Segmented Exhaust Heat Recovery System for Stirling Engine Power Uniformity
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing exhaust heat recovery systems using multiple Stirling engines face a power generation disparity due to overlapping heat exchanger flows and reduced exhaust gas flow into downstream heaters, leading to inconsistent energy recovery.
Innovation Solution
The system employs multiple exhaust heat recovery engines with heaters oriented from upstream to downstream in the heat medium flow direction, utilizing separate heat medium passages and optionally independent pipes, with a partitioning member and heat insulator to ensure consistent energy transfer and reduce power differences between engines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If multiple Stirling engines are disposed in series along the exhaust gas flow path, then the total power generation capacity increases, but the power output becomes uneven between upstream and downstream engines
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust gas flow path is segmented into multiple independent heat medium passages, with each passage serving a specific Stirling engine. This segmentation ensures that each engine receives an independent supply of exhaust gas, preventing the cascading temperature reduction that occurs in series arrangements and enabling uniform power output across all engines.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a one-dimensional series arrangement (engines disposed along the flow path) to a multi-dimensional parallel arrangement (engines distributed across multiple spatial dimensions with independent passages). This dimensional change allows all engines to access fresh exhaust gas simultaneously, eliminating the upstream-downstream power disparity.
2Use of energy by moving object
If heaters are disposed overlapping the exhaust gas flow, then heat recovery efficiency improves, but exhaust gas temperature reduces progressively along the flow path
Solution Approach 1:
The single exhaust gas flow path is segmented into multiple independent heat medium passages, each dedicated to a specific heater-Stirling engine pair. This segmentation allows each heater to independently extract heat from its own portion of exhaust gas without progressively reducing the temperature available to downstream heaters, thereby maintaining uniform heat recovery efficiency across all engines.
3Device complexity
If a single exhaust passage is shared by multiple heaters, then device complexity is reduced, but heat energy distribution becomes uneven
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the exhaust gas distribution into multiple independent heat medium passages, with each passage exclusively serving one heater-Stirling engine unit. This segmentation eliminates the competitive heat extraction that occurs in shared passages, ensuring uniform heat energy distribution to all engines while maintaining relatively simple individual passage configurations.
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 thermal efficiency by maintaining consistent heat energy transfer across engines, reducing power disparities and optimizing energy recovery from exhaust gases.
Implementation Method 1
a heater for giving heat energy of a heat medium exhausted from an exhaust heat recovery target to working fluid
Data Source
AI summary
An exhaust heat recovery system includes a plurality of Starling engines. Heaters of the Starling engines are disposed in an exhaust passage that is a heat medium passage. An inside of the exhaust passage is partitioned with a partitioning member into a first exhaust passage and a second exhaust passage. The heater of the Starling engine disposed on an upstream side in a flowing direction of exhaust gas is provided in the first exhaust passage, and the heater of the Starling engine disposed on a downstream side in the flowing direction of the exhaust gas is provided in the second exhaust passage.