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Jirnov Vortex Engine Supported by U.S. Navy
25 kW prototype shown to have strong torque, using half the energy,
with half the emissions. $1 million grant awarded General Vortex Energy by
the Navy to build 125-kW prototype. Nine U.S. patents.
Compiled by Sterling
D. Allan
Pure Energy Systems News
Copyright © 2005
Courtesy:
General Vortex Energy Inc. (GVE Inc)
GVE
Inc and U.S. Navy engineers test the Jirnov Vortex engine prototype with a
dynamometer. |
HOUSTON, TX, USA -- With funding from the U.S. Navy, a team of Russian scientists and a
Houston start-up are developing a robust and revolutionary new engine technology
that is alleged to be far superior to present internal-combustion engines.
Operating out of a warehouse in Houston, the principals of General Vortex Energy
Inc. claim their Jirnov Vortex Turbine (JVT) can burn any kind of gaseous or
liquid fuel at twice the efficiency of other engines and with far lower
emissions.
The device was named after Dr.
Alexei Jirnov, who came to the U.S. from Russia around 1990 to continue
his research at the University of Houston. Dr. Anatoli Borissov came to U.S. as
the Fulbright Professor for lecturing at the Department of Aerospace at the
University of Maryland, College Park, in 1993. Then he was invited to work for
the University of Houston where he met Dr. Jirnov and they start to work on
thermodynamics of a new engine. Along with Borissov's brother and a local
entrepreneur, they formed General Vortex in 2002.
Like traditional gas turbine
engines, the Jirnov Vortex turbine has a combustion chamber, a positive
displacement compressor and turbine, and a heat exchanger. In the JVT, each of
these is modified from conventional designs, for greater efficiency.
"The heart of the design," according to Borissov, is in the
thermodynamic cycle. "We use a modified Brighton cycle. The heat
recuperation gives us an added 10% to 15% efficiency; and our isothermal
compression technology gives us another 10% to 15% increase in efficiency."
The JVT runs at only 1,800 to 3,600 RPMs while delivering the same amount of
energy as the conventional counterparts that spin many times faster than that.
The increase in combustion efficiency comes from the "vortex flow"
design in the combustion chamber. The new aerodynamics behave "like a
tornado," explains Borissov. The fuel is sucked into a "vortex"
in the combustion chamber whose physical aerodynamics enable a more thorough
vaporization and mixing of the molecules. This results in far less wasted
fuel and correspondingly reduces emissions.
GVE Inc claims the JVT is 58 percent to 70 percent fuel-efficient, depending on
air temperature from the combustion chamber. In comparison, coal or steam
combustion runs around 30 percent, gas turbines at 35 percent, and 20 percent
for auto engines, while fuel cells run at around 50 percent fuel-efficiency,
converting the fuel into energy.
In 2003,
the Department of Naval Research awarded GVE Inc $100,000 to build a 25-kW
prototype. Pleased by the results, the Office of Naval Research then
provided General Vortex with a million-dollar grant to build a scaled up 125-kW
prototype. When completed, it will undergo extensive tests at a Navy
facility.
If that performs along the lines of the first prototype, General Vortex could
receive a purchase order and a $3 million grant from the Navy to establish a
production facility.
The deadline for completion of the 125-kW prototype is March 2006.
Presently, two of the four components have been built and are being
tested. The heat exchanger and the expander have been built, and are
testing out "very good according to design specifications," said
Borissov. They are using parts from the earlier prototype to run the tests
on the new components.
Representatives
of GVE Inc. say the vortex turbine could one day replace most of the internal
combustion engines and gas turbines now extant in the power industry.
Several other claims for the engine also have intrigued the Navy:
-
Can burn virtually any kind of
gaseous or liquid fuel.
-
Combustion
is at a relatively low temperature (less than 2,600F).
-
Flat torque curve.
-
Allows re-use of power sources
like excess hydrogen from fuel cells
-
Produces half the CO2 of
conventional turbines.
-
Produces
very low NOx and CO emissions.
-
Quiet
operation.
-
Low
weight-to-power ratio.
-
Simple
to build and easy to maintain.
-
Long
operating time between overhauls.
Because
of its low rotational speed, the JVT has a very low acoustic signature.
Having a flat torque curve, it has the ability to function without gearboxes.
One reason the Navy is so interested in the JVT is because the power systems of
ships at sea run all the time. "Efficiency is extremely important on a ship
that generates power 24/7," explains Anatoli Borissov, the President and
CEO of GVE Inc. "If the ship is carrying less fuel, it can move a lot
faster and save money."
The JVT has a large market as a power source for ships, automobiles,
compressors, refrigeration equipment, military vehicles, electrical generation
and hundreds of other applications. The annual worldwide market for engines or
gas turbines used for motive power is estimated to be $235 billion. Utilized
with fuel cells, the JVT will allow for the hybrid fuel cell industry to
explode.
Many companies have expressed interest in this design, and are watching and
waiting to see how the scale-up to the larger prototype turns out. At this
point, GVE Inc is not pursuing license arrangements. They want to continue tests
and developing of the JVT until they obtain engine design parameters.
Meanwhile, GVE Inc. is developing means to use after-market auto parts to
manufacture the JVT with up to 1 megawatt power output, using the resources in
their own facility on a limited scale.
# # #
Keywords: Sliding vane isothermal compressor/expander.
Acknowledgements:
- Dr. Anatoli
Borissov proof-read the above story April 25, 2005.
- Adrian Akau provided source material.
- Mary-Sue
Haliburton provided editorial input.
SOURCES
CONTACT
Anatoli Borissov <email >
CEO, General Vortex Energy, Inc.
1306 FM 1092 STE 403
Missouri City, TX 77459-1565
(713) 202-2985
Nine U.S. Patents by Jirnov,
et. al
Figure 1, U.S. Patent 6,523,347
| U.S.Patent |
Date |
Title |
| 6,523,347 |
February 25, 2003 |
Thermodynamic
power system using binary working fluid |
| 6,349,551 |
February 26, 2002 |
Thermodynamic
power and cryogenic refrigeration system using low temperature heat
source |
| 6,161,392 |
December 19, 2000 |
Combined
thermodynamic power and cryogenic refrigeration system using binary
working fluid |
| 5,996,355 |
December 7, 1999 |
Thermodynamic
closed cycle power and cryogenic refrigeration apparatus using combined
work medium |
| 5,839,270 |
November 24, 1998 |
Sliding-blade
rotary air-heat engine with isothermal compression of air |
| 5,758,501 |
June 2, 1998 |
Sliding-blade
vapor engine with vortex boiler |
| 5,713,210 |
February 3, 1998 |
Sliding-blade
refrigeration apparatus and method |
| 5,558,509 |
September 24, 1996 |
Sliding-blade
water jet propulsion apparatus for watercraft |
| 5,511,525 |
April 30, 1996 |
Sliding-blade
heat engine with vortex combustion chamber |
Additional References
-
Anatoli
A. Borissov, Alexander A. Borissov and Kenneth K. Kramer, HIGH EFFICIENCY
ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM BASED ON MODIFIED BRAYTON CYCLE. Proceedings
of the 2005 Spring Technical Conference of the American Society of
Mechanical Engineering, Internal Combustion Engine Division,
Proceedings of
ICES2005, ASME Internal Combustion Engine Division 2005 Spring Technical
Conference, April 5-7, 2005, Chicago, IL, USA.
-
A.
Jirnov, A. Borissov and J. McCoy, Jr., The description of a combined
thermodynamic power system using a two-phase fluid and air as working
fluids. Proceedings of the 2001
Spring Technical Conference of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineering, Internal Combustion Engine Division, U.S.
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Vol. 3,
pp.47-60, 2001.
See also
Page composed by Sterling
D. Allan Apr. 13, 2005
Last updated July 16, 2005
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