Johnson electric heat pipe

Abstract

A Johnson Electric Heat Pipe direct heat to electricity converter includes a housing containing a wick, a vapor exchange recuperator, a two-phase working fluid, an ionizable non-condensable gas, preferably hydrogen or oxygen, and an electrochemical cell. The heat pipe is coupled to a heat source and a heat sink. The gas phase of the two-phase working fluid and the non-condensable gas exist at partial pressures within a constant pressure system. Heat from the source evaporates two-phase working fluid resulting in low partial pressure of non-condensable gas. Heat rejected to the heat sink condenses working fluid, resulting in high partial pressure non-condensable gas. The non-condensable gas partial pressure differential is applied across the electrochemical cell whereby non-condensable gas expands through the electrochemical cell and generates electrical energy. The vapor exchange recuperator recuperates a substantial portion of two-phase working fluid heat of condensation for use as two-phase working fluid heat of evaporation.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A Johnson Electric Heat Pipe (JEHP) comprising:
 a housing;   a two-phase working fluid;   an ionizable non-condensing gas;   a phase change heat recuperator; and   an electrochemical cell,   the JEHP being coupled to a heat source and a heat sink,   a gas phase of the two-phase working fluid and the non-condensable gas forming a mixed gas within the housing at varying partial pressures of the constituent gases with a substantially constant total pressure,   a first portion of the mixed gas being substantially ionizable gas and a second portion of the mixed gas being substantially two-phase working fluid gas being supplied to and forming an ionizable gas partial pressure differential across the electrochemical cell,   the electrochemical cell producing electrical power as ionizable gas expands through the electrochemical cell under the partial pressure differential as heat of expansion is supplied by the heat source,   the phase change heat recuperator maintaining a supply of substantially condensable gas to the electrochemical cell by capturing a portion of condensable gas from mixed gas leaving the electrochemical cell and supplying it back to the electrochemical cell via a condensation evaporation process to maintain the ionizable gas partial pressure differential,   heat rejected to the heat sink condensing two-phase gas from the mixed gas leaving the substantially non-condensable gas whereby the substantially non-condensable gas is supplied to the electrochemical cell opposite the substantially condensable gas to maintain the partial pressure differential of ionizable gas across the electrochemical cell.   
     
     
         2 . The JEHP of  claim 1 , wherein the phase change heat recuperator is a wick containing liquid phase condensable working fluid. 
     
     
         3 . A Johnson Electric Heat Pipe (JEHP) comprising:
 a housing;   a two-phase working fluid;   an ionizable non-condensing gas;   a phase change heat recuperator;   a first electrochemical cell; and   a second electrochemical cell,   the JEHP being coupled to a heat source and a heat sink to convert potential energy differential between the heat source and heat sink into electricity,   the phase change heat recuperator, electrochemical cell, an expansion chamber, and a condensation chamber being contained within the housing,   a gas phase of the two-phase working fluid and the non-condensable gas being contained as a mixed gas within the housing at varying partial pressures relative to each other,   a first portion of the mixed gas being substantially ionizable gas and a second portion of the mixed gas being substantially two-phase working fluid gas being supplied to and forming an ionizable gas partial pressure differential across the electrochemical cell,   the first electrochemical cell producing electrical power as ionizable gas expands through the electrochemical cell under the partial pressure differential as heat of expansion is supplied by the heat source,   the phase change heat recuperator maintaining a supply of substantially condensable gas to the electrochemical cell by capturing condensable gas from a gas mixture leaving the first electrochemical cell and supplying condensable gas back to the first electrochemical cell via a condensation evaporation process to maintain the ionizable gas partial pressure differential,   electrical power being supplied to the second electrochemical cell to extract non-condensable gas from the gas mixture thereby increasing the partial pressures condensable gas on one side and non-condensable gas on the other, condensable gas condensing under the increased pressure, the resulting heats of compression and condensation being rejected to the heat sink, and the extracted non-condensable gas being supplied to the first electrochemical cell opposite the substantially condensable gas to maintain the partial pressure differential of ionizable gas across the first electrochemical cell.   
     
     
         4 . The JEHP of  claim 3 , wherein the phase change heat recuperator is a wick. 
     
     
         5 . A Johnson Electric Heat Pipe (JEHP) comprising:
 a housing;   a two-phase working fluid;   an ionizable non-condensing gas;   a phase change heat recuperator;   a venturi wick section;   an electrochemical cell; and   a venturi,   the JEHP being coupled to a heat source and a heat sink,   a gas phase of the two-phase working fluid and the non-condensable gas forming a mixed gas within the housing at varying partial pressures of the constituent gases with a substantially constant total pressure,   a first portion of the mixed gas being substantially ionizable gas and a second portion being substantially two-phase working fluid gas being supplied to and forming an ionizable gas partial pressure differential across the electrochemical cell,   the electrochemical cell producing electrical power as ionizable gas expands through the electrochemical cell under the partial pressure differential as heat of expansion is supplied by the heat source,   the phase change heat recuperator maintaining a supply of substantially condensable gas to the electrochemical cell by capturing condensable gas from mixed gas leaving the electrochemical cell and supplying it back to the electrochemical cell via a condensation evaporation process to maintain the ionizable gas partial pressure differential,   the venturi wick section being coupled to the heat source, the heat sink and the venturi to supply water to the venturi as condensed from the mixed gas by heat removal to the heat sink, the venturi being coupled to the electrochemical cell, the heat source supplying heat to evaporate water from the venturi wick section with the resulting steam being driven through the venturi under pressure to produce a pressure differential,   heat rejected to the heat sink condensing two phase gas from the mixed gas, the resulting remaining gas being substantially non-condensable gas whereby the substantially non-condensable gas is supplied to the electrochemical cell opposite the substantially condensable gas to maintain the ionizable gas partial pressure differential of ionizable gas across the electrochemical cell.   
     
     
         6 . The JEHP of  claim 5 , wherein the venturi produces a pressure differential across the electrochemical cell to amplify the non-condensable gas partial pressure differential. 
     
     
         7 . The JEHP of  claim 5 , wherein the venturi produces a pressure differential across the phase change heat recuperator such that condensable working fluid partial pressure differential is sufficient to cause condensable working fluid condensation on one side of the phase change heat recuperator and evaporation on the other side as its liquid phase migrates through the phase change heat recuperator with heat conduction.