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| Determining the coefficient of performance of a refrigeration system |
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| Solar water heater |
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| Passive solar energy water preheat system using non-freezing heat transport mediums |
| OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, and to FIG. 1 in particular, there is shown ... |
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Mechanically compliant and portable catalytic heating device
| Details |
Inventors: Welles, Clifford G.;
Assignee:
Primary Examiner: Jones; Larry
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Skjerven Morrill Macpherson Franklin and Frie
A portable heat generating device in which fuel vapor (e.g. methanol) and an oxygen supply (e.g. air) are uniformly released through porous tubes woven with catalyst-impregnated glass filaments into a sheet-shaped, fabric-like structure enclosed in a mylar envelope. The catalyst promotes flameless combustion of the fuel vapor and oxygen, with consequent heat release occurring uniformly over the fabric-like structure. The heat generation process is started by pumping liquid fuel and air into the porous tubes using a peristaltic pump, thereby building up hydraulic pressure within the liquid fuel portion of the microbore-tubes. The level of pressure sustained within the liquid fuel portion of the microbore-tubes is limited by a manually set variable pressure release valve. The pressure in the microbore-tubes forces the liquid fuel within the porous microbore-tubing through the pores where it is converted into a vapor state before reacting with the oxygen and catalyst to produce flameless combustion. An exhaust tube expels the by-products of flameless combustion (i.e., mainly CO2 and H2O) from the enclosing envelope directly to the ambient atmosphere. As these gases escape from the envelope, a one-way check valve opens to refresh the air supply delivered to the air-carrying microbore-tubes to sustain the heat generating reaction without requiring continuous operation of the pump. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention is directed to a portable heat generating device in which fuel vapor (e.
g.
methanol) and an oxygen supply (e.
g.
air) are uniformly released throughout a sheet-shaped, fabric-like structure.
A catalyst is provided to promote flameless combustion of the fuel vapor and oxygen, with consequent heat release occurring uniformly over the fabric-like structure.
By employing fuel vapor and a catalyst, the necessity for regenerating or disposing of powdered exothermic material is eliminated.
Further, by directing the heat generating material (fuel vapor) to desired heating locations, the need for circulating a heat transfer fluid is also eliminated.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the fabric-like structure is constructed of catalyst-impregnated glass yarn woven around porous microbore-tubes using a standard hand loom and is contained within a sealed envelope.
The catalytic material is platinum.
A pump forces the liquid methanol through a first plurality of the tubes via a fuel inlet manifold, and the oxygen supply through a plurality of the tubes via an air inlet manifold.
The microbore -tubes are arranged in parallel within the fabric-like structure such that every other microbore-tube carries liquid methanol, alternating with microbore-tubes carrying the oxygen supply.
Fuel vapor and oxygen are uniformly released through the pores of the microbore-tubes in the presence of the platinum-coated glass fibers, thereby initiating flameless combustion which results in heat generation.
In operation, the heat generation process is started by first setting a flow direction of a peristaltic pump by sliding a button on the pump housing to the "on" position.
This ensures that the flow of fuel and air through the pump is directed toward the inlet manifolds attached to the microbore-tubes.
The pump is then stroked manually several times using a pull-tab.
This transfers fuel and air into the porous microbore-tubes of the fabric-like structure, at the same time building up hydraulic pressure within the liquid fuel portion of the microbore-tubes
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