Patents by Inventor Melissa Donahue

Melissa Donahue has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Systems and methods for thermally actuated flow control
    Patent number: 10393287
    Abstract: Various implementations provide an inherently safer design feature for microchannel reactors that provides temperature control at the individual channel level. This approach relies on bimetallic strips embedded within the combustion channel, forming a thermally-actuated “valve”. Bimetallic strips convert a temperature change into a mechanical displacement. Heating the strip increases its deflection and thereby restricts flow in the combustion channels, which consequently reduces the rate of heat generation. The thermally-actuated valve is not limited to use in microchannel reactors and may be used in other structures for which thermally actuated flow control is desired, according to some implementations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: Board of Regents, The University of Texas System
    Inventors: Michael Baldea, Richard Pattison, Melissa Donahue, Akash Gupta
  • SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR THERMALLY ACTUATED FLOW CONTROL
    Publication number: 20180038513
    Abstract: Various implementations provide an inherently safer design feature for microchannel reactors that provides temperature control at the individual channel level. This approach relies on bimetallic strips embedded within the combustion channel, forming a thermally-actuated “valve”. Bimetallic strips convert a temperature change into a mechanical displacement. Heating the strip increases its deflection and thereby restricts flow in the combustion channels, which consequently reduces the rate of heat generation. The thermally-actuated valve is not limited to use in microchannel reactors and may be used in other structures for which thermally actuated flow control is desired, according to some implementations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2016
    Publication date: February 8, 2018
    Inventors: Michael Baldea, Richard Pattison, Melissa Donahue, Akash Gupta