Vortex liquid piston engine and some other vortex technologies

Abstract

By exploiting three unique characteristics of confined swirling incompressible flows - centrifugal acceleration, internal separation or recirculation zones near the axis, and bistability (i.e. rarefied and condensed stable states) of multi-phase flows - we developed several innovative vortex machines which will revolutionize mechanical technologies in a variety of industries. The machines utilizing these features include: Vortex Engine, Vortex Thruster, Vortex Suction Device, Vortex Chemical Reactor, Bubbling Centrifuge and Vortex Mill. As a specific example, we describe here in some detail the development of a liquid piston engine, including analysis of its hydrodynamic and thermodynamic features. We have designed a laboratory `cold' model and performed detailed experimental, theoretical and numerical analyses to study the role of the controlling parameters and are now ready to test a `hot' model. In addition, we mention a few other vortex technologies of interest to us.