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Pumps Without Moving Parts
madprof writes "A researcher at Cambridge University has developed a usefully efficient thermofluidic pump to benefit some of the world's poorest people by performing irrigation and other tasks. Tom Smith has been awarded Science Graduate of the Year by the Royal Institution of Great Britain for this breakthrough and is giving a public lecture on 6th October in London. A great example of scientific innovation directly benefiting people."
It's a pity that we don't get to see the thing he's going to be talking about; there is nothing informative on the page.
Sustainability and energy independence essay
The terminology sounds ok to me -- moving parts implies that there are parts that wear out and have to be replaced because of friction or whatever. Like a metal piston and so forth.
Saying this engine has no moving parts makes senes and seems fair.
Do they count gasoline or coolant or oil as a moving part in car engines? I think THAT would be overly pedantic.
'fluid' is not a part.
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
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Abstract - The commercial feasibility of small scale solar ORC for distributed generation and CHP is
demonstrated. This has been achieved with an exergy analysis of over 150 commercially available solar
hot water collectors, a survey of candidate working fluids and by adapting rotary refrigeration
compressors to run in reverse direction as expanders/asynchronous generators. A computer code
combining the results of these sub-studies has demonstrated that self-stabilisation close to optimum
conditions for given irradiance may be possible without electronic feedback control.
The principle obstacles encountered included oil migration, face and tip sealing problems and
low expansion ratios.
"Commercial feasibility" is total bullshit. They haven't even built a prototype.If you want solar powered water pumps, they're commercially available. A complete kit, including solar panels, is $1,697. But they're not really cost-effective. Windmill pumps still outperform solar, and newer pumps will work at low wind speeds.
It runs off relatively low-grade heat. Solar (paint the relevant part of
the pump black and stick it in the Sun) is one option. Light a small fire under it
is another. For all I know it might be enough to shovel a pile of fresh buffalo-dung onto the "hot" end, or tuck it under your sleeping yak.
Power is not always electricity or oil.