External Combustion Engine

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Energy is mostly derived from fossil fuels and renewable resources are neglected. Combustion of material is a very common system of releasing energy.

The reciprocal (piston) engine has taken over the world of transportation and mobile machines but this design has been developed for the combustion of liquid fuels.

Vast resources of energy are wasted annually and these could be put to use in many applications. All farms have huge resources of combustible material that could be used for farming activities.

The External Combustion Engine would be able to do just that. The normal mechanical energy cycle comprises a gas compression stroke, a heating stroke and an expansion stroke. Reciprocal engines come in two and four stroke cycles.

Rotary engines come in many designs of which jet engines is but one example. Turbines run at very high rotational speed but a vane type engine would be able to run at moderate speeds.

The attached drawing show the principle for a rotary as well as a reciprocating engine. Instead of the fuel being ignited inside the compression chamber it is burned outside and heats up a heat exchanger that transfers the heat to the compressed gases inside the heat exchanger. This energy increases the pressure in the chamber and forces the rotor or piston to turn the drive shaft.

Normal farming rests are burned just to get rid of it but these can be transformed into highly combustible fuels and with the correct burner the external engine would be able to function similarly to the known reciprocating gasoline consuming engines.

Grass cuttings and tree felling can add to the fuel resource.

The emissions from this type of engine would not add to the Carbon Dioxide atmospheric pollution as it will be burned anyway. It will greatly reduce Carbon Monoxide pollution as the burner will be producing controlled combustion with enough oxygen.

With the cry for greener fuels and the price increases of fossil fuels this could bring the farming community huge costs.

The External combustion engine should be more efficient as it does not exhaust the gases to the atmosphere but recycles it.

This type of engine should be a very good replacement for stationary power requirements.

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Johan Van Niekerk
  • Type of entry:
    individual
  • Profession:
    Engineer/Designer
  • Johan is inspired by:
    Experience, seeing challenges and solving them.
  • Software used for this entry:
    CAD
  • Patent status:
    none