In a steam engine, an intermediate phase is provided for preheating the feedwater before it enters the boiler. The preheating is achieved by means of the reapplication of the otherwise dispensable exhaust steam in a simple feedback operation in which the exhaust steam is introduced directly into the feedwater. By means of electronic controls the operation of the system at the highest possible point of preheat (up to 210.degree. F.) is achieved thus assuring both high efficiency of the machine an...

A thermal engine system is characterized by a cylinder having a suitable working fluid disposed therein and having a piston reciprocally movable in first and second directions within the cylinder, the piston dividing the cylinder into first and second pressurization regions. In one embodiment, a thermally responsive, expansible member is operatively connected directly at one free terminus thereof to the piston. In an alternate embodiment, the free terminus of the thermally responsive, expansible...

A closed working fluid system for a regenerative Stirling engine is disclosed. The system employs double-acting pistons arranged with each low temperature (compression) space connected to one hot (expansion) space of an adjacent piston. The low temperature spaces are all connected to a reservoir system employing two separate chambers, one at a high pressure and another at a relatively low pressure. Control means select the reservoir for communication with the working system depending on the torq...

A heat engine comprising a cylindrical heat chamber having an end wall of insulating material and on which is mounted a cylinder. An opening in the end wall communicates between the heat chamber and the cylinder. The cylinder is surrounded by a cooling jacket and a piston reciprocates in the cylinder. The end of the cylinder remote from the end wall is open and a connecting rod has one end secured to the cylinder and the other end to a fly wheel. A second rod extends from the cylinder through th...

In a turbine driven power generating plant of the type using for example a hydrocarbon or halocarbon as the working fluid operating on or near the surface of an ocean, warm surface water is used as a source of heat for a boiler and cold water pumped from substantial depths is used to condense the working fluid after it has been expanded through the turbine. An auxiliary power source for starting the water pumps of the main system includes a prime mover driving a compressor which in turn supplies...

A method of, and apparatus for, regulating a resuperheated steam turbine wherein there is carried out a reference value-actual value comparison of the rotational speed and there is derived an adjustment or control magnitude from the reference value-actual value difference, this adjustment magnitude being infed to a regulation valve arrangement. There is derived from the resuperheated pressure a feedback magnitude which, as a function of time, yields to null and is coupled into a regulation circu...

A thermally responsive power device is disclosed employing a thermally sensitive unit in which are housed multiple vapor/gas filled capsules which expand and contract in response to temperature changes. The thermally responsive element is connected in a closed system through a conduit or tube to a remote diaphragm power or motion producing unit, and a temperature stable hydraulic fluid filling the space with the system moves the diaphragm in accordance with the expansions and contractions of the...

The invention consists of a differential temperature engine in which the return stroke is achieved independently of the contraction of the vapor which induced the initial movement of the moving member. The engine consists of a relatively cold and a relatively warm chamber which are sealed from the outside environment, and contain a low boiling point fluid. One end of a cylinder communicates with the vapors in the relatively warm chamber while the opposing end of the cylinder communicates with th...

An energy cogeneration system of the type employed in industrial plants, such as paper mills, is described. The system utilizes the energy of steam to generate electricity, as well as to operate various industrial processes in the plant. The requirements of the processes for steam are continuously monitored, and if the requirements at any given time are significantly less than the steam being delivered thereto, the delivered steam pressure and/or temperature is reduced to make more steam energy ...

An arrangement for storing energy to cover peak-load conditions and serve as a stop-gap reserve in steam power plants. A live steam generator is connected to a steam turbine, and a storage vessel is provided with a steam cushion volume and a water content volume. The water content of the storage vessel is connected, on the one hand, to a single-or multi-stage secondary steam generator which is connected, in turn, on the steam side to the turbine by a working steam line. A hot-water return line c...