Heat Engine With Moveable Separators for Waste Heat Utilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat pump and heat engine technologies face inefficiencies in utilizing waste heat from thermodynamic cycles, which is often discharged as waste without practical purpose, limiting their ability to provide simultaneous heating, cooling, and power generation effectively.
Innovation Solution
The proposed apparatus includes a vessel with a hot side and a cold side in fluid communication, featuring moveable separators and displacers that allow for near adiabatic expansion and compression, enabling sequential filling and emptying of volumes to optimize the thermodynamic cycle, thereby enhancing cooling, heating, and power generation capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If waste heat is discharged without utilization, then the system complexity is reduced, but energy efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The thermodynamic cycle system performs multiple functions simultaneously: it generates power through the cycle operation, provides heating during the heating phase, and delivers cooling during the cooling phase. This multi-functionality allows waste heat to be utilized for both heating and cooling purposes, improving energy efficiency without proportionally increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state parameters of the working fluid (temperature, pressure, volume) through controlled compression and expansion phases. By manipulating these parameters, the system can extract useful work during compression and generate cooling during expansion, thereby utilizing waste heat effectively while maintaining manageable system complexity
2Productivity
If simultaneous heating, cooling, and power generation are implemented, then energy efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the thermodynamic cycle into distinct phases (compression phase and expansion phase) with separate heat exchangers for heating and cooling. This segmentation allows each component to perform a specific function, enabling simultaneous heating, cooling, and power generation while keeping the overall system complexity manageable through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the power generation cycle with heating and cooling functions into a single integrated apparatus. The thermodynamic cycle simultaneously produces work and transfers heat to both heating and cooling loads, combining multiple functions into one system rather than requiring separate systems for each function
3Loss of energy
If near adiabatic processes are used, then energy efficiency is improved, but heat transfer control becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs periodic alternation between compression phases and expansion phases, where heat transfer is actively controlled during compression and adiabatic conditions are maintained during expansion. This periodic switching between heat transfer modes allows the system to achieve near adiabatic processes while maintaining operational control through rhythmic phase transitions
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 solution enables the apparatus to efficiently utilize waste heat for both cooling and heating, while generating power, by allowing near adiabatic processes that improve the overall efficiency of the thermodynamic cycle, effectively addressing the inefficiencies in existing technologies.
Implementation Method 1
a displacer positioned within the vessel. The displacer is moveable to the hot side of the vessel to displace working fluid from the hot side into the cold side via the flow path
Implementation Method 2
a separator positioned within the cold side of the vessel to divide the cold side into separate volumes including a first volume on a side of the separator closer to the displacer and a second volume on an opposite side of the separator further from the displacer. The separator is moveable to selectively communicate the first volume to the flow path and the second volume to the flow path to allow the first and second volumes to have different temperatures of working fluid
Implementation Method 3
The proposed apparatus includes a vessel with a hot side and a cold side in fluid communication, featuring moveable separators and displacers that allow for near adiabatic expansion and compression
Implementation Method 4
The proposed apparatus includes a vessel with a hot side and a cold side in fluid communication, featuring moveable separators and displacers that allow for near adiabatic expansion and compression
Implementation Method 5
The apparatus further includes a heat exchanger in fluid communication with the cold side of the vessel
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, which may be operated as a heat engine and/or a heat pump, includes moveable separators at a cold side and/or moveable separators at a hot side. Each separator divides a volume into two smaller volumes. Working fluid may be sequentially filled and emptied from volumes between the separators. The separators may move to maintain uniform pressure in the volumes. Hot-side separators may allow for near adiabatic compression/expansion of working fluid. Cold-side separators may allow for near adiabatic expansion/compression of working fluid. Two displacers are positioned between the cold-side separators and the hot-side separators. The displacers are independently actuatable to force working fluid into and out of the volumes between separators and into and out of a variable intermediate volume between the displacers. Heat exchangers, including a warming heat exchanger, are provided to heat, cool, and warm working fluid as it flows between separated volumes and the intermediate volume.