| 摘要 |
A method and apparatus for reducing the rate of heat transfer between adjacent bodies, at least one of which is a body of fluid responsive to forces tending to move the fluid along the interface between the bodies, the fluid adjacent to the interface being more responsive to such forces by reason of heat transfer across the interface. The method collects fluid displaced along an expanse of the interface, transports the collected fluid to the other side of the expanse, and discharges it there for repeated displacement across the expanse to again be collected. The apparatus includes distributor and collector means at opposite sides of the expanse, and recirculating means for returning fluid from the collecting means to the distributor means. In some forms, the fluid body is air and the solid body is a thin sheet of thermally conductive material such as window panes used in buildings and transport craft. Heat flow through the pane from the air makes the boundary layer of air more dense, causing this layer to sink downwardly by force of gravity into the collector means, while heat transfer through the pane into the air causes the layer of air adjacent to the pane to rise into the collecting means. The window pane may be inclined or vertical. Where inclined, the pane is tilted at the top toward the cooler body. The apparatus is built in or retrofit, and is reversible to control heat flow in either direction.
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