JP2007046484A - Rotary solar energy steam engine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively obtain mechanical energy from solar heat existing in nature by a steam engine with a simple composition. <P>SOLUTION: A rotor 1 provided with a plurality of volume chambers 11 is rotatably arranged in a closed vessel 2 filled with liquid. A transparent part 4 is provided below the closed vessel 2. Sunlight penetrating through the transparent part 4 produces steam by heating liquid in the volume chamber 11. Since the steam builds up in the volume chamber 11, buoyant force acts on the volume chamber 11 on one side of the rotor 1 to produce rotation energy by rotating the rotor 1. With the rotation of the rotor 1, steam in the volume chamber 11 is discharged inside the closed vessel 2 to lead to a capacitor 3, in which the steam is condensed to circulate to the closed vessel 2. Since the pressure inside the closed vessel 2 is kept to be a saturated vapor pressure by a vacuum pump 34, liquid is evaporated even at low temperature. By so doing, the rotor 1 can be rotated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a steam engine for converting thermal energy into mechanical energy such as rotational energy, and more particularly to a steam engine having a simple configuration that efficiently generates mechanical energy from solar heat existing in nature. Is.

  In recent years, various energy resource utilization techniques have been developed from the viewpoints of environmental measures, resource saving, and energy saving. Among them, there is a technique for extracting mechanical energy using solar heat, which is natural energy, as a heat source. Generally, a heat engine (engine) is used to convert heat energy into mechanical energy such as rotational energy, and the same applies to solar heat.

  A heat engine such as an internal combustion engine or a steam turbine generates high-temperature and high-pressure working fluid by burning normal fuel such as oil and natural gas, and converts heat energy into mechanical energy. Thermal efficiency is high because mechanical energy is extracted from the heat source. However, when using solar heat, apart from a large-scale solar heat plant equipped with a large-scale concentrator, the heat source by solar heat is generally not so high, that is, heat energy in a low temperature state. In order to efficiently extract mechanical energy from such a heat source, a heat engine suitable for a low-temperature heat source is required.

  As a heat engine for generating mechanical energy from a low-temperature heat source such as solar heat, there is an engine disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-20706. As shown in FIG. 3, the engine includes a steam generation unit 101 and a cooling unit 102, and these are connected by a nozzle 103. A turbine 106 is disposed at a position facing the nozzle 103 of the cooling unit 102, and the turbine 106 rotates integrally with the magnet 107. Inside the magnet 107, a stationary power generation coil 110 is disposed so as to face the magnet 107, and the magnet 107 and the power generation coil 110 constitute a power generation device. The steam generation unit 101 and the cooling unit 102 are hermetically sealed, and water 104 as a working fluid is sealed therein, and the internal air and the like are exhausted by a vacuum pump. A large number of heat pipes 105 for heat dissipation are attached above the cooling unit 102.

  The steam generating unit 101 and the cooling unit 102 form a heat pipe as a whole, and the water 104 heated from below by the steam generating unit 101 to become water vapor is jetted from the nozzle 103 to the blades of the turbine 106. Thereby, the turbine 106 and the magnet 107 rotate to generate rotational energy, and the rotational energy is finally converted into electric energy by the magnet 107 and the power generation coil 110 and is output to the outside. The steam after driving the turbine 106 is cooled and returned to water as the heat pipe 105 dissipates heat. This condensate falls below the cooling unit 102 due to gravity, and is returned to the steam generation unit 101 from the center.

A heat pipe that uses evaporation and condensation of a liquid sealed in a sealed container is generally used as a heat transport means, that is, a heat transfer device. However, since the liquid vapor enclosed in the heat pipe moves with a large velocity energy, it is possible to take out power from this as described above, and in this case, mechanical energy is obtained from a low-temperature heat source. Can be taken out.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-20706

  The turbine shown in Patent Document 1 is a so-called speed type engine that uses the velocity energy of the working fluid. However, in order to operate the turbine efficiently, the rotational speed of the turbine is increased and the peripheral speed thereof is changed to the steam speed. It needs to be increased to a comparable value. When the turbine is downsized and the diameter is reduced, the turbine rotation speed becomes very high, and a large centrifugal force acts on the turbine, which may cause damage, and to drive the load with a high-speed engine Usually, it is indispensable to install a reduction gear to reduce the rotational speed. Even when a generator is used to extract power in the form of electric energy, a high-speed generator has a complicated control device and the like. Furthermore, when the temperature of the heating unit is low and the steam is low temperature, the degree of superheat of the steam is low, so that water droplets are likely to be generated by cooling. When water droplets are generated, they collide with the turbine blades at high speed, and the turbine blades undergo erosion due to the collision of water droplets, so-called erosion.

Further, when the heat engine is housed in a sealed container and rotated, the rotating shaft must be supported by a bearing having a sealing property. A precision bearing is required to support a rotating shaft that rotates at a high speed, such as a turbine. To support the shaft while ensuring sealing performance, a complicated and expensive bearing is used for maintenance. Management costs also increase.
An object of the present invention is to provide a heat engine having a simple configuration suitable for obtaining mechanical energy using solar heat as a heat source, and to solve the above-described problems in the conventional heat engine.

In view of the above problems, the steam engine according to the present invention has a buoyancy generated by disposing a rotor provided with a plurality of volume chambers in a sealed container filled with liquid and irradiating the volume chamber with sunlight to evaporate the liquid. Rotating the rotor using the power efficiently extracts the power even with a low rotation with a simple structure. That is, the present invention
“Installing a sealed container filled with liquid, and placing a condenser for condensing liquid vapor in communication with the sealed container above the sealed container,
Provided inside the sealed container is a rotor having a plurality of volume chambers, and the rotor is immersed in a liquid and supported rotatably on the sealed container;
The sealed container is provided with a translucent part that allows light to pass through the sealed container,
By irradiating the volume chamber with sunlight from the light transmitting portion, the liquid in the volume chamber is evaporated,
Rotating the rotor by applying buoyancy to one side of the rotor "
It is a steam engine characterized by this.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that a partition wall that is inclined backward in the rotational direction with respect to the radial direction of the rotor is formed between the plurality of volume chambers of the rotor.

  In addition, as described in claim 3, it is preferable that a vacuum pump is connected to the capacitor so that the pressure in the sealed container and the capacitor is a saturated vapor pressure of the liquid.

In the steam engine of the present invention, a rotor having a plurality of volume chambers is immersed in a liquid in a sealed container enclosing the liquid, and the volume chamber on one side of the rotor is irradiated with sunlight to vapor. Is generated. The steam pushes the liquid in the volume chamber and fills the volume chamber on one side, and the vapor has a much smaller specific weight than the liquid, so the buoyancy due to the density difference acts on one side of the rotor and the rotational torque on the rotor Work. Since a plurality of volume chambers are continuously provided in the rotor, the rotor rotates continuously, and thus power can be taken out. Since the magnitude of the buoyancy acting on the rotor is independent of the rotational speed of the rotor, a constant torque can be obtained even when the rotor rotates at a low speed. Therefore, unlike a turbine that converts steam velocity energy into rotational energy, this engine can be operated efficiently even at low speeds.
Vapor in the volume chamber of the rotor is discharged into the liquid in the sealed container as the rotor rotates, and is sent into a condenser arranged at the upper part of the sealed container. The vapor is cooled and condensed here to become a liquid, which is refluxed into the sealed container.

  The rotor of this steam engine has a structure in which a plurality of volume chambers are formed on the outer periphery, and steam is generated by sunlight passing through the light-transmitting part of the sealed container. Therefore, there is no need to provide a movable member that moves relative to the rotor, a seal member for the movable portion, or the like. That is, since the structure is simple and simple, the durability is excellent and the maintenance management cost can be greatly reduced. Since the rotational speed is also low, it is not necessary to use a high-precision bearing for supporting the rotating shaft as in the turbine, and erosion caused by the collision of water droplets does not occur.

  When the partition wall inclined backward in the rotational direction with respect to the radial direction of the rotor is formed between the plurality of volume chambers of the rotor as in the invention of claim 2, the steam generated by the irradiation of sunlight is The liquid in the room is discharged toward the rear in the rotational direction of the rotor. The rotor receives a reaction for reaction from the discharged liquid, whereby the rotational torque acting on the rotor is assisted, and the output and efficiency of the steam engine can be further improved.

  When the vacuum pump is connected to the condenser and the gas such as air is exhausted from the condenser and the pressure in the sealed container and condenser is set to the saturated vapor pressure of the sealed liquid as in the invention of claim 3, The boiling point of the liquid drops and the liquid becomes a vapor state even at a low temperature. As a result, even when the temperature when heated by sunlight is not so high, the liquid easily becomes a vapor, and the engine can be operated efficiently to extract rotational energy.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of a steam engine according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A shows a surface orthogonal to the rotation axis of the rotor, and FIG. 1B shows a surface including the rotation axis of the rotor. FIG. 2 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the rotor during operation.

  The steam engine of the present invention has a sealed container 2 that accommodates the rotor 1, and water is sealed therein as a working fluid, and the sealed container 2 is almost filled with water. As shown in FIG. 1A, the cross section of the sealed container 2 is rectangular, but may be a circular cross section along the outer periphery of the rotor 1. A condenser 3 that condenses water vapor and condensates is installed at the top of the sealed container 2, and the sealed container 2 and the condenser are connected by a connecting short pipe and a joint. The condenser 3 includes a vapor reservoir 31 having a circular horizontal cross section. The upper portion of the vapor reservoir 31 cools and condenses the vapor by heat dissipation, so that a large number of tubes 32 communicating with the vapor reservoir 31 are circular. Arranged and mounted, the upper end of the tube 32 is closed. Further, a vacuum pump 34 is connected to the vapor reservoir 31 of the condenser 3 via a check valve 33, and gas such as air is exhausted to keep the inside of the condenser 3 and the sealed container 2 at a saturated vapor pressure.

  The light-transmitting part 4 that allows sunlight to pass through is provided at the lower part of the sealed container 2. In this embodiment, the light-transmitting part 4 includes a through-hole 41 having a circular cross section formed on the side wall of the sealed container 2, and this. It is comprised from the lens body 42 attached to the outer side of the side wall of the airtight container 2 so that it may close. The lens body 42 is made of a transparent material having high strength such as tempered glass or acrylic resin. Instead of providing the through hole 41 having a circular cross section, the entire side wall or a part of the side wall of the sealed container 2 may be formed of a transparent material to serve as a translucent part.

  In the sealed container 2, the rotor 1 provided with a large number of volume chambers 11 is installed by being immersed in water. The volume chamber 11 is formed as a recess around the rotor 1, and both ends thereof are closed by side walls 12 and the outside is opened in the sealed container 2. A blade-shaped partition wall 13 is formed between the multiple volume chambers 11, and the partition wall 13 extends linearly from the root portion so as to incline backward in the rotor rotation direction with respect to the radial direction of the rotor 1. Therefore, the cross section of the rotor 1 has a watermill shape. In some cases, the partition wall 13 can be curved. Moreover, the black coating is given to the surface ahead of the rotation direction of the rotor 1 of the partition wall 13, and the conversion to the heat | fever of the irradiated sunlight ray is accelerated | stimulated. Both ends of the rotor 1 are supported by the side walls of the sealed container 2 so as to be rotatable.

  In the vicinity of one end of the rotor 1, as shown in FIG. 1B, a plurality of magnets 5 are embedded and fixed, and this rotates together with the rotor 1. A plurality of iron cores 7 and a power generation coil 6 surrounding them are placed at a position facing the magnet 5, and these are fixed to the side wall of the sealed container 2 on the end side where the magnet 5 is placed. Although not shown, an electric wire for taking out the generated power is connected to the power generation coil 6, and the magnet 5 and the power generation coil 6 are housed in a case that prevents water from entering. In this embodiment, rotational energy is output as electrical energy. A gear is fixed to the rotor 1, and a gear meshing with the rotor 1 is rotatably supported on the side wall of the hermetic container 2. Power can be taken out with.

Next, the operation of the steam engine of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Sunlight is guided toward the volume chamber 11 of the rotor 1 from the translucent portion 4 disposed below the sealed container 2 in which water is enclosed. For this reason, a condensing device comprising a mirror 43 and a condensing lens 44 is placed outside the steam engine, and sunlight S from the mirror 43 is converged by the condensing lens 44 which is a convex lens and is a concave lens. The lens body 42 irradiates the volume chamber 11 with parallel rays.

The irradiated sunlight becomes heat on the black front surface of the partition wall 13 to heat water in the volume chamber 11 and generate steam. This steam pushes the water in the volume chamber 11 and fills it. Accordingly, buoyancy based on the difference in density between steam and water acts on the volume chamber 11 on the left side of the central axis in FIG. 2, and clockwise rotational torque acts on the rotor 1 to rotate the rotor in the direction indicated by the white arrow. 1 will rotate.
The partition wall 13 is formed to be inclined backward in the rotational direction with respect to the radial direction of the rotor 1. For this reason, the steam generated by the heating of sunlight causes the water in the volume chamber 11 to be pushed backward in the rotational direction and discharged as shown by the solid line arrow in FIG. Give. In this way, rotational torque based on buoyancy acting on the rotor 1 can be assisted.

The steam in the volume chamber 11 is gradually released into the water of the sealed container 2 as the rotor 1 rotates, and the volume chamber 11 is filled with water again when the partition wall 13 becomes horizontal. At this time, when the partition wall 13 has a curved shape that is convex upward, the steam can be retained in the volume chamber 11 for a long time. Vapor released into the water becomes bubbles and rises in the sealed container 2, and is sent to the vapor reservoir 31 of the condenser 3 through the short pipe above the sealed container 2. The steam further enters the cooling pipe 32 where it is cooled to become condensate, and the condensate moves downward due to gravity and returns to the sealed container 2 through the short pipe. This evaporation and condensation process is similar to a heat pipe.
A vacuum pump 34 for discharging air or the like is connected to the capacitor 3, whereby the pressure inside the capacitor 3 and the sealed container 2 is lowered and maintained at the saturated water vapor pressure. For this reason, the boiling point of the water in the sealed container 2 is lowered, and even in a low temperature state where the temperature of the portion heated by sunlight is not so high, the water evaporates to become water vapor, and the rotor 1 rotates. Rotational torque can be generated.

  The rotational energy of the rotor 1 is extracted to the outside as electric energy by the mutual electromagnetic action between the fluctuating magnetic field generated in the iron core 7 by the magnet 5 rotating integrally with the rotor 1 and the power generating coil 11. According to this output taking-out method, there is no need to arrange a sealing device between the output taking-out mechanism and the sealed container 2. Further, the rotor 1 of the present invention has a simple configuration in which the volume chamber 11 and the partition wall 13 are formed, and does not include a relatively moving movable member or a complicated sealing device. The heating by is performed from the fixed translucent part 4. For this reason, it is easy to make the engine a robust structure, and as a result, the engine has excellent durability.

  As described above in detail, the steam engine of the present invention has a rotor provided with a plurality of volume chambers in a sealed container filled with liquid, and rotates the rotor using buoyancy acting on the volume chambers. It converts heat from sunlight into rotational energy with a simple structure. In the above embodiment, water is used as the working fluid. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is obvious that a refrigerant such as ammonia, alcohol, or chlorofluorocarbon can be used.

It is sectional drawing of the steam engine of this invention. It is a figure which shows the operating state of the steam engine of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the conventional steam engine.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotor 11 Volume chamber 13 Partition wall 2 Sealed container 3 Capacitor 32 Cooling pipe 34 Vacuum pump 4 Translucent part 42 Lens body 43 Condensing lens 5 Magnet 6 Power generation coil

Claims (3)

A sealed container (2) enclosing a liquid is installed, and a condenser (3) for condensing liquid vapor is disposed above the sealed container (2) in communication with the sealed container (2).
A rotor (1) having a plurality of volume chambers (11) is provided inside the sealed container (2), and the rotor (1) is immersed in a liquid so as to be rotatable to the sealed container (2). Support,
The sealed container (2) is provided with a translucent part (4) that allows light to pass through the sealed container (2).
By irradiating the volume chamber (11) with sunlight from the translucent part (4), the liquid in the volume chamber (11) is evaporated,
A steam engine, wherein buoyancy is applied to one side of the rotor (1) to rotate the rotor (1). The partition wall (13) which inclines backward in the rotation direction with respect to the radial direction of the rotor (1) is formed between the plurality of volume chambers (11) of the rotor (1). Steam engine. A vacuum pump (34) is connected to the condenser (3), and the pressure in the closed vessel (2) and the condenser (3) is a saturated vapor pressure of liquid. The steam engine described in.

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