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The basic Rankin
Cycle Steam Engine used to date has
changed little since James Watt
invented it over 150 years ago.
Efficiency increases gained by
raising temperatures and
pressures
peaked in the 1930’s. The present
philosophy is to pipe super-heated
steam to the engine and then to a
condenser. Single tubes that carried
sufficient surface area limited the
pressures and temperatures
achievable. These lower pressures
and temperatures dictated a regime
in which the water medium changed
state between a liquid and a gas,
making for a complicated control
system. Though bulky and
inefficient, these systems tended to
be environmentally clean.
The design objective for the Cyclone
Engine is to develop an
environmentally friendly, mixed
multi-fueled, highly efficient,
compact engine.
1. Heat Regeneration – Design
innovations in the Cyclone Engine
significantly reduce the heat
losses. For example, cool air being
taken into the engine chills the
condenser while being reciprocally
pre-warmed before it reaches the
combustion chamber. Vapor exiting
the piston exhaust ports is used to
heat the water that is enroute to
the main heat exchanger. Combustion
exhaust gases are passed through a
heat exchanger that further heats
the combustion intake air, etc. In
the manner of a business management
model where profitability can be
increased by trimming costs, the
efficiency of the Cyclone Engine is
cumulatively increased by actively
addressing sources of heat losses
through innovative design
improvements
2. Super-Critical Fluid - Pressures
in the range of 3200 psi with
temperatures of about 1200°F cause
super-critical vapor to act as a
fluid. Maintaining the
super-critical pressure, in the
centrifuge process, eliminates the
turbulence, backpressure events, and
heat spikes that can occur during
other less efficient types of
super-critical processes. At these
higher temperatures and pressures,
the super-critical 'fluid' carries
more heat energy to the motor it
powers. The Cyclone Engine is a
piston engine with a special valve
mechanism allowing it to operate at
fluid pressures, thereby gaining
multi- advantages; greater
simplicity, reliability and enhanced
power - all supercritical fluid is
contained within the system of the
engine combustion chamber, which
adds to the safety of the engine.
3. High compression – A diesel
engine, although similar is an
internal combustion/internal
expansion engine – The Cyclone
Engine is an external
combustion/internal expansion
engine, using variable timing,
variable compression ratios and
multiple heat exchangers, attributes
to increases in engine efficiency. A
reheat stage is included at lower
compression ratios.
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