Controlled Power Integrated Combustion Heat Recovery Engine

摘要

Generally a power unit including an internal combustion engine and a Stirling engine engaged through a common power transmission system to offset applied load. Specifically, a Stirling engine which uses the heat discharged by an internal combustion engine as heat source with the engine speed of the Stirling engine controlled by a combination of regulation of fuel consumption of and application of an exhaust brake to the internal combustion engine to transfer a compressive load of the internal combustion engine to the Stirling engine through the common power transmission system.

主权项

1. A power unit, comprising:
an internal combustion engine having one or more pistons each correspondingly reciprocally engaged in one or more cylinders in which an air-fuel mixture combusts to generate rotation of an internal combustion engine crankshaft and which generates a combustion gas exhausted through an exhaust system; a Stirling engine having a heat transfer element coupled to said exhaust system to transfer heat from said combustion gas to said Stirling engine to generate rotation of a Stirling engine crankshaft; a power transmission system which couples an operational speed of said internal combustion engine crankshaft to a operational speed of said Stirling engine crankshaft; and an exhaust brake coupled to said exhaust system through which said combustion gas flows, said exhaust brake operable to control an amount of back pressure in said one or more cylinders to control said operational speed of said Stirling engine.