Heat engine heater assembly
US5884481A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 14, 1997 |
| Grant date | Mar 23, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 14, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF02G2254/30
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A heater assembly for a heat engine designed to utilize solar energy and heat produced by combustion of a fuel such as natural gas. A receiver housing allows concentrated solar energy to be directed through a receiver aperture into a receiver chamber. Inner and outer arrays of heater tubes within the receiver chamber absorb the solar energy and transfer heat to working fluid in the heater tubes. A burner within the housing produces combustion gases which circulate past the heater tubes and transfer heat to the working fluid. The heater tubes form an opaque surface to solar energy and have uniform gaps which allow heated fluid to be passed between adjacent heater tubes. A precise three-dimensional mathematical description for the centerlines of the heater tubes which maintains uniform gaps between adjacent heater tubes is disclosed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.