined first range (P2,min, P2,max).