Abstract: A reciprocating lift and thrust system include at least an airfoil and a reciprocating driver configured to produce a reciprocating motion of the airfoil. The system may further include a control unit to change or maintain a suitable angle of attack of the airfoil for lift or thrust as well as to facilitate the cyclic control of the flying vehicle driven by the reciprocating system. The lift and thrust system may be deployed in a module that includes at least two reciprocating airfoils (RAs) and is configured to substantially cancel out the inertia forces and moments associated with the individual airfoils. The reciprocating driver maybe, but not limited to, a mechanical, electromagnetic, electrical, or hydraulic driver. The embodiments of the subject invention provide novel and advantageous RA-driven aircraft, RA-driven flying motor vehicles, and RA-driven watercraft.

Abstract: A dry cooling system can include: a heat source flow duct; an air duct disposed over the heat source flow duct; an opening between the heat source flow duct and the air duct such that an air flows through the opening; and a heat pipe including an evaporator section disposed in the heat source flow duct and a condenser section disposed in the air duct. The air can flow from the opening to the condenser section.

Abstract: This invention provides heat engines based on various structures of internal combustion engines, such as a four-stroke piston-type combustion engine, two-stroke piston-type combustion engine, rotary combustion engine, or a free-piston type combustion engine. Said heat engine is provided with at least a heating chamber per piston or rotor, a heat exchanger unit disposed within said heating chamber through which thermal energy is extracted from a heat source and at least a port leading to a working chamber space from said heating chamber, and has a significantly increased heat transfer duration from the heat source to the working fluid within said heating chamber without increasing the number of strokes per power stroke in a cycle. Additionally, said heat engine is provided with an over expansion mechanism in conjunction with a compression means for intake charge. Thereby many of the operational characteristics of an Otto power cycle may be attained in said heat engine, and a heat source with a.

Abstract: A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack comprising micro-fuel cell units having a circular cross section. Each includes an electric conductive tube that comprises a porous wall section and a non-permeable wall section, an inner electrode disposed around the peripheral surface of the porous wall section, a solid electrolyte member disposed around the inner electrode, and an outer electrode disposed around the electrolyte. The fuel cell stack comprises at least one fuel cell module, which includes an electric conductive planar sheet, and micro-fuel cell units laid side-by-side on the electric conductive planar sheet, the non-permeable sections of the micro fuel cell units being electrically interconnected. The fuel cell modules are stacked with an electrical insulating material between the outer electrodes of the fuel cell units in a first module and a second module's conductive planar sheet overlying or underlying the outer electrodes of the first module.

Abstract: This invention provides heat engines based on the structure of internal combustion engines and employs a gaseous working fluid without combustion. The heat engine comprises at least a piston and cylinder assembly and each cylinder has at least an associated heating chamber with a heat exchanger unit being disposed therewithin. The chamber may have at least a chamber valve to establish or block the flow of the gaseous working fluid between the heating chamber and cylinder space. The engine is adapted to operate on cycles that enable heat transfer from a heat source to the working fluid while being enclosed within the heating chamber and provides substantially increased heat transfer duration before the power stroke. Therefore the engine may produce sufficiently high power output with reasonably high thermal efficiency.

Abstract: This invention provides a refrigerator using a gaseous working fluid such as air and based upon the well-developed structure of reciprocating compressors or rotating engines. The invention combines the compression functionality of a compressor and the expansion functionality of a turbine in an air cycle machine into a single refrigeration unit having a simple mechanical structure, and provides a significantly increased heat removal time period before the expansion stroke to reduce the temperature of the working fluid under a substantially constant volume without increasing the number of strokes per discharge in a cycle. Moreover, the need of using a man-made chemical as the working fluid is eliminated.

Abstract: This invention provides heat engines based on various structures of internal combustion engines, such as a four-stroke piston-type combustion engine, two-stroke piston-type combustion engine, rotary combustion engine, or a free-piston type combustion engine. Said heat engine is provided with at least a heating chamber per piston or rotor, a heat exchanger unit disposed within said heating chamber through which thermal energy is extracted from a heat source and at least a port leading to a working chamber space from said heating chamber, and has a significantly increased heat transfer duration from the heat source to the working fluid within said heating chamber without increasing the number of strokes per power stroke in a cycle. Additionally, said heat engine is provided with an over expansion mechanism in conjunction with a compression means for intake charge.

Abstract: This invention provides an internal combustion engine that has a substantially increased expansion ratio, a variable compression ratio, and subsequently a significantly improved thermal efficiency. This improvement in thermal efficiency is attained without involving a complex mechanical structure or an enlarged engine size. The engine comprises at least a piston and cylinder assembly including a piston reciprocatingly mounted within the cylinder space, and at least two combustion chambers associated with said cylinder, each said combustion chamber having a port leading to said cylinder space and a combustion-chamber valve, said valve opens and closes said port to establish or block the communication between said combustion chamber and cylinder space, wherein said internal combustion engine is adapted to operate on preferred cycles in accordance with load conditions to substantially increase the engine's expansion ratio or provide a variable compression ratio mechanism under part load conditions.

Abstract: This invention provides a heat engine based on the well-developed structure of internal combustion engines. The heat engine comprises at least a piston and cylinder assembly and at least two heating chambers associated with said piston and cylinder assembly to provide a significantly increased time period for heat transfer from a heat source to the gaseous working of the engine without increasing the number of strokes per power stroke in a cycle. Each said heating chamber has therewithin a heat exchanger unit that facilitates heat transfer from the heating source to the working fluid, such as air, substantially under a constant volume, a port leading to said cylinder space, and a heating-chamber valve, said valve opening or closing the port to establish or block communication between said heating chamber and cylinder space.

Abstract: This invention provides a refrigerator using a gaseous working fluid such as air and based upon the well-developed structure of reciprocating compressors or rotating engines. The invention combines the compression functionality of a compressor and the expansion functionality of a turbine in an air cycle machine into a single refrigeration unit having a simple mechanical structure, and provides a significantly increased heat removal time period before the expansion stroke to reduce the temperature of the working fluid under a substantially constant volume without increasing the number of strokes per discharge in a cycle. Moreover, the need of using a man-made chemical as the working fluid is eliminated. Said refrigerator system comprises at least a piston and cylinder assembly including a piston reciprocatingly mounted within the cylinder space, and at least two cooling chambers associated with said cylinder.

Abstract: This invention provides an internal combustion engine that has a substantially increased expansion ratio, a variable compression ratio, and subsequently a significantly improved thermal efficiency. This improvement in thermal efficiency is attained without involving a complex mechanical structure or an enlarged engine size. The engine comprises at least a piston and cylinder assembly including a piston reciprocatingly mounted within the cylinder space, and at least two combustion chambers associated with said cylinder, each said combustion chamber having a port leading to said cylinder space and a combustion-chamber valve, said valve opens and closes said port to establish or block the communication between said combustion chamber and cylinder space, wherein said internal combustion engine is adapted to operate on preferred cycles in accordance with load conditions to substantially increase the engine's expansion ratio or provide a variable compression ratio mechanism under part load conditions.

Abstract: A fuel cell stack is constructed based on a plurality of micro fuel cell units having a generally circular cross section. Each micro fuel cell unit includes an electric conductive tube that comprises a porous wall section and a non-permeable wall section, an inner electrode being disposed coaxially around and in intimidate contact with the peripheral surface of the porous wall section, a solid electrolyte member being disposed coaxially around and in intimate contact with the inner electrode, and an outer electrode being disposed coaxially around and in intimate contact with the electrolyte. The fuel cell stack comprises at least a fuel cell module, which includes an electric conductive planar sheet, and a group of aforementioned micro fuel cell units that are being laid side by side on the electric conductive planar sheet in a generally parallel arrangement, with the non-permeable sections of the micro fuel cell units being electrically interconnected.

Abstract: Methods and devices are disclosed for transferring a first liquid into a second liquid through a wick material. Said wick material preferentially has a higher wicking capability with respect to the first liquid than to the second liquid, and is disposed in a siphon fashion with the first or intake end contacting the first liquid and the second or discharge end contacting the second liquid. Because of the different wicking capabilities, a net amount of the first liquid is pumped into the second liquid. The device described above is used as a fuel delivery means for a liquid-feed fuel cell system, which directly utilizes a liquid fuel without an intermediate reforming process, such as a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). In this case, a methanol fuel and an aqueous methanol solution are stored separately in two containers and a wick is disposed between the two containers in a siphon fashion, with the container of the aqueous methanol solution communicating with the anode of the DMFC.

Abstract: A fuel cell power system includes at least a fuel cell stack, a cooling means which removes the waste heat generated within the fuel cell stack, a fuel reformer which reforms a hydrocarbon for the fuel supply to the fuel cell stack, and an energy recovery system, which includes an expansion valve for reducing the pressure of the feedstock to the energy recovery system, a heat exchanger for facilitating the heat transfer from the cooling means of the fuel cell stack to the feedstock of the energy recovery system, and at least a compressor for raising the pressure of the feedstock to a sufficiently high level and delivering the feedstock to the fuel reformer, thereby a substantially large portion of the waste heat is recovered and used to vaporize the feedstock.

Abstract: A heat transfer device which employs a reciprocating mechanism for driving liquid from the heat rejection section to the heat receiving section is disclosed. The heat transfer device is coined as the reciprocating-mechanism driven heat loop which comprises a hollow loop having an interior flow passage, an amount of heat-carrying fluid filled within the loop, and at least one reciprocating driver. The hollow loop has at least one heat receiving section, one heat rejection section, and one liquid reservoir. The reciprocating driver is integrated with the liquid reservoir and facilitates a reciprocating flow of the heat-carrying fluid within the loop, so that the liquid is supplied from the heat rejection section to the heat receiving section under both saturated and unsaturated conditions and a high heat transfer rate from the heat receiving section to the heat rejection section is achieved.

Abstract: A fuel cell power system includes at least a fuel cell stack, a cooling means which removes the waste heat generated within the fuel cell stack, a fuel reformer which reforms a hydrocarbon for the fuel supply to the fuel cell stack, and an energy recovery system, which includes an expansion valve for reducing the pressure of the feedstock to the energy recovery system, a heat exchanger for facilitating the heat transfer from the cooling means of the fuel cell stack to the feedstock of the energy recovery system, and at least a compressor for raising the pressure of the feedstock to a sufficiently high level and delivering the feedstock to the fuel reformer, thereby a substantially large portion of the waste heat is recovered and used to vaporize the feedstock.

Abstract: A compact, lightweight direct methanol fuel cell unit includes a circular membrane electrode assembly (MEA) having a cathode, a proton exchange membrane (PEM), and an anode, an air flow duct on the cathode side of the MEA, an annular fuel reservoir on the anode side of the MEA which contains a mixture of methanol and water as fuel, a carbon dioxide (CO2) relief valve communicating with the fuel reservoir, and a control unit. Due to the CO2 release mechanism, the fuel cell is completely self-sustaining without the need for a mechanical auxiliary system. Additionally, the control unit improves the stability of the fuel cell power output and the catalysis activity of the MEA. Another embodiment of the present invention is a direct methanol fuel cell system which incorporates a number of MEAs and a fuel cell reservoir. All the cathodic electrical terminals of the MEAs are serially connected together while they are electronically communicating with the control unit.

Abstract: Described herein is an isothermal journal bearing that incorporates heat pipes for temperature reduction and uniformity. The heat pipes can be fabricated by turning and are arranged within the bearing wall circumferentially. Due to the high thermal conductance of the heat pipe, frictional heat produced at the contact and during the rubbing process can be dissipated promptly through the entire bearing wall, resulting in a lower temperature in the pressurized region and a relatively uniform temperature along the circumference of the bearing. The temperature reduction and uniformity would significantly reduce the bearing failure tendency due to heat accumulation and bearing thermal distortion.

Abstract: Described herein is an engine piston that incorporates reciprocating heat pipes for temperature reduction in the upper section of the piston. The reciprocating heat pipes are arranged circumferentially, close to the piston ring grooves, and extend from the region of the top ring groove to the piston skirt region. Since the reciprocating heat pipe has a very high thermal conductance, excessive heat in the top ring groove region can be transferred to the heat pipe section corresponding to the piston skirt region, where accessibility to the cooling oil is much greater, and heat can be dissipated via oil splash/mist or jet impingement cooling. Also, the heat dissipation area in contact with the cooling oil is significantly increased. As a result, the temperature in the upper section of the piston can be considerably decreased.

Abstract: Described herein is a new human body cooling suit that is comprised of a number of flexible heat pipes and a (or a number of) phase-change material (PCM) module (or modules). A lower section (with reference to the gravity field) of the flexible heat pipe is sandwiched between the outer cover and the inner lining materials. An upper section of the heat pipe runs through the PCM module. The shell of the said flexible heat pipe can be a corrugated metal tube, a corrugated plastic tube, or a smooth plastic tube, depending on specific applications. The said outer cover is made of thermal insulating materials that shield off the heat from the environment to the human body. When a human being, who wears this cooling suit, is exposed to a very hot environment, the flexible heat pipe section embedded in the suit materials absorbs the heat that is dissipated from the human body, and transfers it to the said PCM module where the heat is stored in the PCM module via the change of phase.