heatpipes
Posted by:
JohnnyF (IP Logged)
Date: March 04, 2008 11:46PM
err, hello. I am new on the block. I've been reading about steam plant for three odd years now. Whilst many of my questions are answered, I have a few bugging me:
Has anyone attempted to transfer heat from the burner flame to the boiler waterpipes using a heatpipe ?
It strikes me that with such an arrangement you could pack small bore waterpipes together very closely (say, between two headers - and perhaps force the circulation lamont style) and enclose in a flask - the condenser part of the heatpipe. Shifting problems to another part of the system?? not quite: the heatpipe, if you get your sums right, operates at a low pressure, and so muchless critical WRT flame exposure at the evaporator part. The benefit: compact boiler - much stronger WRT burst pressure - no chance of damage to waterpipes owing to flame impingement - no soot build-up on pipe walls - possibility of building remote and severable systems.
I'm wondering whether there may be several other advantages too (I'll go into those another time.
But I'm thinking about building a prototype / demonstrator.
In all my reading I have never heard anything like this.
Mabe I should have joined Halfbakery.com instead.
OK, I look forward to your opinion
thanks for now
Johnny F
UK