Heat Engine With Common Prestressing Fluid Pressure Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat engines face efficiency issues due to fluctuating heat supply conditions, particularly when using solar heat, as they require balanced heating and cooling phases to maintain prestressing pressure, which is challenging with variable temperature differences.
Innovation Solution
A heat engine design where a common prestressing fluid applies pressure to all cylinder-piston units, with a control system adjusting heating and cooling phases based on measured prestressing pressure to maintain a predetermined range, allowing for dynamic coupling and adaptation to varying conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If a mechanical coupling of two cylinder-piston units by means of a crankshaft or by opposed cylinder assembly is used to maintain prestressing pressure, then the prestressing pressure can be maintained, but the heating and cooling phases must be about equal in length which reduces adaptability to fluctuating heat supply
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the cylinder-piston units into independent controllable groups, allowing individual units to be operated in heating or cooling phases based on current heat supply conditions. This segmentation enables flexible adaptation while maintaining prestressing pressure through the common prestressing fluid system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the number of cylinder-piston units in heating versus cooling phases based on real-time heat supply conditions and measured prestressing pressure. This dynamic control allows the system to adapt to fluctuating heat supply while maintaining optimal prestressing pressure through active feedback control.
2Duration of action of moving object
If the cooling phase is accelerated by removing heat as rapidly as possible to make it shorter than the heating phase, then the phase balance can be improved, but this is scarcely realisable in practice due to limited temperature difference for cooling
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of accelerating cooling in a single system, the invention segments the cylinder-piston units and allows some to be in heating phase while others are in cooling phase. This distributes the thermal load and enables practical operation within available temperature differences.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses periodic alternation of heating and cooling phases across different cylinder-piston units. By cycling units between heating and cooling modes in a controlled sequence, the system achieves effective thermal management without requiring unrealistic cooling rates.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the number of cylinder-piston units in heating and cooling phases is increased or decreased to adapt to changing conditions, then adaptability improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The common prestressing fluid system serves multiple functions: it maintains prestressing pressure on all expansion fluids simultaneously and provides a feedback mechanism for controlling the heating and cooling phases. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity while enabling high adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system uses feedback from pressure gauges measuring prestressing pressure to automatically adjust the number of cylinder-piston units in heating versus cooling phases. This closed-loop feedback control simplifies the complexity by providing automatic adaptation rather than requiring complex manual coordination.
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 approach ensures consistent efficiency and optimal operation under changing ambient conditions by dynamically adjusting the number of cylinder-piston units in heating and cooling phases, effectively managing prestressing pressure and accommodating highly fluctuating heat supplies.
Implementation Method 1
an expansion fluid, which stands under prestressing pressure and which changes its volume in the case of a change of temperature and thus moves the piston
Implementation Method 2
a common prestressing fluid acts on the pistons of all cylinder-piston units in order to exert a common prestressing pressure on the expansion fluids
Implementation Method 3
elements for the individually controllable supply of heat to the expansion fluid of each cylinder-piston unit
Implementation Method 4
controls the heating and cooling phases of the heat supply elements in dependence on the measured prestressing pressure
Data Source
AI summary
Heat engine with at least two cylinder-piston units, each containing an expansion fluid, which stands under a prestressing pressure and which changes its volume in the case of a change of temperature and thus moves the piston, elements for the individually controllable supply of heat to the expansion fluid of each cylinder-piston unit, and a control means controlling the heat supply elements to allow each expansion fluid to alternately heat up and cool down and thus move the pistons, wherein a common prestressing fluid acts on the pistons of all cylinder-piston units in order to exert a common prestressing pressure on the expansion fluids, the control means is fitted with a pressure gauge for the prestressing pressure, and the control means controls the heating and cooling phases of the heat supply elements in dependence on the measured prestressing pressure in order to hold the prestressing pressure within a predetermined range.