Thermal energy scavenger (flow control)
A thermal energy scavenger assembly is described including a plurality of temperature-sensitive wires made of material which exhibits shape memory due to a thermoelastic, martensitic phase transformation. The wires are placed in tension between fixed and movable plates which are, in turn, supported by a pair of wheels which are rotatably supported by a housing for rotation about a central axis. A pair of upper and lower cams are fixed to the housing and cam followers react with the respective cams. Each cam transmits forces through a pair of hydraulic pistons. One of the pistons is connected to a movable plate to which one end of the wires are connected whereby a stress is applied to the wires to strain the wires during a first phase and whereby the cam responds to the unstraining of the wires during a second phase. A housing defines fluid compartments through which hot and cold fluid passes and flows radially through the wires whereby the wires become unstrained and shorten in length when subjected to the hot fluid for causing a reaction between the cam followers and the cams to effect rotation of the wheels about the central axis of the assembly, which rotation of the wheels is extracted through beveled gearing. The wires are grouped into a plurality of independent modules with each module having a movable plate, a fixed plate and the associated hydraulic pistons and cam follower. The hydraulic pistons and cam follower of a module are disposed at ends of the wires opposite from the ends of the wires at which the same components of the next adjacent modules are disposed so that the cam followers of alternate modules react with one of the cams and the remaining cam followers of the remaining modules react with the other cam. There is also including stress limiting means in the form of coil springs associated with alternate ends of the wires for limiting the stress or strain in the wires.
- Assignee:
- IFI; EDB-82-071349
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4306415
- OSTI ID:
- 5622210
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: Filed date 14 Jan 1980; Other Information: PAT-APPL-111810
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Thermal energy scavenger (stress limiter)
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Related Subjects
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
42 ENGINEERING
NITINOL HEAT ENGINES
DESIGN
ALLOYS
CONTROL EQUIPMENT
ENERGY CONVERSION
FLOW REGULATORS
HEAT
HEAT TRANSFER
KINETIC ENERGY
MARTENSITE
SHAPE MEMORY EFFECT
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
THERMOELASTICITY
CARBON ADDITIONS
CONVERSION
ELASTICITY
ENERGY
ENERGY TRANSFER
ENGINES
EQUIPMENT
HEAT ENGINES
IRON ALLOYS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
TENSILE PROPERTIES
300800* - Direct Energy Conversion- Miscellaneous Converters
360104 - Metals & Alloys- Physical Properties
425007 - Engineering- Power Cycles- Other- (1980-)