Claims
- 1. A rotary Rankine cycle engine comprising:
- a cylindrical housing rotatable about its axis
- a coaxial annular boiler associated with said housing and rotatable therewith, said housing and boiler adapted to be rotated at a first predetermined speed to maintain in the boiler an annular body of boiler liquid having a liquid/vapor interface spaced a predetermined distance radially from said axis,
- means to rotationally drive the housing and boiler at said first predetermined speed,
- means to heat the liquid in the boiler and generate pressure vapor therein,
- an expander mounted coaxially within the housing for extracting work from the pressure vapor generated in the boiler and including a coaxial driving member rotatably driven thereby at a second predetermined speed,
- an annular regenerator chamber radially inward of the boiler defined by portions of the housing,
- means for discharging exhaust vapor from the expander and delivering same to the regenerator chamber,
- an annular regenerator in said chamber rotatable with the housing comrpising at least one annular series of a plurality of equally circumferentially spaced axially extending heat exchange tubes each having thereon an array of a plurality of axially spaced annular fins operable by rotation thereof to convey exhaust vapor discharged to said chamber outwardly between said fins,
- a plurality of small elements of high thermal conductivity substantially filling each of the heat exchange tubes of said regenerator,
- a condenser for the exhaust vapor mounted coaxially adjacent the housing and rotatable therewith,
- means for conducting exhaust vapor after passage through the regenerator to said condenser and for returning liquid condensate therefrom to the regenerator for passage through the tubes thereof in heat exchange relation with exhaust vapor conveyed between the fins thereon,
- and means for returning the liquid condensate to the boiler after passage through the regenerator tubes.
- 2. A rotary engine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the regenerator comprises a plurality of radially spaced concentric series of circumferentially equally spaced axially extending heat exchange tubes each having thereon an array of a plurality of axially spaced annular fins.
- 3. A rotary engine as claimed in claim 2 wherein connections are provided between the regenerator tubes of adjacent concentric series so that liquid condensate flows first through the radially outermost series of tubes and then sequentially through the inner series of tubes in counter cross flow heat exchange relation to the flow of exhaust vapor through the fins on the tubes.
- 4. A rotary engine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the small elements of high thermal conductivity in the regenerator tubes are of sinterable material and said tubes and said elements therein are sintered to bond the elements to one another and to said tubes.
- 5. A rotary engine as claimed in claim 2 wherein each of the regenerator tubes in both concentric series thereof is substantially filled with a plurality of small elements of high thermal conductivity.
- 6. A rotary engine as claimed in claim 5 wherein the small elements of high thermal conductivity in the regenerator tubes are of sinterable material and said tubes and said elements therein are sintered to bond the elements to one another and to said tubes.
- 7. A rotary engine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for returning liquid condensate from the regenerator to the boiler includes a rotatable pre-heater comprising an annular series of equally circunferentially spaced axially extending heat exchange tubes spaced radially outward from the boiler, each of said tubes having thereon an array of a plurality of axially spaced annular fins, and each of the tubes of the pre-heater is substantially filled with a plurality of small metal elements of high thermal conductivity.
- 8. A rotary engine as claimed in claim 7 wherein the pre-heater tubes and small elements therein are sintered to bond said elements to one another and to said tubes.
- 9. A rotary engine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the condenser comprises a plurality of circumferentially equally spaced axially extending heat exchanger tubes each having thereon an array of axially spaced annular fins and said condenser tubes are spaced radially from the rotation axis of the engine a distance less than the heat exchange tubes of the regenerator.
- 10. A rotary engine as claimed in claim 7 wherein the condenser comprises a plurality of circumferentially equally spaced axially extending heat exchanger tubes each having thereon an array of axially spaced annular fins and said condenser tubes are spaced radially from the rotation axis of the engine a distance less than the heat exchanger tubes of the regenerator.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of our parent application U.S. Ser. No. 520,344, filed Nov. 4, 1974, now abandonned.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
520344 |
Nov 1974 |
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