Previous in Forum: Roof Top Pipe Support Help   Next in Forum: Friction Gears
Close
Close
Close
5 comments
Rate Comments: Nested
Participant

Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 3

Turbo-Charger for cooling.

05/17/2007 11:30 AM

In some models of aircrafts e.g. Embraer 120 ER, cool conditioned air is produced by a component called Air Cycle Machine. This component is similar to the Turbo-Chargers in some classes of automobile. The visual similarity is in the fact that both have the turbine and compressor on one shaft and encased in one single housing. My question is , can I make use of a fairly used turbo-charger unit to build an airconditioning system that will use only air as its working fluid? Better still, can I have a little refrigerator using this key component? Friends, can you give me a workable simple but practical design. Supply of parts would be from the junkyard. I am located in a third world country where money is hard to come by. Please make it cheap.

Register to Reply
Interested in this topic? By joining CR4 you can "subscribe" to
this discussion and receive notification when new comments are added.
Power-User
Popular Science - Weaponology - New Member United States - Member - New Member Engineering Fields - Automotive Engineering - ChemE in a ME world

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Detroit, MI USA
Posts: 150
#1

Re: Turbo-Charger for cooling.

05/17/2007 1:18 PM

I beleive the that the exaust is still the "working fluid" and you are scavaging energy from the engine. Where will your energy come from? The Cooling comes from the JT effect of the expanding gas so you will have to put energy into the system to compress the air.

__________________
No matter how far you have gone down the wrong path....Turn around!
Register to Reply
Anonymous Poster
#2

Re: Turbo-Charger for cooling.

05/17/2007 11:44 PM

the kinetics is teh oldest form of working refrigeration, but quite simple.

the turbo charger bit is not the same as a car type the turbine input comes form the engine, hot exhaust gases, which then dump to atmoshpere the compressor picks up clean outside air and compresses it, leaving it hot. It is then cooled by air to air intercooler (still under pressure) then realeased through ventury nozzles into the cabin space reducing pressure and lowering the ambient inside temperature to fuel its expansion.

All you need is a compressor unit and drive. If you have a V8 or VW engine you can regrind the cams to use half pistons as motor and half as compressor ( alternatively replace half teh valves with self opening units) Black Poly pipe is ok for pressure side to nozzles. a coil of metal pipe or a series of old car aircon condensor coils immersed in water or buried in wet soil will work as the heat exchanger/cooler. On teh compressor side you can replace the piston rings with neoprene O-rings. You can also drive the whole thing from water wheels or place a piston air pump onto a windmill. you will need a very large pressure tank . Try used plastic bottles, clamp the screwcap on with a pipe bandclamp so it doesn't pop off.

You could use the turbo compressor by belt driving it from a large wheel such as a bicycle wheel rim wired to a windmill turbine to the center of teh shaft (leather belt or womens pantyhose belt (less woman)

apologies for the crook spelling.

Register to Reply
Power-User

Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 441
Good Answers: 20
#3

Re: Turbo-Charger for cooling.

05/18/2007 9:06 AM

Try a Ranke/Hilsch tube. No moving parts, just supply it with compressed air and get cold air from one end and hot air from the other. Simple to build and fairly efficient and not quite as noisy as the turbine but please do wear ear protection when experimenting with either.

__________________
intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them ~ Einstein
Register to Reply
Power-User

Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 442
Good Answers: 32
#4
In reply to #3

Re: Turbo-Charger for cooling.

05/18/2007 11:54 AM

These are commonly called Votex tubes. Here is one commercial device:

http://www.arizonavortex.com/vortex-tube/

Register to Reply
Power-User

Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Bolingbrook Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago.
Posts: 367
Good Answers: 3
#5

Re: Turbo-Charger for cooling.

05/20/2007 1:45 PM

It's called the Coleman refrigeration cycle, from ships, circa 1920

__________________
"People find it easier to forgive you for being wrong than for being right" J K Rawlings
Register to Reply
Register to Reply 5 comments
Copy to Clipboard

Users who posted comments:

Anonymous Poster (1); NoSciFi (1); Tad (1); taejonkwando (1); Yani (1)

Previous in Forum: Roof Top Pipe Support Help   Next in Forum: Friction Gears

Advertisement