Mechanism for enhanced energy extraction and cooling of pressurized gas at low flow rates

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10495353-B2
Application number	US-201514839246-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 28, 2015
Priority date	May 28, 2012
Publication date	Dec 3, 2019
Grant date	Dec 3, 2019

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices relating to a mechanism which can be used in gas cooling devices, pneumatic motors, turbines and other pressurized gas devices. A rotatable rotor is provided along with a number of hollow conduits that radially radiate from an exit port at the center of the rotor. The pressurized gas is injected into the mechanism at the inlet port(s). The gas enters the conduits and travels from the inlet port(s) to the exit port(s). In doing so, the gas causes the rotor to rotate about its central axis while the gas cools. This results in a colder gas at the exit port(s) than at the inlet port(s) due to an enhanced extraction of work, while maintaining a very low flow rate at the cold outlet.

First claim

We claim:

1. A mechanism comprising:
a rotatable rotor having an axis of rotation;
an exit port;
an inlet port, said inlet port being for receiving pressurized gas;
a hollow conduit, said hollow conduit directly connecting said inlet port to said exit port;
a refrigeration section for cooling said pressurized gas, said refrigeration section including said rotor;
a conversion section for converting rotational energy of said rotor to heat, thereby achieving a cooling of said pressurized gas, said conversion section including a heat sink, at least one bearing, and a shroud, wherein said conversion section is for absorbing said heat; and
a thermal break section, said thermal break section comprising a separation ring that separates said rotor from said shroud and from said heat sink to provide thermal isolation between said refrigeration section and said conversion section;

wherein
a radial distance between said axis of rotation and said exit port is less than a radial distance between said axis of rotation and said inlet port;
pressurized gas received at said inlet port passes from said inlet port to said exit port through said conduit to thereby cause said rotor to rotate about said axis of rotation;
after passing through said conduit, said pressurized gas at said exit port is colder than said pressurized gas at said inlet port.

2. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said thermal break section further comprises a rotor sleeve and said conversion section is further thermally isolated from said refrigeration section by said rotor sleeve.

3. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one bearing is placed on only one side of said rotor to thermally isolate said conversion section from said refrigeration section.

4. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said mechanism lowers a temperature of said pressurized gas and converts energy extracted from said pressurized gas into rotational work.

5. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said pressurized gas is injected at said inlet port, said pressurized gas being injected at a direction tangential to said rotor and at right angles to said axis of rotation.

6. The mechanism according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one other exit port.

7. The mechanism according to claim 6 , further comprising at least one further inlet port and at least one further conduit, said at least one further conduit connecting said at least one further inlet port to either said at least one other exit port or said exit port.

8. The mechanism according to claim 6 , further comprising at least one further inlet port and at least one further conduit, said at least one further conduit connecting said at least one further inlet port to said exit port.

9. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein a rotation of said rotor is used to partially pressurize a gas to result in said pressurized gas.

10. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between said axis of rotation and said exit port is at a minimum.

11. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein a flow rate for said pressurized gas at said exit port is between 9 and 24 scfm (255 and 708 slpm).

12. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said exit port is at a center of said rotor.

13. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said conversion section further includes a fan adjacent to said heat sink.

14. The mechanism according to claim 13 , wherein said fan is powered by said rotational energy.

15. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said refrigeration section includes at least one of: an inlet plenum and a nozzle ring.

16. The mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said heat sink is adjacent to said shroud on an opposite side from said separation ring.

Assignees

• Univ Western Ontario

Inventors

• Polihronov Jeliazko
• Straatman Anthony

Classifications

• F25B9/04 Primary

  using vortex effect · CPC title