Vortex chamber

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12546343-B2
Application number	US-202118037453-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 17, 2021
Priority date	Nov 23, 2020
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a vortex chamber comprising a cavity elongating along a central axis and a swirl generator. The swirl generator comprises a plurality of swirl channels configured for introducing a gas flow into the cavity as a vortex flow about the central axis, each swirl channel comprising a channel entrance and a channel exit. The swirl generator further comprises a gas redistribution chamber comprising one or more main gas supply inlets for receiving a gas, a distribution channel configured for distributing the gas received from the one or more main gas supply inlets to the channel entrances of the swirl channels, and one or more blocking walls configured for blocking and unblocking one or more entrances of the plurality of swirl channels. The vortex chamber is further configured for relatively rotating the channel entrances of the swirl channels with respect to the one or more blocking walls from a first angular position to at least a second angular position and vice versa, and wherein when in the second angular position the one or more blocking walls block a larger number of channel entrances than when in the first angular position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A vortex chamber comprising a cavity elongating along a central axis and a swirl generator, said swirl generator comprising:
a plurality of swirl channels configured for introducing a gas flow into the cavity as a vortex flow about the central axis, each of the swirl channels comprising a channel entrance and a channel exit,
characterized in that:
said swirl generator further comprises:
a gas redistribution chamber comprising:
one or more main gas supply inlets for receiving a gas,
a distribution channel configured for distributing the gas received from said one or more main gas supply inlets to the channel entrances of said swirl channels, and
one or more blocking walls configured for blocking and unblocking one or more entrances of the plurality of swirl channels, and wherein the vortex chamber is configured for relatively rotating the channel entrances with respect to the one or more blocking walls from a first angular position to at least a second angular position and vice versa, and wherein when in said second angular position the one or more blocking walls block a larger number of channel entrances than when in said first angular position.

2 . The vortex chamber according to claim 1 , wherein the cavity is radially delimited by a cavity peripheral wall and wherein each swirl channel is traversing the cavity peripheral wall from the channel entrance at an outer side of the cavity peripheral wall to the channel exit at an inner side of the cavity peripheral wall, and wherein the vortex chamber is configured for relatively rotating the cavity peripheral wall or for relatively rotating at least a portion of the cavity peripheral wall comprising the plurality of swirl channels with respect to said one or more blocking walls for performing said rotation from the first angular position to the second angular position and vice versa.

3 . The vortex chamber according to claim 2 , wherein said gas redistribution chamber comprises a circumferential side encircling or partly encircling said outer side of the cavity peripheral wall or encircling or partly encircling at least a portion of the outer side of the cavity peripheral wall comprising the channel entrances of the plurality of swirl channels, and wherein one or more wall portions of said circumferential side of the gas redistribution chamber are forming said one or more blocking walls.

4 . The vortex chamber according to claim 3 , wherein said circumferential side of the gas redistribution chamber comprises two or more wall openings configured for supplying the gas to the entrances of the swirl channels, and
wherein said one or more wall portions forming the one or more blocking walls correspond to the wall portions of the circumferential side of the gas redistribution chamber separating the two or more wall openings from each other.

5 . The vortex chamber according to claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the cavity is cylindrical and wherein said swirl channels are tangential with respect to said cylindrical portion.

6 . The vortex chamber according to claim 1 , wherein the cavity is axially delimited by a cavity axial wall and wherein each of the swirl channels is traversing the cavity axial wall from the channel entrance at an outer side of the cavity axial wall to the channel exit at an inner side of the cavity axial wall, and
wherein the vortex chamber is configured for relatively rotating the cavity axial wall, or at least a portion of the cavity axial wall comprising the swirl channels, with respect to said one or more blocking walls for performing said rotation from the first to the second angular position and vice versa.

7 . The vortex chamber according to claim 6 , wherein said gas redistribution chamber comprises an axial side facing said outer side of the cavity axial wall, and wherein one or more wall portions of said axial side of the gas redistribution chamber are forming said one or more blocking walls.

8 . The vortex chamber according to claim 7 , wherein said axial side of the gas redistribution chamber comprises two or more wall openings configured for supplying the gas to the entrances of the swirl channels, and wherein said one or more wall portions forming the one or more blocking walls correspond to the wall portions of the axial side of the gas redistribution chamber separating the two or more wall openings from each other.

9 . The vortex chamber according to claim 1 , wherein #C≥2×#B, with #C and #B being respectively a number of the swirl channels and a number of the blocking walls.

10 . The vortex chamber according to claim 9 , wherein said plurality of swirl channels are grouped into groups of said swirl channels wherein #B=#G, with #G being the number of groups, each group comprising two or more of said swirl channels.

11 . The vortex chamber according to claim 9 , wherein 2≤#C≤200 and 1≤#B≤100.

12 . The vortex chamber according to claim 11 , wherein 4≤#C≤200 and 2≤#B≤100.

13 . The vortex chamber according to claim 1 , wherein when in said first angular position no channel entrances of the plurality of swirl channels are blocked and when in said second angular position a portion of the channel entrances of the plurality of swirl channels are blocked.

14 . The vortex chamber according to claim 1 , further comprising a gas outlet, wherein the gas outlet is configured for outputting gas in a direction parallel with the central axis of the cavity.

15 . The vortex chamber according to claim 1 , wherein the rotation from the first angular position to the second angular position is automated.

16 . The vortex type or reverse vortex type plasma reactor comprising the vortex chamber according to claim 1 .

17 . The combustion device comprising the vortex chamber according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Univ Antwerpen

Inventors

• Trenchev Georgi
• Bogaerts Annemie

Classifications

• F23C2900/03004

  Tubular combustion chambers with swirling fuel/air flow · CPC title

• F23C7/002

  the air being submitted to a rotary or spinning motion (cyclonic combustion chamber F23C3/006) · CPC title

• F23C3/006

  the chamber being arranged for cyclonic combustion (for waste F23G5/32) · CPC title

• H05H1/3468

  Vortex generators · CPC title

• F15D1/0015 Primary

  Whirl chambers, e.g. vortex valves · CPC title