SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING HEAT AND/OR HOT WATER TO A STRUCTURE

Abstract

A system for heating a structure uses a cavitation engine connected to a water supply, and to a discharge pipe, a condensate storage tank connected to the discharge pipe, the storage tank collecting condensate from the discharge pipe, and a pump connected to the condensate storage tank via a transfer pipe and being configured to pump the condensate out of the storage tank, and ether directly back into the cavitation engine for reuse or into a mixing tank for mixing with water from the water supply, and then back to the cavitation engine. The system creates a closed loop so that no water is wasted, and the energy generation is as efficient as possible.

Claims

1. A system for heating a structure, comprising: a cavitation engine connected to a water supply, and to a discharge pipe, the cavitation engine being formed from an an impact chamber having an impact surface, a heater connected to the impact surface and being configured to heat the impact surface, and a fluid injector having an outlet positioned to inject hyperbaric liquid water onto the impact surface of the impact chamber at supersonic velocities such that cavitation bubbles are present in the injected water and steam is generated from impact of the cavitation bubbles with the impact surface and discharged into the discharge pipe; a condensate storage tank connected to the discharge pipe and being configured to collect condensate from the discharge pipe, and a pump connected to the condensate storage tank via a pipe and being configured to pump the condensate out of the storage tank and back to the cavitation engine.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a mixing tank connected to the pump and to the water supply for mixing water from the storage tank and the water supply, and an additional pump disposed between the mixing tank and the cavitation engine, the additional pump being configure for feeding water from the mixing tank to the cavitation engine.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein there are two of said cavitation engines connected to the discharge pipe and two of said additional pumps for feeding water to each of the cavitation engines from the mixing tank.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein there are three of said cavitation engines, the cavitation engines being arranged in series and connected to a same discharge pipe.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the system is configured to be connected to a steam supply and wherein steam from the cavitation engines mix with steam from the steam supply in the discharge pipe.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the cavitation engine is connected to a heat exchanger that converts steam from the cavitation engine to heated water, and wherein the heat exchanger is connected to a storage tank configured to store heated water for use in the structure.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the heat exchanger is connected to a pump that feeds water back to the cavitation engine.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the cavitation engine is connected to an electric power source, and further comprising a controller in the form of a computer processor that controls the heater and the fluid injector.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

[0016] In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a prior art cavitation engine for use in the invention, and as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,995,479;

[0018] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a first embodiment of the invention, which uses a single cavitation engine for heating purposes;

[0019] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a second embodiment, which uses two cavitation engines;

[0020] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a third embodiment, which uses three engines and a municipal steam supply; and

[0021] FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a fourth embodiment, in which the cavitation engines are used to provide a hot water supply to a building.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Referring now in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a cavitation engine as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,995,479. The structure and operation of this cavitation engine is described as follows. Cavitation engine 100 produces superheated steam by injecting hyperbaric liquid water at supersonic velocities to create cavitation bubbles within the injected water. The water is injected into specially configured, heated impact chambers 102 having impact surfaces 102a configured to crush or collapse the cavitation bubbles.

[0023] In the cavitation engine 100, injecting water in a manner that forms cavitation bubbles in the water and impacting the water to crush the cavitation bubbles generates very high pressure superheated steam that can be used to generate electricity or harnessed as an energy output. The feed water can be ambient temperature or heated, but is injected as a liquid.

[0024] Each impact chamber 102 is initially pre-heated to 375 degrees F. Once engine 100 is operating, the energy supplied for the pre-heating may be ceased, as it has been observed that the temperature of the impact chambers 102 will remain above 375 degrees F. due to the operation of the engine 100. For example, a thermocouple probe may be connected to a digital controller for providing the desired pre-heating.

[0025] Cavitation refers to the formation of vapor cavities in a liquid. The vapor cavities are characterized as small liquid-cavitation-free zones in the nature of bubbles or voids that are the consequence of cavitational forces acting upon the liquid. Cavitation occurs when a liquid is subjected to rapid changes of pressure that cause the formation of cavities where the pressure is relatively low. When subjected to higher pressure, as in the case of the cavitation engines according to the disclosure, it has been observed that the voids implode or are otherwise crushed and generate an intense shockwave and high pressure.

[0026] Thus, engine structures are configured to receive injected water and to promote cavitation of the injected water to generate very high pressure that can be used to generate electricity or otherwise harnessed as an energy output. The injector 130 injects water in a manner such that bubbles or voids are created in the stream of injected water, referred to herein as cavitation bubbles. When the injected water from injector 130 collides with the impact surface 102a of the impact chamber 102, a shock wave occurs that crushes the bubbles, and the water is instantly transformed into superheated steam. That is, the injector 130 operates to form cavitation bubbles in the water and cooperates with the impact surface 102a so that that cavitation bubbles in the injected water are crushed upon impact of the water with the impact surface 102a.

[0027] Thus, the cavitation engine operates by injecting liquid water in a manner that creates cavitation bubbles, and impacting the water onto an impact surface in a manner that rapidly crushes the cavitation bubbles upon impact. The injected water is desirably substantially saturated with cavitation bubbles. Crushing of the cavitation bubbles in this manner causes the temperature of the gases inside the bubbles to rapidly increase and raise the temperature of the surrounding water, which creates high pressure superheated steam.

[0028] The present invention takes this cavitation engine and incorporates it into a novel system for providing heat and hot water to a structure, such as an apartment building or office building, without requiring retrofitting of the existing pipes and radiators.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the invention according to the invention, which comprises a cavitation engine 100 as described above, which is connected to a discharge pipe 11 which receives and transports superheated steam generated by cavitation engine 100. Discharge pipe 11 can be connected to a building's heating system, so that the superheated steam from the cavitation engine can be fed directly into the radiators of the system. Alternatively, the discharge pipe can be connected to a heat exchanger for converting it to hot water in a hot water heated system, or can be fed to a generator that converts the steam to electricity for use in the building. Feeding off of discharge pipe 11 is a condensate pipe 12, which feeds the condensate from the steam in discharge pipe 11 to a condensate tank 20. Here tank 20 collects the condensate and feeds it via pump 40 to a mixing tank 30 via pipe 13, where it is mixed with water from a municipal water supply. A pump 41 then pumps the water back to cavitation engine 100 via pipe 14 for further steam generation. This way, the condensate is not wasted, but is rather re-used to generate further steam in the system. The cavitation engine is connected to an electrical power supply 30, which powers the injector and heats the impact chamber walls. A controller 60 in the form of a processor can be connected to the cavitation engine, to control the operation of the injector and the heater. The controller can be coupled to the thermocouple to control the temperature of the impact surface, as well as to the injector to control the amount of water to be impacted on the impact surface. The pumps 40 and 41 are electrically powered.

[0030] FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the invention, which uses all of the same components as FIG. 2, but includes two cavitation engines 100, which are both connected to discharge pipe 11, and which are fed via separate pumps 41 and separate pipes 14 from mixing tank 30. This embodiment doubles the amount of steam that can be supplied to the structure, while using very little additional equipment other than the second cavitation engine 100.

[0031] FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the invention, using three cavitation engines 100, connected to a single discharge pipe 11, into which steam from a municipal steam supply also feeds. In this embodiment, cavitation engines are used to supplement the steam from a municipal supply, so that fewer fossil fuels are burned in the steam generation. The combined steam supply is broken up into three feed pipes 18 that are connected to pressure reducing valves 25 on each pipe 18, to control the pressure of the steam being transmitted. These pipes feed into a final discharge pipe 111 which sends the steam to the structure for direct heating or conversion to hot water or electricity. As with FIGS. 2 and 3, the condensate is collected in condensate recovery tank 20 and then fed to mixing tank 30, where it mixes with water from the municipal water supply that is fed therein. The water from mixing tank 30 is then used to feed cavitation engines 100 in the continuous process. While not shown, each cavitation engine 100 in FIGS. 3 and 4 is connected to an electrical power supply and a controller, as with FIG. 2.

[0032] FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the invention, in which three cavitation engines 100 are used in a system to provide hot water to a structure. Here, steam from cavitation engines 100 is fed though pipes 22 to heat exchangers 60, which convert the steam to hot water, which is then fed via pipe 23 to hot water storage tanks 70 for on-demand hot water needs of the building. Thermometers 77 are placed throughout the system to monitor the water temperature in the pipes. When the thermometer registers a cooling of the water in the tanks 70, water is fed back through pipes 24 and pumped by pumps 44 back to heat exchangers 60 to be heated further by the incoming steam from cavitation engines 100. Excess water from the system is also pumped from heat exchangers 60 back to cavitation engines 100 by pumps 41 while mixed with municipal water for further steam generation. The system shown in FIG. 5 could also be used to supply hot water to a hot water heating system of a structure.

[0033] The system of the present invention can be used in many different configurations to supply heat, hot water or even electricity to a structure. The system uses only a small amount of electricity to generate large amounts of superheated steam which can efficiently heat a structure without the burning of large amounts of fossil fuels, and without the need to replace the building's existing pipes or radiators. The system of the present invention also provides for the re-use of the condensation that forms form the steam production, so no water is wasted in the process.

[0034] Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.