Kender engine
From Ekopedia
The Kender engine is an apparatus able of generating a cold source starting from the potential thermal energy of our environment in order to transform this thermal energy into one of the following energies: electric, refrigerating, hydraulic, mechanical or thermal. It can qualify as a derivation of a Stirling engine, yet it has several differences.
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[edit] General Description
Classical thermal engines function by initially creating a hot source, provided by the combustion of a fossil product or equivalent. This energy is then evacuated towards a cold source, usually the environment. This evacuation creates pressure, which runs a turbine or pushes a piston. The characteristic of this function is the necessity of utilizing adequately the temperature differential between the hot source and the cold source.
The Kender engine also utilizes the principal of temperature differential, with the difference that it starts from the cold source and finishes with the hot source. In the Kender engine, a cold source is created, whose energy creates a “sucking effect” on the hot source and runs a turbine at low temperatures. The cold product is then evacuated into the environment, defined here as the hot source.
The Kender engine’s main parts are :
- 1. a closed circuit of gas.
- 2. a gas cooler.
- 3. a compressor (participating in the starting function, acceleration and deceleration).
- 4. a heat exchanger (transferring the thermal energy of the surrounding air).
- 5. a thermal turbine or a volumetric turbine.
[edit] Action of a Kender Engine
1. The thermal engine functions with closed circuit of gas at a high pressure (200 atmospheres) and at ambient temperature, usually 290 °K (17°C, 62°F). The characteristic of the gas is that it has a low liquefying point. This is typical of hydrogen and helium, which become liquid very close to absolute zero (3°K).
2. The gas cooler generates the temperature of the cold source. This is achieved by allowing a sharp pressure drop in the gas (from 200 atmospheres to 20 atmospheres), by creating a chamber of larger exit section than entry section. This pressure drop also generates a sharp temperature drop, close to 10 times lower to near 30°K (minus 243°C, minus 405°F). This step creates the cold source to the Kender engine.
3. The compressor (or accelerator) drags the gas further, whereby it maintains the low pressure and low temperature before it and creates a pressure increase behind it. The pressure multiplier ranges from 1.2 to 2. The compressor gives the engine the capacity to accelerate or decelerate.
4. The heat exchanger then re-heats the gas to its initial temperature. The energy for this function is provided by the surrounding air at ambient temperature circulating around the heater, which is the hot source of the engine. The gas inside the heater circulates at temperatures starting at near 30°K (minus 243°C, minus 405°F) and get re-heated to the ambient air temperature of 290 °K (17°C, 62°F). Following the laws of gases: Pressure * Volume = n * r * Temperature, the gas also regains its initial pressure of 200 atmospheres.
5. The gas contained in the closed circuit can now run a full circuit. This full circuit is being utilized to run a turbine at the exit of the heat exchanger, which generates energy. The energy produced by the turbine is equivalent to the energy introduced by the accelerator, plus the differential absorbed in the air temperature differential.
[edit] Similarities to the Stirling Engine
The Stirling engine also has a hot source and a cold source. The hot source is generated by combustion or concentrated solar heat. The gases create a pressure, which pushes a piston. As the piston is pushed, the gas expands and cools off. The gas after having dropped in temperature is then re-cycled back into the piston to be re-heated and create a new push to the piston.
The Kender engine creates the same function, exploiting the differences between the cold source and the hot source, creating a drag in the gas. This drag generated by the gas runs a turbine.
[edit] Practical Operating Temperatures
The practical operating conditions of the hot source are between 200°K (minus 73°C, minus 100°F) and 530°K (100°C, 211°F). The practical operating conditions of the cold source are between 30°K (minus 243°C, minus 405°F) and 70°K (minus 203°C, minus 333°F).
[edit] The Origin of the Kender Engine
The origin of the name "Kender" comes form its inventor, Mr. Jean Cousin. Mr. Jean Cousin is a french born engineer, whose origin and birthplace go back to Bretagne (Brittany), France. In Breton language, "cousin" translates into "kenderv", which gave its name to the engine. Such engine is the fruit of several years of work in the field of "autonomous engines", capturing energy from the temperature of surrounding elements (water, air, sodium and so forth). Mr. Jean Cousin registered a patent for this engine in March 2007.
