Nickel Titanium Heat Engine
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Bradley Atkins
Page 1
10/10/2008
Nickel Titanium Heat Engine Design proposal Proposed design for a fuel efficient heat engine suitable for replacing high pressure steam turbines in power stations.
Author Date Status Version
Bradley Atkins 05/10/2008 Release 1.1
Bradley Atkins
Page 1
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 2
10/10/2008
Table of contents Nickel Titanium Heat Engine.......................................................................................1 Design proposal.............................................................................................................1 Author............................................................................................................................1 Table of contents...........................................................................................................2 Introduction..................................................................................................................3 The Design....................................................................................................................5 Fig. 1 The pump contracted...................................................................... ........................5 Fig. 2 The pump expanded................................................................................ ................5 Figure 3 The basic pump or heart.................................................................................... .6
Cycle of operation.........................................................................................................7 Implementation within a power station........................................................................7 Figure 4 A multi cellular arrangement.......................................................... ...................7
Overall benefits of adopting the design........................................................................8 Safety.......................................................................................................... ........................8 Fuel Efficiency................................................................................................................ ....8 Political implications....................................................................................................... ...8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................9
Bradley Atkins
Page 2
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 3
10/10/2008
Introduction This document details the design of a prototype heat engine that is intended to replace the high pressure steam turbines found in power stations, either Nuclear or Conventional. I have considered prototyping this engine for over 20 years and now acknowledge that I do not have the resources and time available to do so. With this in mind I first documented the design in July 2006 and sent it electronically to every body I thought had in interest in the subject. This included every Atomic Energy Authority I could find online, heat engine research groups and also universities. The more or less blanket inertia I met with surprised me considering our current energy crisis and the fact that I was offering a dramatic increase in fuel efficiency and safety for power stations for free. Although the heat engine research groups were complimentary the Atomic Energy Authorities were astonishingly inert. If they replied at all it was usually to say I had sent the design to the wrong department and then provided no link to the correct one. The only truly enthusiastic response was from a professor at MIT who described this as “An exciting proposal”, and said he was going to try and raise funds for a prototype. Since then I have heard nothing. With this in mind I have decided to rewrite the proposal and add a another diagram for clarity and instead send this to pressure groups for energy conservation and organizations tackling global warming etc in the hope that they will pick it up and try to drive it on themselves. This design is offered gratis globally to any nation, organization or private company that seeks to enhance the safety and efficiency of their power production plants.
Bradley Atkins
Page 3
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 4
10/10/2008
Nickel Titanium Alloy (Shape Memory Alloy) Nickel Titanium Alloy often referred to as NITI or SMA has some remarkable properties that have led to a lot of novel innovative designs for products; it is part of the range of Super Elastic Alloys. There are many sites on the Internet that go into detail on the properties of these remarkable alloys so I will simply provide links to a few of the more interesting and leave the reader to educate themselves further should they choose to do so. Stamford University: http://www.stanford.edu/~richlin1/sma/sma.html A company supplying SMA and prototyping services; (Requires Flash Player). http://www.memory-metalle.de/ For the purposes of this document there are three properties of SMA that are pertinent: 1. SMA “Remembers” the shape it was originally cast in when distorted and will spring back to that shape with remarkable force when supplied with heat. So little heat in fact that it is the most efficient material known for transferring heat into mechanical movement. 2. The point that SMA is triggered to spring back into shape can be “Tuned” to operate at specific temperatures in the original annealing process. 3. SMA does not seem to fatigue when continuously distorted out of shape within its operating limits.
Bradley Atkins
Page 4
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 5
10/10/2008
The Design The design is based on the concept of a squeezebox such as is used in a Barometer or the musical instrument the accordion. The drawing below, (Fig 1) shows a cross section of the SMA squeezebox, hereafter referred to as the heart. Fig. 1 The pump contracted.
When cool the heart can be inflated at low pressure by a pump so that it fills and expands with either Hydraulic oil or air in the case of a pneumatic system, as shown below in figure 2. When heated the heart would then contract at high pressure as shown in figure 1 above. Fig. 2 The pump expanded.
Figure 3 on the next page shows a simple control system to make this heart compress hydraulic oil or air rhythmically. All heat recovery components have been omitted from the drawing for clarity.
Bradley Atkins
Page 5
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 6
10/10/2008
Figure 3 The basic pump or heart
Bradley Atkins
Page 6
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 7
10/10/2008
Cycle of operation 1. With the heart at rest the water jacket is filled with cold water. 2. A low pressure pump inflates the heart with hydraulic oil. 3. The water jacket is then flooded with hot water, shown in Red in Fig. 3. 4. The heart then compresses to its original shape. Thus forcing the hydraulic oil out through the none-return valve to the High Pressure Storage Vessel. 5. The high pressure out line shown at right then feeds a conventional hydraulic motor. Implementation within a power station I envisage a generator hall fitted with hundreds of these SMA hearts pumping hydraulic oil feeding hydraulic motors driving electricity generators. By arranging these in a cellular grid it would be a simple matter to shut down individual cells and remove them for maintenance or recasting: -
Figure 4 A multi cellular arrangement.
Bradley Atkins
Page 7
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 8
10/10/2008
With such an arrangement it would be possible to carry out routine maintenance of individual cells with out the need to shut down the whole power plant. Overall benefits of adopting the design Safety 1. The heat engine can be tuned to run at a lower temperature than a conventional power station requires. Thus avoiding the necessity of generating super heated steam at high pressure to run a turbine. 2. Steam is corrosive to steel and lighter than air, therefore escapes of steam are highly likely in conventional power station design and difficult to contain once escaped. Hydraulic oil does not corrode and is not lighter than air so escapes are less likely and can be simply mopped up and contained. Fuel Efficiency As no prototype has been built it is not possible to give any figures for the efficiency of the proposed heat engine. However there are a number of comments it is reasonable to make regarding the eventual efficiency rating of the design. 1. SMA is the most efficient material found to date for converting heat into mechanical movement. 2. As this design could run on hot water rather than super heated steam; reactors can operate at much lower temperatures and therefore need supply less energy. That being the case they can run for longer on the same amount of fuel. Political implications As far less energy would be required to produce the same amount of electrical power output it would seem likely that far less enrichment of uranium would be required to produce viable fuel rods. So it may be possible to allow the proliferation of nuclear power technology far wider than is presently considered acceptable. As there is no requirement to enrich uranium to a weapons grade to create viable fuel rods.
Bradley Atkins
Page 8
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 9
10/10/2008
Conclusion It is my hope that in the current energy crisis someone will now pick up this design and seize the opportunity to generate electrical power at a significant fraction of its present cost. This design is offered without reservation as a free gift to everyone, be they an Atomic Energy Authority or existing electricity provider, in the hope that it will help towards our current problems with global warming and energy poverty. While asking for no financial stake in any design produced, I do ask that anyone adopting this design acknowledge that it is based on my original concept. With kind regards Bradley Atkins
Bradley Atkins
Page 9
10 October 2008
Page 1
10/10/2008
Nickel Titanium Heat Engine Design proposal Proposed design for a fuel efficient heat engine suitable for replacing high pressure steam turbines in power stations.
Author Date Status Version
Bradley Atkins 05/10/2008 Release 1.1
Bradley Atkins
Page 1
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 2
10/10/2008
Table of contents Nickel Titanium Heat Engine.......................................................................................1 Design proposal.............................................................................................................1 Author............................................................................................................................1 Table of contents...........................................................................................................2 Introduction..................................................................................................................3 The Design....................................................................................................................5 Fig. 1 The pump contracted...................................................................... ........................5 Fig. 2 The pump expanded................................................................................ ................5 Figure 3 The basic pump or heart.................................................................................... .6
Cycle of operation.........................................................................................................7 Implementation within a power station........................................................................7 Figure 4 A multi cellular arrangement.......................................................... ...................7
Overall benefits of adopting the design........................................................................8 Safety.......................................................................................................... ........................8 Fuel Efficiency................................................................................................................ ....8 Political implications....................................................................................................... ...8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................9
Bradley Atkins
Page 2
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 3
10/10/2008
Introduction This document details the design of a prototype heat engine that is intended to replace the high pressure steam turbines found in power stations, either Nuclear or Conventional. I have considered prototyping this engine for over 20 years and now acknowledge that I do not have the resources and time available to do so. With this in mind I first documented the design in July 2006 and sent it electronically to every body I thought had in interest in the subject. This included every Atomic Energy Authority I could find online, heat engine research groups and also universities. The more or less blanket inertia I met with surprised me considering our current energy crisis and the fact that I was offering a dramatic increase in fuel efficiency and safety for power stations for free. Although the heat engine research groups were complimentary the Atomic Energy Authorities were astonishingly inert. If they replied at all it was usually to say I had sent the design to the wrong department and then provided no link to the correct one. The only truly enthusiastic response was from a professor at MIT who described this as “An exciting proposal”, and said he was going to try and raise funds for a prototype. Since then I have heard nothing. With this in mind I have decided to rewrite the proposal and add a another diagram for clarity and instead send this to pressure groups for energy conservation and organizations tackling global warming etc in the hope that they will pick it up and try to drive it on themselves. This design is offered gratis globally to any nation, organization or private company that seeks to enhance the safety and efficiency of their power production plants.
Bradley Atkins
Page 3
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 4
10/10/2008
Nickel Titanium Alloy (Shape Memory Alloy) Nickel Titanium Alloy often referred to as NITI or SMA has some remarkable properties that have led to a lot of novel innovative designs for products; it is part of the range of Super Elastic Alloys. There are many sites on the Internet that go into detail on the properties of these remarkable alloys so I will simply provide links to a few of the more interesting and leave the reader to educate themselves further should they choose to do so. Stamford University: http://www.stanford.edu/~richlin1/sma/sma.html A company supplying SMA and prototyping services; (Requires Flash Player). http://www.memory-metalle.de/ For the purposes of this document there are three properties of SMA that are pertinent: 1. SMA “Remembers” the shape it was originally cast in when distorted and will spring back to that shape with remarkable force when supplied with heat. So little heat in fact that it is the most efficient material known for transferring heat into mechanical movement. 2. The point that SMA is triggered to spring back into shape can be “Tuned” to operate at specific temperatures in the original annealing process. 3. SMA does not seem to fatigue when continuously distorted out of shape within its operating limits.
Bradley Atkins
Page 4
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 5
10/10/2008
The Design The design is based on the concept of a squeezebox such as is used in a Barometer or the musical instrument the accordion. The drawing below, (Fig 1) shows a cross section of the SMA squeezebox, hereafter referred to as the heart. Fig. 1 The pump contracted.
When cool the heart can be inflated at low pressure by a pump so that it fills and expands with either Hydraulic oil or air in the case of a pneumatic system, as shown below in figure 2. When heated the heart would then contract at high pressure as shown in figure 1 above. Fig. 2 The pump expanded.
Figure 3 on the next page shows a simple control system to make this heart compress hydraulic oil or air rhythmically. All heat recovery components have been omitted from the drawing for clarity.
Bradley Atkins
Page 5
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 6
10/10/2008
Figure 3 The basic pump or heart
Bradley Atkins
Page 6
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 7
10/10/2008
Cycle of operation 1. With the heart at rest the water jacket is filled with cold water. 2. A low pressure pump inflates the heart with hydraulic oil. 3. The water jacket is then flooded with hot water, shown in Red in Fig. 3. 4. The heart then compresses to its original shape. Thus forcing the hydraulic oil out through the none-return valve to the High Pressure Storage Vessel. 5. The high pressure out line shown at right then feeds a conventional hydraulic motor. Implementation within a power station I envisage a generator hall fitted with hundreds of these SMA hearts pumping hydraulic oil feeding hydraulic motors driving electricity generators. By arranging these in a cellular grid it would be a simple matter to shut down individual cells and remove them for maintenance or recasting: -
Figure 4 A multi cellular arrangement.
Bradley Atkins
Page 7
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 8
10/10/2008
With such an arrangement it would be possible to carry out routine maintenance of individual cells with out the need to shut down the whole power plant. Overall benefits of adopting the design Safety 1. The heat engine can be tuned to run at a lower temperature than a conventional power station requires. Thus avoiding the necessity of generating super heated steam at high pressure to run a turbine. 2. Steam is corrosive to steel and lighter than air, therefore escapes of steam are highly likely in conventional power station design and difficult to contain once escaped. Hydraulic oil does not corrode and is not lighter than air so escapes are less likely and can be simply mopped up and contained. Fuel Efficiency As no prototype has been built it is not possible to give any figures for the efficiency of the proposed heat engine. However there are a number of comments it is reasonable to make regarding the eventual efficiency rating of the design. 1. SMA is the most efficient material found to date for converting heat into mechanical movement. 2. As this design could run on hot water rather than super heated steam; reactors can operate at much lower temperatures and therefore need supply less energy. That being the case they can run for longer on the same amount of fuel. Political implications As far less energy would be required to produce the same amount of electrical power output it would seem likely that far less enrichment of uranium would be required to produce viable fuel rods. So it may be possible to allow the proliferation of nuclear power technology far wider than is presently considered acceptable. As there is no requirement to enrich uranium to a weapons grade to create viable fuel rods.
Bradley Atkins
Page 8
10 October 2008
Bradley Atkins
Page 9
10/10/2008
Conclusion It is my hope that in the current energy crisis someone will now pick up this design and seize the opportunity to generate electrical power at a significant fraction of its present cost. This design is offered without reservation as a free gift to everyone, be they an Atomic Energy Authority or existing electricity provider, in the hope that it will help towards our current problems with global warming and energy poverty. While asking for no financial stake in any design produced, I do ask that anyone adopting this design acknowledge that it is based on my original concept. With kind regards Bradley Atkins
Bradley Atkins
Page 9
10 October 2008
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