Heating systems and methods

Abstract

A heating system comprising: a liquid supply system; a cell configured to: receive liquid from the liquid supply system, provide heating thereof, and output heated fluid; a work extraction system configured to extract useable work from heated fluid output from the cell; wherein the cell comprises: (i) a housing arranged to define an internal portion for receiving liquid to be heated, and (ii) a plurality of electrodes configured to apply electrical energy to fluid in the internal portion; and wherein the electrodes are configured to apply electrical energy to said fluid in the internal portion to generate one or more bubbles of plasma for releasing energy into said fluid in the internal portion and the housing to provide heating of the fluid in the internal portion.

1 . A heating system comprising:
 a liquid supply system;   a cell configured to: receive liquid from the liquid supply system, provide heating thereof, and output heated fluid;   a work extraction system configured to extract useable work from heated fluid output from the cell;   wherein the cell comprises: (i) a housing arranged to define an internal portion for receiving liquid to be heated, and (ii) a plurality of electrodes configured to apply electrical energy to fluid in the internal portion; and   wherein the electrodes are configured to apply electrical energy to said fluid in the internal portion to generate one or more bubbles of plasma for releasing energy into said fluid in the internal portion and the housing to provide heating of the fluid in the internal portion.   
     
     
         2 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a controller configured to: (i) receive a signal indicative of at least one operational parameter of the cell, and (ii) control operation of the heating system based on said operational parameter. 
     
     
         3 . The heating system of  claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the heating system so that heat and/or plasma generation in the cell is above a threshold level. 
     
     
         4 . The heating system of  claim 2 , wherein controlling operation of the heating system comprises controlling at least one of: (i) the supply of liquid to the cell by the liquid supply system, and (ii) the electrical energy applied by the electrodes. 
     
     
         5 . The heating system of  claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to control the supply of liquid to the cell and/or the electrical energy applied by the electrodes based on an obtained indication of demand for heating to be provided by the cell. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The heating system of  claim 2 , wherein the signal indicative of at least one operational parameter comprises an indication of a quality and/or quantity of plasma generation within the cell; and
 wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the heating system so that the quality and/or quantity of plasma generation remains within a selected range.   
     
     
         8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . The heating system of  claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to control at least one of: (i) the supply of liquid to the cell based on the electrical energy to be applied by the plurality of electrodes, and (ii) the electrical energy to be applied by the plurality of electrodes based on the supply of liquid to the cell. 
     
     
         10 . The heating system of  claim 2 , wherein the signal indicative of at least one operational parameter comprises an indication of a temperature associated with at least one of: the cell, the fluid in the cell, and the fluid output from the cell; and
 wherein the controller is configured to control at least one of: (i) the electrical energy applied by the electrodes, (ii) the supply of liquid to the cell, and (iii) an external heater, to increase the temperature of the cell, the fluid in the cell, and/or the fluid output from the cell in the event that the indication of temperature is below a threshold level.   
     
     
         11 . The heating system of  claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to increase the electrical energy applied by the electrodes to provide increased heating and/or decrease the flow rate of liquid through the cell in the event that the indication of temperature is below the threshold level. 
     
     
         12 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein an internal surface of the housing of the cell comprises an electromagnetic energy-absorbing material arranged to convert incident photons into heat. 
     
     
         13 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the liquid supply system is configured to supply liquid to the cell under pressure, and the cell is arranged to retain fluid in the housing under pressure. 
     
     
         14 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the liquid supply system is configured to increase heating of liquid prior to supplying it to the cell in the event that heat and/or plasma generation of the cell is below a threshold level. 
     
     
         15 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes comprises: (i) an anode arranged to provide a conductive path for current to be applied to fluid in the internal portion, and (ii) a cathode arranged to provide a conductive path away from the internal portion for current received from the anode through the fluid in the internal portion. 
     
     
         16 . The heating system of  claim 15  further comprising a balancing electrode arranged to provide an additional conductive path towards or away from fluid in the internal portion, for example wherein the anode, cathode and balancing electrode all have the same coefficient of thermal expansion. 
     
     
         17 . The heating system of  claim 16 , wherein the balancing electrode is separated from the conductive path from the first electrode to the second electrode, for example wherein the balancing electrode extends perpendicularly away from the conductive path from the first electrode to the second electrode, for example wherein the balancing electrode is arranged to be closer to the first electrode than the second electrode is. 
     
     
         18 . The heating system of  claim 15 , wherein the cell comprises a resistive element arranged between the anode and cathode, for example wherein the resistive element comprises quartz. 
     
     
         19 . The heating system of  claim 15 , wherein the anode and cathode are arranged concentrically with each other. 
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . A method of providing a heated fluid for extracting useable work therefrom, the method comprising:
 supplying a liquid to be heated to a cell, wherein the cell comprises: (i) a housing arranged to define an internal portion for receiving the liquid to be heated, and (ii) a plurality of electrodes configured to apply electrical energy to fluid in the internal portion;   controlling operation of the plurality of electrodes to apply electrical energy to fluid in the internal portion to generate one or more bubbles of plasma;   generating heat in the housing proximal to the internal portion in response to the housing receiving incident photons associated with plasma bubbles in the internal portion;   using the housing to conductively heat fluid in the internal portion.   
     
     
         24 . A method of controlling operation of a heating system, the heating system comprising a cell comprising: (i) a housing arranged to define an internal portion for receiving liquid to be heated, and (ii) a plurality of electrodes configured to apply electrical energy to fluid in the internal portion, the method comprising:
 controlling operation of the electrodes to apply electrical energy to fluid in the internal portion to generate one or more bubbles of plasma for releasing energy from the plasma into the fluid in the internal portion and the housing to provide heating of the fluid in the internal portion, wherein controlling operation of the electrodes comprises:
 receiving a signal indicative of at least one operational parameter associated with the cell and/or a fluid associated therewith; 
 operating in a ‘cold-start’ mode when the operational parameter indicates heating and/or plasma generation is below a threshold level; and 
 operating in a ‘normal’ mode when the operational parameter indicates heating and/or plasma generation is above the threshold level; 
   wherein operating in the cold-start mode comprises controlling at least one of: (i) the electrical energy applied by the electrodes, (ii) supply of liquid to the cell, and (iii) operation of an external heater, to increase the temperature of the cell and/or the fluid associated therewith in the event that the operational parameter indicates heating and/or plasma generation is below a threshold level.   
     
     
         25 . A computer program product comprising computer program instructions configured to control a processor to perform the method of  claim 23 .