Other

Q-dot, Inc.

John P Kuhns

James R Taylor

Heat exchanger tubes and heat pipes are simultaneously radially expanded into engagement with heat transfer fins and provided with internal spiral grooving by a generally spherical shaped tool disposed on the end of an elongated mandrel. The tool comprises a spherical segment having helical teeth formed on the exterior thereof and the tool is mounted for free rotation on the end of the mandrel. In forming a finned tube type heat exchanger a series of platelike fins are disposed in alignment with each other with tube receiving openings formed slightly oversize with respect to the outside diameter of the tube prior to expansion. The tube is supported by the fins and is secured at one end by a suitable device such as an expanding jaw collet connected to a hydraulic cylinder for extending the mandrel through the tube. The tube wall is simultaneously radially expanded into forcible engagement with the fins and spiral ridges with intervening grooves are formed on the interior wall surface of the tube to provide enhanced heat transfer characteristics.

Method of making an internally grooved and expanded tubular heat

Method of and apparatus for doing work characterized by the steps of establishing respective hot and cold zones within a constant volume chamber; providing a flow path intermediate the zones and encompassing a caloric energy storage means for extracting heat from gases that are hotter and for delivering heat to gases that are colder as the respective gases are flowed therepast; separating the respective hot and cold zones by reciprocally movable member that is movable longitudinally of its cylinder and periodically reciprocally moving the member whereby to effect the following steps; (a) taking in the relatively cool ambient air into the cold zone; (b) moving the cool ambient air past the caloric energy storage means to pick up heat and become relatively hotter to tend to expand and increase pressure; (c) passing the hotter air from the chamber to an engine means for producing work; (d) passing a high temperature fluid in heat exchange relationship with the caloric energy storage means to again heat the caloric energy storage means and store heat and repeating steps (a)-(d). Also disclosed are specific preferred embodiments and apparatuses.

Method of performing work

Method of and apparatus primarily for converting source heat to work characterized by a gas phase working fluid thermodynamic prime mover cycle of isentropic temperature rise followed by heat acquisition followed by isentropic temperature drop followed by heat rejection to a heat sink accomplished by a variety of embodiments. Although deemphasized herein, it is further characteristic that these same embodiments going through the same motions in the same directions will to a limited extent pump heat to the heat source at the expenditure of work should the temperature difference of the sink/source become smaller than required for prime mover operation. In this invention, heat is exchanged between the compressed working fluid and the hot body only and the expanded working fluid and the cold body only.

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Hurst, TX, United States of America

John P Kuhns