Internal combustion engine with Rankine bottoming cycle

Details Internal combustion engine with Rankine bottoming cycle Internal combustion engine with Rankine bottoming cycle

1980-06-06

1983-01-04

Koczo, Michael

Power plants

Fluid motor means driven by waste heat or by exhaust energy...

Having fluid motor motive fluid treating, controlling or...

F02B 3340, F02G 504

Patent

active

043666744

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an internal combustion engine, and more specifically, to an internal combustion engine with a so-called "bottoming cycle", which bottoming cycle is based on the Rankine cycle.
2. Background Art
The efficiency of many internal combustion engines operating on, for example, the Otto cycle or the Diesel cycle, and which are of conventional construction is relatively low in terms of the conversion of the energy of fuel consumed to energy output. Part of the energy created by the burning of fuel in a typical internal combustion engine is not converted to work in that the expansion of exhaust gases after the opening of an exhaust port or valve is not harnessed or, if harnessed, only in a limited way. Moreover, even when the expansion of exhausted gas is partially harnessed as in a turbocharger, the exhaust gas exiting the turbocharger is typically at an elevated temperature and therefore the energy represented by the heat within the exhaust gas over the temperature differential between the ambient temperature and the temperature of the exhaust gas is likewise lost.
As a consequence, there have been many proposals for internal combustion engines with so-called bottoming cycles of various sorts where attempts have been made to extract energy from the exhaust gases. Certain of these attempts employ the Rankine cycle in the process of extracting energy from exhaust gases for the reason that the Rankine cycle provides relatively high efficiency at the temperatures involved. Examples of such proposals are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,109,237 issued Feb. 22, 1938 to Lustig; 2,360,969 issued Oct. 24, 1944 to Newcombe; 3,830,062 issued Aug. 20, 1974 to Morgan et al; 3,948,053 and 3,948,235, both issued Apr. 6, 1976 to Gamell; 3,979,913 issued Sept. 14, 1976 to Yates; and 4,031,705 issued June 28, 1977 to Berg.
While the proposals of each of the foregoing patents provide for greater operating efficiency than would be obtained by an internal combustion engine operating without a bottoming cycle, none maximize energy recovery and each may pose operational problems limiting the areas of prospective uses of the various systems.
Typically, the prior art utilizes the heat of the exhaust gases to vaporize a liquid which is then directed to an expander such as a turbine. Usually, but not always, the turbine will drive a compressor connected to the engine air intake to provide for turbocharger operating on the Rankine cycle and thereby boost energy conversion efficiency. In some cases, however, the turbine may be coupled to the output shaft of the engine itself or may be utilized to drive auxiliary equipment such as a generator or the like. As will be apparent from the following disclosure of the invention herein, these proposals do not maximize the energy recapturing process.
Moreover, operational difficulties arise in such systems where variable loads are driven by the engine and/or the engine may be relatively unloaded and operated at idle speeds on occasions. In low or no load situations, to conserve fuel, the engine is typically run at a low rate of speed and is consuming very little fuel. Consequently, the otherwise waste heat in the exhaust stream is at a relatively low temperature level which frequently will be insufficient to generate sufficient vapor to drive the turbine at a high rate of speed. Therefore, when the turbine forms part of a turbocharger for boosting pressure of combustion air to the engine, the fact that it is not being driven at a particularly rapid rate considerably slows its response to a commanded increase in speed and thereby prevents the engine from developing high power output as rapidly as may be desired in many applications.


DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.
According to the invention generally, there is provided an internal combustion engine with a Rankine bottoming cycle including an internal combustion engine with an exhaust for exh

REFERENCES:
patent: 1006907 (1911-10-01), Buchi
patent: 1011520 (1911-12-01), Stocks
patent: 2109237 (1938-02-01), Lustig
patent: 2159758 (1939-05-01), Diedrich
patent: 2370949 (1945-03-01), Gaisberger
patent: 3541783 (1970-11-01), Schmuck
patent: 3948053 (1976-04-01), Gamell
patent: 4182127 (1980-01-01), Johnson

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