WO2004003372A1 - Flow regulation device for fluids, fuels in particolar - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for regulating the flow of highly inflammable fluids, to be fitted in the supply duct, including separate chambers that are intercommunicating by means of holes made at right angles along the direction of flow. These cylindrical, coaxial chambers are fitted in a series of inductors that self-oscillate creating variable frequencies on consequent harmonics, thus the chemical-electrical structure of the molecule of fuel is modified with consequent catalytic cracking.

Description

FLOW REGULATION DEVICE FOR FLUIDS, FUELS IN PARTICULAR The present invention relates to a channelling device for regulating the flow of fuels to be conveyed to the combustion chambers of thermal engines and similar. The state of art contains some teachings of electronic devices made up of a liquid or gaseous flow pipe, outside which are wound coils that determine a cracking reaction in the fluid that flows through said pipe. Although functional, such devices present a number of drawbacks deriving from the fact that it is not possible to achieve an adjustment of fluid flow in accordance with the quantity of such fluid actually required by the end user inasmuch as pipes of such section are used such as to allow a larger flow than that actually required by the thermal engine used and, as usual, in the fuel supply and distribution system of each thermal machine, whether this envisages constant or variable flow, for the variations in thermal power required, a duct is fitted which, through a fixed-pressure valve, conveys the excess fuel back to the supply tank.

An example of the above consists of thermal engine supply devices. The technical problem thus arises of making a regulating device for the flow of fluid, such as a fuel that transits coaxially inside a duct. In the framework of such problem, a further requirement is that the device can be associated with means for generating a fluid cracking reaction to achieve optimal fuel efficiency with consequent reduction of polluting emissions. Such technical problem is solved according to this invention by a device for regulating the flow of fuels, to be fitted inside the supply duct characterised by the fact that it consists of separate chambers intercommunicating through holes made at right angles along the direction of flow and made of metals of different structure and nature.

Further characteristics of the invention are more fully evidenced by the example of embodiment of the device described below by way of example, but not limitative, with reference to the attached illustrations showing : in figure 1: a schematic view of a first embodiment of the device according to this invention represented in the exploded drawing in figure 2: a schematic view of the device in figure 1 shown assembled in figure 3 : a schematic view of a second embodiment of the device according to this invention in figure 4: a schematic view of the device in figure 3 fitted in electric windings for the generation of a cracking reaction in the fluid and in figure 5 : functional diagrams with relevant dimensions of the device in figure 3. As shown in figure 1 the device in accordance with this invention consists of five basic parts, which in the technical and structural description of functional example will be described in every detail:

By "Term. A " is indicated an Aisi 316L stainless-steel pipe with an internal diameter of 8 mm and external diameter of 10 mm with a length equivalent to 6 cm.

By "Term. B" is indicated an Aisi 316L stainless-steel pipe, perfectly identical to "Term. A ".

By "Cam. A " is indicated a copper pipe with internal diameter of 6 mm and external diameter of 8 mm, having a length of 6 cm, on this pipe three 1.5 mm through holes are made at a distance of 0.5 cm the one from the other, starting from the internal end occlusion "OC" This copper pipe is wedged inside "Term.

A", into which it penetrates by 0.5 cm and is then welded with silver alloy at

48%.

By "Cam. B " is indicated a copper pipe perfectly identical to "Cam. A " that undergoes the same fitting and welding procedure as "Term. B "

By "D-H-L" are indicated the through holes made in the copper pipes "Cam. A and Cam. B ".

By "Coll. Est. " is indicated a copper pipe having an internal diameter of 10 mm and an external diameter of 12 mm, with an overall length of 13 cm. This pipe represents the external manifold that encloses the entire system which can be examined in figure 2, perfectly assembled.

In figure 2, in the assembled combination, by "PG", are indicated the "junction and welding points". The new invention system makes it possible to regulate the flow of fuel towards the supply unit of the thermal machine in which it is used, in an optimal way and, affecting the fuel due to the separation of the main flow into diverted flows which undergo axial rotation and variable pressure because of the holes made in the inlet - outlet duct, (internal chambers), favours the nebulisation of the fuel which has to enter the combustion chambers in the best and fastest possible inflammability way.

Furthermore, due to the constantly changing temperature, in a thermal assembly, variability that is accentuated inside the new invention system, due to the transit of fuel coming cold from the tank, a potentiality difference is generated that originates from the junction points of the pipes, made of different metal, of which the same equipment is made and which behaves like a thermocouple.

This type of polarisation, inverted and variable in - amplitude, permits conditioning the fuel, organising within its molecular inside -an order of transit resonating with the distances of the transit holes. To achieve optimal results, to make the "Flow regulator" described above, it is therefore indispensable to use metals of different nature but with permeability equivalent to that of copper, Aisi 316L stainless steel and the material used to join said metals (welding), which in our case is silver alloy at 48%. In fact, the assembly thus made has shown, not only in the laboratory, the peculiarities attributed to it ever since its design.

The numerous gas chromatograms and the tests performed with the prototypes made, directly in use, have made it possible to establish with absolute certainty that the results obtainable and imagined during design have in fact been achieved. To better understand the operation of the new invention system, it must be pointed out that the fuel intended to supply a thermal apparatus, after interposing the new invention system, must cross the assembly, flowing through a pipe which, closed at its end, permits the flow to exit only through through holes made at right angles along the direction of flow. Said holes are important for adjusting the pressures and low pressures which self-generate inside the ducts and are intended to create bypass flows to enable the junctions of the different metals making up the system to affect the peripheral quantity of generated flow, at thermocouple level and with inverted polarity, due to the inconstant temperature, variable for the time of transit through the internal chambers of the system and for the quantity of requested fuel, depending on the power used; and, according to the power used, the holes that convey the fuel must be of the size required to supply the thermal apparatus used.

It therefore appears obvious that the dimension in millimetres of the holes made in the fuel communication and transit pipes must be calculated according to the thermal kW to be produced and allow correct supply.

It appears obvious that because the holes are made at intervals along the internal transit pipe, different pressures are produced and these undergo rotation due to the retention of the external pipe or manifold that contains the system. The by pass flows thus originated, to exit from the opposite side of the assembly, have to again cross another series of holes, positioned on the other opposed pipe, made in the same way as the first one described but, due to the distance calculated between the two, a flywheel point is created that enables the bypass flows to assume different rotation and to cross the holes, in this case outlet and supply holes, only according to the actual request of the thermal apparatus to be supplied.

In actual fact, correct use is obtained of the fuel conveyed to the parts that have to convey this to the combustion chambers, fuel that is affected by pressures, fluidity and temperatures different from those originated by the supply pump, in accordance with the actual path which the new invention system forces the fuel to take, fuel which due to the thermocouple effect generated undergoes enough alterations that permit obtaining better performances in relation to the ease of nebulisation which permits a real and better inflammability at the time of entry into the combustion chamber, which results in better thermal efficiency. Experiments have shown that the device according to the invention can also be advantageously used for catalytic cracking, especially of fuels in combustion engines.

This because the crude oil contains low percentages of prized fuels (15-20%); it is therefore necessary to use such processes to better exploit the crude oil in order to satisfy the demand for such prized fuels.

Large refining plants are therefore pinpointed which to obtain affordable products, from an economic viewpoint, have to process large quantities of raw material and the result is that the characteristics of the fuels obtained are a compromise between the different needs. This only in part permits obtaining the best fuel suitable for all types of thermal machine.

In fact it is well known that to improve the characteristics of the fuel, for example for the renowned "Otto" cycle engines, "Lead" or "Benzene" additives are required, and these are a source of serious environment pollution and the cause of numerous illnesses among human beings, plants and animals. For the gasoline suitable for this type of engine, a crucial parameter is antiknock value, meaning the resistance of the combustion agent-fuel mix to pass from combustion to explosion; the detonating power of a gasoline depends on the hydrocarbons this contains. In gasoline for controlled-ignition engines, between sixty and one hundred and ten hydrocarbons are present and so it appears obvious that to obtain a high percentage of "Isoctane" and therefore a high number of octanes, additives will be required to achieve a sufficiently high anti-knock value, in order to optimise combustion inside the combustion chamber and consequently the performance of the engine. In fact, a complete or in any case good combustion, inside the combustion chamber, ensures that the polluting emissions, such as unburnt hydrocarbon compounds (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and fume emissions are considerably reduced.

Fume emissions are particularly present in diesel cycle, diesel-fuel driven engines.

It should furthermore be remembered that in the EU countries , premium gasoline containing tetraethyl lead compounds will shortly no longer be sold - in Italy at the end of 2002. To continue running engines driven by this type of fuel, special additives will have to be added to the premium gasoline called unleaded with the addition of benzene base compounds, with consequent damage to the environment because controlled-ignition engines that run on traditional premium gasoline do not have catalytic exhausts. To remedy this situation, it will also be presumably necessary to change the exhaust devices of the engines running on leaded premium gasoline, with consequent higher expenditure.

In the case of old-type automobile engines, without catalytic exhausts, the cost of adapting emissions to applicable norms is often not justified by the actual value of the vehicle. The use of additives with premium gasoline called "unleaded", the presumable modification of the exhaust, to permit operation of the old engines with controlled ignition not equipped with catalytic exhaust, will undeniably be the cause of other, no less important problems, such as a drop in engine performance and a consequent rise in management and maintenance costs, in view of the imperfect engine operation also negatively affecting the life of the engine itself. Similar problems also occur in combustion machines with other types of fuel. Machines that can be of any type, such as external combustion machines, for instance boilers for generating heat or steam or other types of thermal machines; consequently, the invention should not be considered limited only to the field of internal combustion engines.

The invention solves the above-mentioned problems by means of the device for catalytic cracking, of the type described at the beginning, comprising a first and a second chamber, intercommunicating through holes and the external chamber being fitted in a series of inductors that generate electric fields that vary in frequency and amplitude.

Thanks to the generated high frequency electric field, induced by the coaxial wound coils on the external chamber, the chemical-electrical structure is changed that binds the hydrocarbon molecule with consequent catalytic cracking, said device being installed in the fuel supply circuit. According to the characteristic of the invention, the two chambers are pipes made of Aisi 316 L stainless steel or another metal, non-magnetic, diamagnetic or paramagnetic.

The holes made in the internal chamber and which permit the cracked fuel to exit towards the user, are calculated according to the flow required for the powers that the thermal machine, on which the device can be installed, might need.

The inductors consist of coils or double-wire windings, in the sense of double parallel winding and of a lead isolated and wound on cylindrical supports made of plastic. Said coils, in particular, number four. One of the four coils, the first of the series, is split into two separate windings, also double-wire, and connected by subtraction of potential difference, so the ends of the two windings are connected together; the two two-wire windings are made as follows: in clockwise direction the one underneath and in anticlockwise direction that above. The other three coils, wound in a clockwise direction, with double winding, are connected together in series and the characteristic that distinguishes them is the different number of spirals and of the two-wire itself, in the sense that the winding made secondly and coaxially to the first has a different number of spirals. The following to better explain what is meant by two-wire:

On the plastic support making up the empty coil, a calculated number of spirals is wound with single-pole wire; on the same support and over the terminated winding and starting from the same point, a second coil is wound, afterwards connected in parallel with the first, but with a different number of spirals. The power supply of the inductors that make up the system is low voltage, 12 or 24 V and this can be supplied from the mains, by means of a double half wave or diode bridge suitable supply unit, unfiltered by electrolytic capacitances; on cars, trucks or other combustion-engine vehicles, the supply can be obtained from a service controlled by the ignition key, 12 or 24 Volt, because the new invention system is able to amplify the "ripple ", meaning the unfiltered peaks of the alternator that charges the battery when the engine is running. It can be therefore deduced that the variations in frequency that the new invention system is able to induce, with all the consequent harmonics, are determined by the presence and correct operation of the alternator normally housed in every vehicle. From the way the windings are arranged and connected one can appreciate that due to the different inductances for the deriving self-oscillations, when the system is powered, beats on inevitably derived harmonics are generated which, due to variations in frequency and amplitude, direct vectors inside the metal chambers, on which they are wound, and such electric vectors compressed inside said chambers, (pipes), create the force conditions such as to affect the molecular bonding of the hydrocarbons which transiting in the assembly undergo the treatment that is equivalent to a refining process whereby the hydrocarbons undergo high pressures and temperatures. The frequencies generated by a perfectly operating assembly are around 4-10 MHz.

The cracking process, i.e. the modification of molecular aggregates present in fuel, is obtained using electromagnetic frequencies generated by the coils in the assembly and in particular by the constant action of harmonic frequencies deriving from self-oscillation.

The harmonics thus derived interfere with the molecular bond frequency of the fuel and induce charges with frequency drift of the original aggregating fundamental frequency. Furthermore, the effect of these phenomena and the amplitude over a period of time as determined by the calculations for the coils located alongside the pipes through which the fuel passes, produce a constant and substantial particle break-up of the fuel which thus obtains a new molecular makeup. In addition to the greater number of smaller molecules in the molecular makeup, an important contribution results from the molecular interstices whose conformation and the space they occupy become fundamentally significant for the thermal efficiency of the fuel whose properties result from the use of the new system.

The molecular interstices are saturated with hydrogen and oxygen in the natural quantity imposed by cracking and arranged by the newly taken on system of aggregation and charge desired by the interference resonances that have caused the new fuel status.

It is therefore easy to appreciate that the thermal efficiency of the fuels besides undergoing an increase, after the transit in the new invention system, is ready in the very best form to be conveyed into the combustion chambers: nebulised and more easily inflammable particles to the extent of cancelling the "wall" effect, inevitable in conditions of normal combustion; "wall" effect that accumulates carbon residues on the outer walls of the cylinder, unburnt residues that are partly expelled through the exhaust duct and partly remain inside between the piston and cylinder, before being found in the lubrication oil after having contributed, at abrasive level, to wearing the cylinder itself.

The catalytic cracking device has also shown itself to be especially efficient in engines with spontaneous ignition of the fuel-combustion agent mix, (Diesel cycle engines driven by diesel fuel). In this type of engine as well, and above all in this type of engine, a more important and acquired fluidity and power has been found due to the increase in the thermal power of the fuel and in particular because of the nebulisation of the particles entering the combustion chamber, much more inflammable and above all non-abrasive, with consequent constant efficiency of the injection pump and the injectors, the operation of which reaches optimum levels without wear over time. Besides resulting in a substantial drop in the emission of pollutants, the primary aim of the new invention system, like unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO), the system also produces a very high reduction in the level of opacity in engines with spontaneous ignition of the mix, also reducing the particulate and emissions of SO2, a primary source as regards atmospheric precipitations, normally called "acid rain".

In particular, the catalytic cracking device, by optimising the chemical composition of the fuel, abates pollutant emissions, permits greater fluidity and more silent engine running, optimises the stoichiometric, fuel-combustion agent ratio, due to the increase in the oxygenating and hydrogenating level in the larger molecular interstices and also considerably reduces the wall effect, a source of wear for the engine itself, with consequent reduction in running costs. A further advantage of the new invention system, according to the invention, is that it permits also using so-called "unleaded" gasoline in engines without catalytic exhaust, keeping emissions well within the Umits set by applicable regulations and without the addition of further additives for improving engine operation which are in any case polluting.

Furthermore, the catalytic cracking device permits considerably reducing polluting emissions from engines featuring catalytic exhausts and therefore running on gasoline with the addition of "benzene" (unleaded), especially in the initial period of operation.

In fact, the exhaust catalyser of this type of engine needs a certain time to heat up in order to reach nominal performance, during which time emissions are considerably higher than those permitted by the laws in force. It follows that the new invention system also determines a considerable drop in polluting emissions in Diesel cycle engines as well and therefore, it can be used, to considerable benefit, also on old-concept engines, not fitted with catalytic exhaust and very smoky.

Because the catalytic cracking device refines the fuel molecules, it can be used in boilers that use heavy fuels with high numbers of carbon atoms and therefore not highly prized, a reduction of the size of the molecule and therefore its refining, improves combustion and, by increasing the efficiency of the boiler reduces the polluting substances in the exhaust stacks. But the testing of the new invention system has led to working on alternative fuels, such as vegetable oils in general, showing that, in this case as well, it well performs the functions for which it was designed and made, consequently the so-called "biodiesel", in its fullest etymological meaning is made concrete in the most realistic manner, with extreme benefits for environmental pollution, with a reduction in cost of the fuel and performances identical or better than the diesel fuel for vehicle engines used so far in Diesel cycle engines or thermal machines in general.

The ecological fuel, and it really is ecological, and which is called "biodiesel", is a fuel obtained from plant raw materials, conceived and developed as an answer to the need to reduce to the utmost negative effects on the environment. It is a mix of methylic ester of vegetable colza, sunflower and soy-bean oil.

The product is obtained using a transertification process during which the glycerine is freed contained in the original vegetable oil. Through further refining stages, the ecological fuel is brought up to conformity for approval. Biodiesel has characteristics identical to those of diesel fuel in terms of calorific value, density, viscosity and is usable in diesel cycle engines. It should be emphasised that in Biodiesel the cetane number is 10% above that of diesel fuel: engine noise drops and efficiency increases. This fuel does not emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, does not contain aromatic parts, nor sulphur and consequently combustion does not produce sulphur dioxide, reducing by 50% the unburnt components, the particulate (black smoke); moreover, there are no problems relating to autoignition during transport, the flash point is 150° C, compared to 52 in the case of diesel fuel. This fuel can be used in most Diesel engines without any substantial modifications; the main obstacle is represented by the industrial cost of the described product, € 0.49 a litre; consequently much more expensive than diesel fuel.

At the moment, to favour its development, the State does not levy excise on a yearly production contingent of 125. 000 tonnes and so the costs of the two fuels are the same.

Now let us suppose, in view of what has been described above, that the entire procedure serves no purpose and that it is possible to use any type of vegetable, animal or mineral oil for driving vehicles or for thermal machines in general and that the "fuel" cost is in fact low and absolutely non-polluting: the ideal solution! ! !

The new catalytic cracking invention system permits, in diesel cycle engines, using any type of oil, vegetable, mineral, synthetic or even previously used in food chains for deep-frying, providing the engine with all the characteristics described above but, with the use of suitably refined "biodiesel". During testing we used oils with flash point 375° C; with treatment performed by the new invention system, according to the invention, we have seen that even when starting in very cold areas, with temperatures well below 0, engine ignition was normal and efficiency levels were excellent.

Numerous tests were made both in terms of kilometres covered on roads with completely opposite climate and the results were analysed, we can define operation excellent from all points of view, both mechanical and electrical._!

The new invention system thus makes it possible to drive the Diesel cycle engines with alternative fuels that are environment friendly and have low running costs. The subject of the invention thus made is described below in an explanatory and detailed example.

As can be seen in figure 3, the complete assembly is shown of the pipes making up the mechanical part of the assembly, which in this example are made of Aisi

316 L stainless steel. As the drawing shows, by A is indicated the external pipe on which are wound the resonance coils, said pipe is made of Aisi 316 L stainless steel 13 cm long,

12 mm in diameter and with a thickness of 1.5 mm.

By the letter B is indicated the internal chamber in the pipe again made of Aisi

316 L stainless steel, which is 15 cm long, has a diameter of 8 mm and a thickness of 1.5 mm. Said pipe is closed by a welding E, in the part fitted in the external pipe A and rigidly welded to this at the points indicated by the letter G.

This pipe which projects from external pipe A by a length of 6 cm represents the fuel inlet (in) and communicates with the inside of pipe A only by means of

2 through holes, with a diameter of 1.5 mm, made at a distance of 2 and 3 cm from the welding point G; these holes enable the fuel to flow towards the user. By the letter F is indicated a pipe in Aisi 316 L stainless steel with a diameter of 8 mm, a length of 6.5 cm, a thickness of 1.5 mm and which is welded at the points indicated by G, to the outer pipe A; this pipe represents the fuel outlet terminal (out). Figure 4 shows the entire assembly of the new invention catalytic cracking system and it can be seen that the pipe described and shown in fig. 3 is fitted in the coil unit.

By L 1 -A and L 1 -B, a coil is described in insulated copper wire with double enamel H200 with a diameter of 0.56 mm, consisting of two double-wire windings, wound in succession one on top of the other, but in the opposite direction to one another, meaning succession of the double wire of the layers in succession and connected in parallel: starting from the bare Teflon support, described in detail in figure 5 are wound, in a clockwise direction, 195 single- pole wire spirals, double enamel H200, having a diameter of 0.56 mm over which are wound another 195 spirals, in the same direction and with the same wire in enamelled copper and the two windings are then connected in parallel. Directly above the two described windings, but in an anticlockwise direction, is a third winding consisting of 125 spirals of copper wire, double enamel H200, on which is made a fourth winding, in the same direction, with the same wire and with the same number of spirals; these two windings are also connected together in parallel.

By the letters I and F, fitted on the side of the ends of the coils shown in figure 4 the start and finish of the coil are indicated and the arrow shows the direction of winding. By the letter T is indicated the start of LI -A, to the end of which the negative pole is connected - , coming from a diode bridge that is not electrolytically levelled.

Tl and T2 are ends indicating the end of Ll-A and Ll-B and which must be connected together.

L2 - L3 - L4 are coils made with double- wire winding in this way: The first winding, coiled in a clockwise direction L2 - L3 - L4, and consisting of 240 spirals of copper wire double enamel H200 with a diameter of 0.56 mm; the second winding of L2 - L3 - L4, wound immediately above, consists of 228 spirals of the same wire and is wound in the same direction. By PG are indicated the junction points that connect the coils together and as can be seen the start of LI B is connected to the series L2 - L3 - L4 which terminates with T3 which is the terminal that must be connected to the positive pole + , always coming from a diode bridge or rectification with double half- wave without electrolytic levelling. The illustration clearly shows in detail and describes the Teflon support on which are coiled the windings, which can also be made on single coils, of the same material and with the same dimensions; the support model for the windings, described in figure 5 was made for convenience of execution and to speed up any industrialisation of the new catalytic cracking invention system.

Claims

CLAIMS . Device for regulating the flow of highly inflammable fluids, to be fitted in the supply duct, characterised by the fact that it includes separate chambers that are intercommunicating by means of holes made at right angles along the direction of flow.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterised by the fact that it is made of metals of different structure.

3. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterised by the fact that the two internal fuel inlet-outlet chambers are spaced the one from the other with calculation of bypass flows and consequent pressures.

4. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterised by the fact that the two chambers are cylindrical.

5. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterised by the fact that the two chambers are coaxial.

6. Device, as claimed in claim 1, characterised by the fact that the fuel transit holes are calibrated for thermal requirements.

7. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterised by the fact that the two chambers are made of non-magnetic, diamagnetic or paramagnetic material.

8. Device as claimed in claim 1 or 7, characterised by the fact that the two chambers are fitted in a series of inductors that self-oscillate creating variable frequencies on consequent harmonics.

9. Device as claimed in claim 8, characterised by the fact that the circuit of the induction coils consists of single-wire windings.

10. Use of a device as claimed in claim 1 or 7, for supplying a fuel to a thermal engine.

11. Use as claimed in claim 10, characterised by the fact that the fuel- combustion agent mixing means are by carburettor.

12. Use as claimed in claim 10, characterised by the fact that the fuel- combustion agent mixing means are by injection.

13. Thermal engine, characterised by the fact that on the fuel supply circuit a device is fitted as claimed in claim 1.

14. Engine, as claimed in claim 13, characterised by the fact that it is a carburettor engine.

15. Engine, as claimed in claim 13, characterised by the fact that it is an injection engine.