Non-polluting, open brayton cycle automotive power unit

Claim 1

A non-polluting, open-Brayton-cycle automotive power-generation unit comprising: a working-fluid heating vessel having a heating-vessel working-fluid inlet for receiving a flow of cooler gaseous working fluid, and having a heating-vessel working-fluid outlet from which hotter gaseous working fluid flows, the flow of working fluid through the working-fluid heating vessel from the heating-vessel working-fluid inlet to the heating-vessel working-fluid outlet being heated by absorption of thermal energy from ceramic thermal-energy-storage material within the working-fluid heating vessel, at least some of the ceramic thermal-energy-storage material within the working-fluid-heating vessel being formed into a plurality of sealed ceramic tubes that are respectively filled with a phase-change material which melts at a temperature within an operating temperature range of the thermal-energy-storage material; a power-generation-unit drive shaft secured within said automotive power-generation unit to be rotatable about a longitudinal axis of said power-generation-unit drive shaft; a power-generation-unit compressor having a impeller that is secured to said power-generation-unit drive shaft so as to be rotatable together with said power-generation-unit drive shaft about the longitudinal axis of said power-generation-unit drive shaft, said power-generation-unit compressor having a compressor inlet for admitting a flow of working fluid into said automotive power-generation unit from atmosphere surrounding said automotive power-generation unit, said power-generation-unit compressor also having a working-fluid compressor outlet for discharging the flow of working fluid from the power-generation-unit compressor, rotation of the power-generation-unit drive shaft together with the impeller secured thereto drawing the flow of working fluid into said power-generation-unit compressor through the compressor inlet and discharging the flow of working fluid from the working-fluid compressor outlet; a power-generation-unit turbine having a turbine wheel that is secured to said power-generation-unit drive shaft so as to be rotatable together with said power-generation-unit drive shaft about the longitudinal axis of said power-generation-unit drive shaft, said power-generation-unit turbine having a turbine inlet that is coupled to the heating-vessel working-fluid outlet of the working-fluid heating vessel and through which said power-generation-unit turbine receives a flow of hot gaseous working fluid from the heating-vessel working-fluid outlet after such working fluid has been heated while passing through said working-fluid heating vessel, and said power-generation-unit turbine also having a turbine exhaust through which the flow of working fluid discharges from said power-generation-unit turbine, the flow of working fluid passing through said power-generation-unit turbine inducing rotation both of said turbine wheel and of said power-generation-unit drive shaft of said automotive power-generation unit; and a working-fluid heat regenerator having a turbine-exhaust inlet that is coupled to the turbine exhaust of said power-generation-unit turbine for receiving the flow of the working fluid exhausted from said power-generation-unit turbine which said working-fluid heat regenerator discharges into the atmosphere surrounding said automotive power-generation unit from a heat-regenerator outlet, said working-fluid heat regenerator also including a heat-regenerator compressor working-fluid inlet that is coupled to the working-fluid compressor outlet of said power-generation-unit compressor for receiving the flow of working fluid from said power-generation-unit compressor which said working-fluid heat regenerator discharges from a heat-regenerator working-fluid heating-vessel outlet into the heating-vessel working-fluid inlet of the working-fluid heating vessel, a flow of thermal energy within said working-fluid heat regenerator cooling the flow of working fluid passing through the working-fluid heat regenerator from the power-generation-unit turbine while concurrently heating the flow of working fluid passing through the working-fluid heat regenerator from the power-generation-unit compressor.