Purdue Research Foundation

Other

Rolls-royce Corporation

James Edward Braun

Eckhard Achim Groll

Guillermo Paniagua Perez

Orkan Kurtulus

Davide Ziviani

Valeria Andreoli

Vatsal Manilal Shah

William Travis Horton

Lukas Benjamin Inhestern

Jason J Hugenroth

David Martin Warsinger

Matthew J Bloxham

Haorong Li

Andres F Arrieta Diaz

Jon V Ebacher

Andrew Joseph Fix

Parveen Dhillon

Akash Patil

Changkuan Liang

Zhe Liu

David Gonzalez Cuadrado

Xinye Zhang

Galen B King

W Travis Horton

Brandon Jay Woodland

Cis Guy M De Maesschalck

Jon Ebacher

Cis Guy De Maesschalck

A heat exchange system is disclosed which includes an air inlet, a membrane in fluid communication with the air inlet and adapted to have a partial vapor pressure difference across the membrane to thereby drive water vapor flux through the membrane, wherein the membrane is a selective membrane configured to allow passage of water vapor and block passage of air (O/N) through the membrane, where the membrane includes a thermally conductive side, a vacuum pump configured to generate the partial vapor pressure difference across the membrane, and a heat exchanger coupled to the thermally conductive side of the membrane configured to provide simultaneous mass and heat transfer.

Vapor-selective nanostructured membrane heat exchangers for cooling and dehumidification

System and methods for oil circulation ratio (OCR) sensing with a suction-line accumulator are provided. The accumulator may include a sensor configured to detect the level of oil. The accumulator may further include a valve which opens when oil is at a high-level and closes when oil is at a low-level. The accumulator may measure a mass flow rate of oil in the vapor compression cycle system based on an amount of time taken to fill a portion of the accumulator. The accumulator may further determine an oil circulation ratio based on the measured time taken to fill the portion of the accumulator. The smart accumulator may output the oil circulation ratio.

Smart accumulator with oil circulation ratio sensing

A shape-morphing fin includes a fixed portion, a multistable portion, a coupling portion, and a vibration source. The multistable portion functions as a negative stiffness element. The multistable portion is selectively movable between a first position and a second position. The movement between first position and the second position is configured to remove the ice formation from the structure. The coupling portion couples the fixed portion to the multistable portion. The vibration source is configured to produce a resonant vibration to engage the movement of the multistable portion from the first position to the second position.

Shape morphing fins for frost removal

A system for measuring oil circulation ratio in a vapor-compression refrigeration system (VCRS) is provided. The system may include an oil separator configured to receive the refrigerant and oil flow from the low-pressure line of the VCRS and output a oil flow and a refrigerant flow. The system may further include an oil collector configured to receive the separated oil flow provided by the oil separator. A valve may control an oil flow from the oil collector to the low-pressure line. A level sensor may measure oil level in the oil collector. The system may close, in response to the oil being at or less than a first level, the valve to collect oil in the oil collector. The system may open, in response to the oil being at or greater than a second level, the valve to release oil from the oil collector to the low-pressure line.

In-situ oil circulation ratio measurement system for vapor compression cycle systems

An apparatus for providing an optimized amount of refrigerant to a refrigeration system includes three valves coupled with a fluid coupling, the first valve being coupled between the fluid coupling and an inlet of a refrigerant source, the second valve being coupled between the fluid coupling and an outlet of the refrigerant source, the third valve being coupled between the fluid coupling and the refrigeration system, the fluid coupling having a refrigerant chamber operable to store a volume of refrigerant to selectively provide the volume of refrigerant to the refrigeration system upon operation of the first, second, and third valves.

Portable automatic refrigerant charging device and method

A flow measurement apparatus comprising an elongated mounting stem having an inner stem cavity, the mounting stem configured to be mounted in an area of flow to be measured. A probe housing is mounted to an outer surface of the mounting stem and positioned on an upstream side of the mounting stem. The probe housing has a first hole near a center point of the housing and a second, third and fourth hole positioned near the perimeter of the housing. A fifth hole is located on a downstream side of the mounting stem. At least five pressure sensors and a plurality of pressure tapping tubes connecting the holes to the corresponding pressure sensors are included.

Directional probe for high temperature flows

The present disclosure relates to a novel vapor compression refrigeration system, and the methods of making and using the vapor compression refrigeration system.

Vapor compression refrigeration system

Non-axial turbomachine

A tip structure for a turbine blade comprises a tip surface of an airfoil that extends from a leading edge to a trailing edge and from a pressure side to a suction side of the airfoil. A suction side rail protrudes from the tip surface and comprises: a trailing portion extending flush with the suction side of the airfoil from an origination location at or near the trailing edge to an intermediate location on the suction side; and a leading portion extending from the intermediate location across the tip surface so as to create a suction side shelf region between the leading portion of the suction side rail and the suction side of the airfoil. A pressure side rail protrudes from the tip surface and comprises: a trailing segment extending flush with the pressure side of the airfoil from an origination location at or near the trailing edge to a middle location on the pressure side; and a leading segment extending from the middle location across a camber line on the tip surface so as to create a pressure side shelf region between the leading segment of the pressure side rail and the pressure side of the airfoil.

Tip structure for a turbine blade with pressure side and suction side rails

A heat engine system configured to extract thermal energy from a heat source, convert a first portion of the thermal energy to work using an expansion device, and reject a second portion of the thermal energy to a heat sink. The system utilizes a second fluid to inhibit a temperature drop of the first fluid within the expansion device.

Organic rankine cycle with flooded expansion and internal regeneration

A method and apparatus for non-invasively determining a charge level of a refrigerant in a vapor-compression cycle system. The method and apparatus monitor the system while the system is operated to ascertain that the system is operating at approximately steady-state. The superheat and the subcooling of the system are then determined at the suction line and at the liquid line, respectively, and the refrigerant charge level is calculated based on the determined subcooling, the determined superheat, and rated operating conditions of the system, including rated refrigerant charge level, rated liquid line subcooling, and rated suction line superheat.

Apparatus and method for determining refrigerant charge level

A thermodynamic system that can approximate the Ericsson or Brayton cycles and operated in reverse or forward modes to implement a cooler or engine, respectively. The thermodynamic system includes a device for compressing a first fluid stream containing a first gas-liquid mixture having a sufficient liquid content so that compression of the gas within the first gas-liquid mixture by the compressing device is nearly isothermal, and a device for expanding a second fluid stream containing a second gas-liquid mixture having a sufficient liquid content so that expansion of the gas within the second gas-liquid mixture by the expanding device is nearly isothermal. A heat sink is in thermal communication with at least the liquid of the first gas-liquid mixture for transferring heat therefrom, and a heat source is in thermal communication with at least the liquid of the second gas-liquid mixture for transferring heat thereto. A device is provided for transferring heat between at least the gas of the first gas-liquid mixture after the first fluid stream exits the compressing device and at least the gas of the second gas-liquid mixture after the second fluid stream exits the expanding device. The compressing and expanding devices are not liquid-ring compressors or expanders, but instead are devices that tolerate liquid flooding, such as scroll-type compressors and expanders.

Thermodynamic systems operating with near-isothermal compression and expansion cycles

A combination handle and safety device configured to be attached to a hand tool to enable the hand tool to be safely stored upon a timber includes a handle, configured to be grasped by a user of the hand tool. Each of a pair of hanger prongs extends outwardly from an end of the handle and define an open channel disposable over a top of the timber. One of the hanger prongs extends along a side of the timber. A handle support extends from an opposite end of the handle and has a notch formed therein. The notch includes at least two engagement points oriented to engage the top of the timber to securely engage the timber with the device to enable the hand tool to be safely stored upon the timber.

Growing community of inventors

West Lafayette, IN, United States of America

James Edward Braun