Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F23—COMBUSTION APPARATUS; COMBUSTION PROCESSES
  • F23R—GENERATING COMBUSTION PRODUCTS OF HIGH PRESSURE OR HIGH VELOCITY, e.g. GAS-TURBINE COMBUSTION CHAMBERS
  • F23R7/00—Intermittent or explosive combustion chambers

Definitions

• the present disclosure refers to a heating system for producing and applying heat, and a method for producing and applying heat in a heating system.
• Such heating systems are operated for producing heat, and applying at least a portion of the heat produced. Heat produced may be applied in a variety of processes.
• a rotating detonation engine which may also be referred to as rotating detonation combustor (RDC) uses a form of pressure gain combustion, where one or more detonations continuously travel around an annular channel. In detonative combustion, the flame front propagates at supersonic speed.
• the basic concept of an RDE is a detonation wave that travels around a circular channel (annulus). Fuel and oxidizer are injected into the channel, normally through small holes or slits. A detonation is initiated in the fuel / oxidizer mixture by some form of igniter. After the engine is started, the detonations are self-sustaining.
• One detonation ignites the fuel / oxidizer mixture, which releases the energy necessary to sustain the detonation.
• the combustion products expand out of the channel and are pushed out of the channel by the incoming fuel and oxidizer.
• the rotating detonation engine has been applied in rockets and gas turbine engines.
• the rocket is powered by work extracted from the output of the rotating detonation engine by producing thrust through the conversion of momentum via mass ejection.
• the gas turbine converts product gas expansion into shaft work or thrust.
• a heating system for producing and applying heat according to claim 1 is provided. Further, a method for producing and applying heat in a heating system according to claim 14 is provided. Additional aspects are disclosed in dependent claims.
• a heating system for producing and applying heat comprising a heat generator operable to produce a heated gas; and a heating applicator operable to extract heat from the heated gas and apply the heat for heating.
• the heat generator comprises a rotating detonation combustor operable to produce and exhaust the heated gas.
• a method for producing and applying heat in a heating system comprising: producing a heated gas in a heat generator; and extracting heat from the heated gas, and applying the heat for heating by a heating applicator.
• a rotating detonation combustor of the heat generator is producing the heated gas.
• the application or use of the rotating detonation combustor for producing heat which subsequently is applied for heating provides for an efficient and high yield heating system.
• the heat applicator may be operable to extract the heat free of extracting work from the heated gas exhausted by the rotating detonation combustor.
• the rotating detonation combustor may comprise a reactant supply plenum operable to supply a plurality of reactants.
• the rotating detonation combustor may comprise a reactant supply plenum operable to produce a premix of at least two of the plurality of reactants in a combustion chamber of the rotating detonation combustor.
• the reactant supply plenum is operable to generate the premix in the combustion chamber of the rotating detonation combustor.
• the rotating detonation combustor may comprise a reactant injector operable to inject one or more reactants from the plurality of reactants.
• Upstream of the reactant injector at least one of the following may be provided: an air pressure of about 10 bar or less; and a fuel pressure of about 15 bar or less.
• supply pressures relative to the combustion chamber pressure i.e. air pressure may be up to 10 bar above the chamber pressure, and fuel pressure may be up to 15 bar above the chamber pressure.
• the injector may comprise a geometric element configured to minimize injection flow disruption, such as a fluidic diode.
• the rotating detonation combustor comprises cooling section; and the injector is operable to split an air flow, comprising directing a first portion of the air flow through the reactant injector and directing a second portion of the air flow through the cooling section.
• the reactant injector may be operable to inject at least one of a gas stream and a liquid stream in addition to injecting the one or more reactants from the plurality of reactants.
• the rotating detonation combustor may comprise a combustion chamber operable to receive the one or more reactants injected by the reactant injector and to allow detonation wave propagation.
• the reactant injector may be operable to align a flow of the one or more reactants injected by the reactant injector with a central axis of the combustion chamber.
• the combustion chamber may be provided with a chamber form selected from the following group of chamber forms: annular chamber form; elongated annular form; elongated annular closed chamber form; and elongated annular non-closed chamber form.
• the combustion chamber may have a chamber design selected from the following: an annular form with constant cross-section; an annular form with expanding outerbody; an annular form with contracting outerbody; an annular form with expanding outerbody and center-body with increasing, decreasing, or constant cross-sectional area; an annular form with contracting outerbody and centerbody with increasing, decreasing, or constant cross-sectional area; and a non-axisymmetric form.
• the combustion chamber may have a chamber design or form selected from the following: an elongated annular form in stadium shape; an elongated closed form; and an elongated non-closed form.
• the combustion chamber may comprise an array of sub-combustion chambers.
• the aspects disclosed above for the heating system may apply mutatis mutandis.
• a heating system 1 comprising a heat generator 2, and a heat applicator 3 is shown.
• the heat generator 2 is operable for generating a heated gas from which heat for heating can be extracted by the heating applicator 3.
• the heated gas produced by the heat generator 2 may be applied for heating.
• heat may be transferred from the heated gas to a heat exchange or heat transmission system (not shown) which will transfer the heat for application.
• Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of the heat generator 2 with further detail.
• the heat generator comprises a rotating detonation combustor 4 operable to produce and exhaust the heated gas.
• the rotating detonation combustor 4 comprises a reactant supply plenum 5 operable to supply a plurality of reactants.
• a pressurized gas plenum may be provided which is containing separated reactants.
• a plurality of separated reactant supply plenums may be provided.
• the rotating detonation combustor 4 comprises an injector 6 operable to rapidly inject and mix reactants in the short period between successive wave passages.
• a combustion chamber 7 is provided into which the reactants are injected and mixed and through which the detonation wave propagates. Heated gas produced is outputted through a gas outlet 8.
• a section of the gas outlet 8 may be configured to condition the flow in terms of velocity, temperature, pressure, Mach number, and fluctuation amplitude.
• the reactant supply plenum 5 may comprise separate plenums for each reactant from a plurality of reactants.
• Fuels are typically hydrogen, natural gas, ethylene, or other hydrocarbons.
• Oxidizers are typically air for air-breathing applications (such as gas turbines for power generation or propulsion) or oxygen for rocket applications (although one could envisage other propellant combinations).
• supply plenum pressures can be in a middle range, and may differ between the fuel and air.
• Fuel pressures may be higher, and are likely to be determined by the storage technology, especially for hydrogen.
• Plenum pressure will be determined by compressor pressure ratio.
• a pressure ratio may be between around 15 to 40, therefore air supply pressures in the plenum will be around 10 to 40 bars, depending on altitude.
• Fuel supply pressure will be greater than a pressure in the combustion chamber 7 (combustion chamber pressure), and may have a corresponding range of 20 to 50 bars, although it can be much higher.
• a low pressure ratio may be provided around 3 to 6.
• Supply pressures within the one or more reactant supply plenums 5 immediately upstream of the reactant injectors 6 may be much lower than the above identified examples for pressure.
• Embodiments may have air supply pressures limited to less than about 10 bar. Fuel pressures may also be correspondingly lower, for example less than about 15 bar.
• a premixed configuration may be provided, where the fuel and oxidizer are premixed within the reactant supply plenum 5.
• the injector 6 is responsible for the rapid injection and mixing of the reactants before the arrival of each subsequent wave.
• One or more injectors may be provided. Groups of 2 (doublet) or 3 (triplet) jets may impinge on each other and mix together. Alternatively, swirled or pintle injectors, or jets in crossflows or co-flows may be used. Fluid dynamic or structural features may be utilized to enhance mixing rate.
• injectors may be described as a fuel jet injecting into the air stream, such as in a jet-in-crossflow configuration. Alternatively, they may be described similarly to the RDRE impinging jet, swirled, or pintle configurations, but scaled to account for the differences in reactant mass and volumetric flow rate.
• the fuel is typically distributed around the combustion chamber 7, resulting in a plurality of regions of local mixing (i.e. 50 or more jets).
• a similar injector configuration to the RDGT may be provided, although the other configurations are also feasible.
• One major differentiator is the sizing and balancing of the injector.
• the overall lower pressure may result in generally larger injector areas compared to RDGT or RDRE.
• one of the most important considerations is to limit the total pressure loss through the injector.
• Total pressure (also called stagnation pressure) is a technical term that is key to the technology. It represents the static and dynamic components of pressure.
• the static pressure is the pressure that we normally feel.
• the dynamic component is related to the kinetic energy of the flow. A good way to think about total pressure is to imagine your arm sticking out of the window of a moving car.
• the static pressure is the normal atmospheric pressure.
• the design principles of the injector 6 may comprise the following objectives:
• the injector 6 may also utilize a split total air flow, directing a portion through the injector 6 and a remainder through a cooling liner and / or dilution section (not shown) downstream. Such a split may allow for higher local equivalence ratios in the combustion zone as well as cooling and dilution control per application requirements.
• the injector 6 may also utilize additional gas or liquid streams in addition to the principle reactants.
• Example embodiments may include, for example, injection of steam or atomized water, recirculated combustion products or furnace exhaust, etc. Such embodiments may utilize their tertiary flow to control the exhaust gas temperature, generate a specific exhaust gas composition, or recover the furnace exhaust gas waste heat.
• the injector 6 may also utilize injection of additives that utilize the unique high temperature environments of flames and detonations for the synthesis of specific material properties.
• Embodiments may include the injection of metals or precursors for the formation of nanoparticles.
• Another example embodiment may be for the injection of precursors to be used for the surface coating or deposition of flame synthesized materials on a substrate.
• Such embodiments may utilize the extremely high temperature and pressure environment with the detonation wave and/or the short residence time within the combustion chamber (before deposition) to enable new coatings and/or particle synthesis.
• the combustion chamber 7 is responsible for the containment and guidance of the propagating detonation wave.
• the combustion chamber 7 may be configured as follows:
• combustion chamber may be contoured to the specific needs of the heating applications. Specific embodiments can be described as follows:
• the (exhaust) gas outlet 8 is operable for conditioning of the flow for the heat application. Since embodiments of the prior art RDRE and RDGT seek to extract work from the product gases, such configurations seek to minimize the magnitude of fluctuations of gas and flow properties at the outlet of the combustor or inlet to the expansion region. This is generally a requirement for the efficient extraction of work through a reaction engine producing thrust through the conversion of momentum via mass ejection by a nozzle (RDRE) or conversion of product gas expansion into shaft work (RDGT). Embodiments of the heating system 1 do not seek to extract mechanical work from the product gases. As such, high amplitude fluctuations may be suppressed. High amplitude fluctuations may be utilized to enhance heat transfer and / or other processes within heating applications.
• the gas outlet 8 may be configured to decelerate the exhaust gas through geometric variation or other means to subsonic conditions. The strength of normal and / or oblique shocks in the exhaust section may be minimized.
• embodiments may be configured to utilize or enhance the uniquely fluctuating exhaust flow field.
• Example embodiments may utilize the direct impingement of the heated gas onto the heated surface, whereby the fluctuating flow field may enhance the heat transfer through the periodic destruction of the boundary layer, the closer proximity of the stagnation point to the heat surface due to higher velocities and density, the cyclic repositioning of the stagnation point due to the fluctuating field, and / or higher convective gas velocities.
• Embodiments may also utilize features of the previous without direct impingement.
• the uniformity of the heating profile may be enhanced via higher velocity exhaust flow or via combustor shape as described previously.
• Embodiments may also shape the exhaust geometry to interface the more compact, higher thermal power density with existing constant pressure burner installations. Such retrofit applications may suppress or enhance the exhaust gas fluctuation.
• FIG. 3 to 14 different embodiments of the combustion chamber 8 are depicted.
• the reactants injected by the injector 6 are supplied through an inlet 30 to a channel 31 in which the detonations continuously travel.
• the heated gas is outputted through the gas outlet 8.
• Fig. 3 shows an embodiment with the combustion chamber 8 having an annular form with constant cross-section.
• Fig. 4 shows an embodiment with the combustion chamber 8 having an annular with expanding outerbody.
• Fig. 5 shows an embodiment with the combustion chamber 8 having an annular with contracting outerbody.
• Fig. 6 shows an embodiment with the combustion chamber 8 having an annular form with expanding outerbody and centerbody with increasing, decreasing, or constant cross-sectional area.
• Fig. 7 shows an embodiment with the combustion chamber 8 having an annular form with contracting outerbody and centerbody with increasing, decreasing, or constant cross-sectional area.
• Fig. 8 shows an embodiment with the combustion chamber 8 having a non-axisymmetric form. With respect to the combustion chamber 8, other forms may be applied.
• Fig. 9 shows an embodiment with the combustion chamber 8 having an elongated annular form in stadium shape. Aspects of varying cross-sectional area from Fig. 3 to 8 may be applied to the chamber design having an elongated form, such as the chamber design in Fig. 9 .
• Fig. 10 shows an embodiment with the combustion chamber 8 having an elongated closed form.
• FIG. 11 to 14 embodiments with the combustion chamber 8 having a non-closed form are depicted.
• a closed-form is operable to allow a wave propagating through a refilled mixture.
• the wave will be able to complete a lap around the combustion chamber and return to the starting point without encountering a closed wall.
• the wave cannot complete a lap or cycle without having to double back on itself.
• Burner(s) in high temperature furnace may comprise the heating system 1, such as for steel heating. These types of burners are designed to realize different flame / exhaust gas properties.
• a heat exchanger may comprise the heating system 1.
• the exhaust of the heat generator 2 could be shaped and directly connected to the hot gas side of a heat exchanger.
• the fluctuating, high velocity RDC exhaust will enhance the heat transfer, while the heat exchanger surface will provide flow restriction which enhances the combustion.
• the heat exchanger surface can be optimized by traditional or additive manufacturing processes.
• the cold side working fluid can be the heating of water, oil, steam, liquid metals, or molten salts for other processes.
• the exhaust gases could additionally be recirculated in order to recover waste heat or to preheat the fresh combustion oxidizer.
• Burner(s) with injection of precursor material for nanoparticle or surface coating may comprise the heating system 1.
• Such an application would inject a precursor material, either in the vicinity of the reactant injectors or further downstream in the product gas.
• the precursor material would react / melt / vaporize in the combustion chamber to create a product gas that would result in the generation of (i) nanoparticles that may have useful/desirable material properties in their own right, or (ii) material that could be deposited on a substrate as part of a coating processes.
• the shape of the combustion chamber could be designed to fit the particular process, for example to provide an even coating across a surface.
• An array of small burners for a variety of production processes requiring short, intermittent direct heating may comprise the heating system 1. Such an embodiment would utilize the rapid startup and shutdown of the heating system 1, combined with the high intensity localized heating to only provide heat when and where it is needed. Machine vision or other monitoring processes can ignite individual combustors only when needed and stop combustion when not needed to reduce fuel consumption. Alternative integrations could instead utilize elongated burner shapes to provide uniform heating along one coordinate and follow the same on/off strategy.
• a system with steam / exhaust gas dilution may comprise the heating system 1.
• This configuration incorporates steam in or near the injector.
• the steam can be provided by recirculated product gases, secondary steam generation, or liquid water injection.
• Such a configuration may endeavor to achieve the performance improvements of the RDC combustion process, but use the steam or exhaust gas recirculation to reduce the exhaust gas temperature (e.g. 400-500 C). May include additional / tertiary steam or exhaust gas dilution occurring outside of the combustion chamber.
• Such applications may include steam drying or other middle/high temperature applications.

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Citations (6)

• 2024
  • 2024-05-14 EP EP24175699.8A patent/EP4650664A1/fr active Pending
• 2025
  • 2025-05-14 WO PCT/EP2025/063218 patent/WO2025238073A1/fr active Pending

Patent Citations (6)

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