R & D Associates

James L Dooley

Albert L Latter

R Philip Hammond

A passive 'core catcher' is provided for preventing the escape of radiation in the unlikely event of a major failure of a nuclear reactor by melt-down of the core. The 'core-catcher' structure includes a narrow vertically downwardly extending isolation tube, and aligned narrow heat-exchange structure forming a chilled wall crucible in which the molten uranium oxide forms a container for itself including a 'frozen' or solid layer of uranium oxide adjacent the heat exchanger wall. A passive cooling system may include a water tower adjacent the above-ground reactor structure, which dissipates heat from the core-catcher heat exchanger, and from within the above-ground reactor structure by a second local heat exchanger.

Retrofittable nuclear reactor core catcher

Coal energy is delivered from the mine to a distant point of use by a system involving the pulverization of the coal at the mine, and carrying it as a nonexplosive suspension in a pipeline or conduit, with high pressure coal gas which is made at the mine being employed as the transport medium. At the delivery point, the gas, as well as the coal dust can be fired directly into the furnace, or the coal can be separated from the coal gas and stored. Arrangements are provided for insuring that the finely pulverized coal may be maintained in suspension within the transport pipe, and such arrangements may include spiraling vanes to insure that settling particles are reintroduced into the main gas stream, and separate sections within the pipe, or a supplemental pipe for the high pressured gas to permit restarting of the flow in the event of a power failure and the settling out of the particles.

Coal transport system

An engine system operates on liquid air and LNG, with the LNG being burned to obtain more energy from an expansion engine using the liquid air as the working fluid; and the liquid air is employed to trap or prevent the undesired venting of LNG fumes, which could otherwise burn or explode.

Engine system using liquid air and combustible fuel

An automobile engine runs on liquid air plus a small amount of solid or liquid fossil fuel. The liquid is an efficient method of storing the energy of liquefaction. To get extended range and use of energy effectively some fuel is used to increase the temperature of this gas before it is introduced into the expansion engine. Two methods of using this fuel may be employed--one burns fuel internally in the expansion engine cylinders essentially at constant volume so a liquid form of the fossil fuel must be used; while the second method heats the gaseous working medium at constant pressure external from the expansion engine in a furnace so it can burn a wide range of either liquid or solid fossil fuels. With either system of operation the air/nitrogen as liquid is pumped at the rate of use from the insulated cold storage container up to high intial operation pressure (about 200 atmospheres) then passes through heat exchangers to bring it up to the intial temperature for expansion. Since the liquid and gas is at very low temperature (77.degree. Kelvin - 196.degree. C., - 320.degree. F.) much of this heating energy can be drawn from the ambient air and surrounding equipment. In either system each expansion stage utilizes a properly sized reciprocating piston in a cylinder with exhaust valving and variable cutoff inlet valving (for efficient torque and speed variation). Pistons from all of the several expansion stages are coupled to a common power output. These engine exhaust gases may be employed to warm the intially cold high pressure liquid air in a counter-current heat exchanger.

An automobile engine runs on liquid air and gasoline. The liquid air is initially pumped up to a high pressure such as 200 atmospheres (or 200 bars) and is then warmed toward the ambient temperature in a heat exchange and changes to the gaseous state. Subsequently, it is permitted to expand, doing useful work on a piston or other known type of expansion engine. The gas is then passed through an additional heat exchanger where heat is absorbed from the ambient, and is combined with a small amount of fuel such as gasoline. The gasoline is ignited, under constant volume conditions thereby bringing the pressure back up to approximately 200 bars and at a temperature in the order of 1200 degrees. The gas is then allowed to expand in a cylinder containing an additional piston, and as a final cycle, additional fuel is added and ignited, and the resultant gases expand to drive an additional piston and provide further power to the engine. The pistons may all be coupled together to supply power to a single output drive shaft in the manner of an air motor. The exhaust gases are employed to warm the high pressure liquid air in a counter-current heat exchanger where exposure to moist ambient air would cause excessive ice buildup.

A gasoline internal combustion engine is operated at all times with a full charge of air and is thus unthrottled. At low power levels for such an engine, the ratio of gasoline to air is too lean for normal combustion; therefore, special arrangements are provided by this invention for ensuring combustion. These special arrangements, which may be used together, singly, or in any combination, include (1) the formation of droplets of gasoline within the cylinder, with each gasoline droplet having around it a zone that is within the combustible range, and the provision of a spark that will ingite the combustible zone around at least a few droplets and will then propagate to other droplets; (2) the provision of a series of compartments separated by partitions at the top of a cylinder and supplying a combustible charge and ignition to a variable number of the compartments, depending on the power desired; (3) the use of either or other similar ignition-enhancing material to cause combustion despite a very lean mixture. Another feature of the invention improves the efficiency of the above provisions by maintaining the walls of the cylinder cool by employing porous walls and air at high pressure filtering through the walls into the piston chamber.

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Santa Monica, CA, United States of America

James L Dooley