US 12,116,953 B2
Thermal regenerator apparatus
Thomas Walter Steiner, Burnaby (CA); Geoffrey Donald Stalker Archibald, Vancouver (CA); Timothy John Henthorne, Vancouver (CA); Michael Peter Hoy, Burnaby (CA); and Takao Kanemaru, Port Coquitlam (CA)
Assigned to ETALIM INC., Burnaby (CA)
Appl. No. 17/441,887
Filed by ETALIM INC., Burnaby (CA)
PCT Filed Feb. 18, 2020, PCT No. PCT/CA2020/050206
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 22, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/191479, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 1, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/825,592, filed on Mar. 28, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0186680 A1, Jun. 16, 2022
Int. Cl. F02G 1/057 (2006.01); F28D 17/02 (2006.01)
CPC F02G 1/057 (2013.01) [F28D 17/02 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A thermal regenerator apparatus including a regenerator medium having a plurality of flow passages extending between first and second ports, the flow passages facilitating back and forth fluid flow in a generally transverse direction between the first and second ports while the regenerator medium alternatively receives thermal energy from and delivers thermal energy to the fluid, the regenerator medium comprising:
a plurality of overlying foils, each foil having a plurality of channels extending through the foil, the channels having beveled sidewalls;
wherein the channels have a width and a spacing in the transverse direction and channels in each adjacent foil are transversely offset such that each channel spans between and is in fluid communication with a pair of channels in adjacent foils and the beveled sidewalls of the channels redirect fluid flow between channels in adjacent foils to form the flow passages;
wherein the channels are elongated along the foil in a longitudinal direction orthogonal to the transverse direction and divided by transverse foil bridges extending transversely, the transverse foil bridges being sized to reduce thermal conduction through the regenerator medium in the transverse direction; and
wherein a length of the channels in the longitudinal direction is varied to cause the transverse foil bridges to be offset in the longitudinal direction to form a bracing pattern that increases a lateral stiffness of the foil.