JPS6181292A - Buoyancy generator - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a buoyancy generating device using a hydrogen storage alloy.
Specifically, the present invention relates to a buoyancy generating device devised to change the volume of the variable volume chamber and adjust the generated buoyancy by reversibly reciprocating hydrogen between the alloy storage section and the variable volume chamber.

[Conventional technology]

Hydrogen storage alloys are attracting more and more attention as the field of application for reversible hydrogen release and storage cycles expands, and in response to this, even more powerful hydrogen storage alloys themselves are being developed. . The realization of a promising hydrogen storage alloy is expected to contribute to further expanding the fields of application of the above-mentioned reversible release/storage cycle.

The idea of using hydrogen gas released when a hydrogen storage alloy is heated as pressure is well known. However, such applications are limited to converting the thermal energy of a heating medium into mechanical energy to perform useful work, such as turning a turbine or moving a piston. It seems like it was.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Since the specific gravity of hydrogen gas is smaller than that of air or water, it is known to be used, for example, by filling it in a balloon to generate buoyancy. However, in this case, the hydrogen gas for injection had to be compressed and filled into a high-pressure container, and when it was desired to generate buoyancy, the hydrogen gas in the high-pressure container had to be irreversibly injected into the balloon. . Therefore, the only way to reduce buoyancy was to release the hydrogen gas inside the balloon into the atmosphere. In other words, conventional balloon-type buoyancy generating devices always use hydrogen gas for consumption, which is uneconomical, and they also have the drawback of losing their buoyancy generation function as hydrogen gas disappears. ,
Furthermore, depending on the surrounding environment, releasing hydrogen may be dangerous or even technically impossible.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and it is possible to generate buoyancy over a long period of time without the economical waste or danger of releasing hydrogen gas outside the system. The object of the invention is to provide a buoyancy generating device which can be adjusted.

[Means for solving problems]

The gist of the buoyancy generating device of the present invention is that a hydrogen gas introduction/exhaust pipe is connected to a variable volume chamber, and the end of the pipe is connected to a heat exchange device containing a hydrogen storage alloy. .

[Effect]

In the present invention, the variable volume chamber and the hydrogen storage alloy storage chamber (heat exchange device) are connected by a hydrogen gas introduction/exhaust pipe, so hydrogen gas flows between the variable volume chamber and the hydrogen storage alloy storage chamber. You can go back and forth. Therefore, by supplying a heating medium to the hydrogen storage alloy storage chamber and heating it, hydrogen gas will be dissociated from the hydrogen storage alloy, enter the volume variable chamber, increase the volume of the chamber, and eliminate surrounding liquid and gas. to generate buoyancy. On the other hand, if the hydrogen storage alloy storage chamber is cooled, the hydrogen gas in the variable volume chamber communicated via the piping will be absorbed by the hydrogen storage alloy, so the volume of the variable volume chamber will decrease, the buoyancy will decrease, and It's gone.

FIG. 1 is a P-T diagram of a typical hydrogen storage alloy, showing that the dissociation pressure increases as one moves to the left side of the horizontal axis (as one moves to the high temperature side). Taking LaNi1 as a representative alloy and explaining it, H2
There exists an equilibrium relationship as shown in the following equation.

LaNi5+3H2#LaNfIIHe -(.

Since the molecular weight of LaNi, 1 is 432.5, let's now use 1 kg of LaNi to advance the reaction in the right direction of equation (1), and then heat LaNi, H6 to form (1). Assuming that the equilibrium of the equation is shifted completely to the left, the amount of hydrogen gas that can be solved can be theoretically calculated as follows.

432.5 Therefore, place a variable volume chamber with a volume of zero near the surface of water with a specific gravity of 1 and a temperature of 0°C (in a state where water pressure can be ignored), and supply 155.4 N of hydrogen gas into the variable chamber. Ba155
．． A buoyant force of 4 kgf will be generated. Sho L a N
i From the P-T diagram of H (Figure 1), atmospheric pressure (
1 kg/c♂) in order to overcome this and gasify H2.
This means that it is sufficient to provide a heating medium of 3°C or higher. As for what kind of alloy to use, the most suitable one can be selected by reading the graph in FIG. 1 while taking into account the operating environment temperature.

In addition, in the display of alloys in Figure 1, Mm represents Mitsushi metal.

The hydrogen storage capacity of currently developed hydrogen storage alloys is Mg.
Up to about 20 g of hydrogen per kg of alloy is stored at 2% by weight, excluding the system.

This amount corresponds to 10 moles of hydrogen (20÷2=10), and the volume is 224Nl! (0°C, 1 atm) hydrogen can be dissociated. Therefore, if 1 kg of alloy is used, 0℃
, a buoyancy of 224 kgf can be obtained under 1 atm (near the water surface), and if the weight of the device is 100 kg, a buoyancy of 124 kgf will be generated. However, the pressure increases by 1 kg/c♂ when the depth is 10 m below the water surface, so for example, at a depth of 600 m below the sea surface, the pressure increases by 1 kg/c♂.
The pressure of kg/c♂ will be applied h, and the Hz gas will be 0.
℃, the above buoyancy is approximately 1.0% compared to just below the sea level, so for practical application of the present invention, the type and amount of alloy to be used should be determined by taking these conditions into consideration. is desired.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the device of the present invention. Volume variable chamber 1
is cylinder-shaped, and a hydrogen gas introduction/discharge pipe (hereinafter simply referred to as piping 5) 3 is provided between it and a heat exchanger 2 (hereinafter simply referred to as heat exchanger 2) containing a hydrogen storage alloy. Figure) shows a state in which hot water is passed through the heat exchanger 2 to heat the hydrogen storage alloy, and when hydrogen gas dissociated from the heat exchanger 2 enters the variable volume chamber 1 and its dissociation pressure exceeds the environmental pressure, The volume expands by pushing up the piston 4.

Therefore, buoyancy is generated. On the other hand, (b) shows a state in which the hydrogen storage alloy is cooled by passing cooling water through the heat exchange device 2. Hydrogen gas in the variable volume chamber 1 reaches the heat exchange device 2 via the piping 3) and is stored in the alloy. be done. Therefore, the piston 4 descends under the external pressure, the volume of the variable volume chamber 1 decreases, and the piston 4 loses its buoyancy. The variable volume chamber l can also be of a diaphragm type or a bellows type.

Figure 3 shows a buoyancy generating device in a submersible or a submarine.When the submersible 6 descends into the sea, the exhaust heat of the motor (or engine) 5 is released outside the system, and when the submersible 6 wants to surface, it The pulp 8 shown in the figure is opened and exhaust heat is supplied to the heat exchange device 2. That is, when descending, hydrogen is stored in the heat exchange device 2, so the piston 4 descends and no buoyancy is generated, but when ascending, the hydrogen in the heat exchange device 2 is dissociated and the piston 4 rises. This creates buoyancy and helps you float.

4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams for controlling the attitude of the submersible 6 using the device of the present invention.
Variable volume chambers 1a and lb are provided before and after. Independent pipes 3a and 3b are provided between the heat exchanger 2 and the pipes 3a and 3b, and Nihars 7'8a and 8b are interposed between the pipes 3a and 3b. Therefore, when the pulp 8a is opened (valve 8b is closed) to supply waste heat to the heat exchanger 2 and dissociate hydrogen gas, the dissociated hydrogen gas passes through the pipe 3a. Since it enters the variable volume chamber 1a, the submersible 6 becomes K when the head side is lifted. Conversely, when the valve 8a is closed (valve 8b is opened), hydrogen gas enters the variable volume chamber 1b, and the tail of the submersible 6 is lifted. Also the fifth
The figure is a front view and shows a variable volume chamber 1cyld on the left and right sides of the submersible 6, with pipes 3c and 3d and pulps 8c and 8d installed respectively, so the valves can be operated in accordance with those in Figure 4. For example, the tilting attitude of the submersible 6 to the left and right can be controlled.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an operation for transporting a heavy object 12 by the deep-sea boat 9. (A) is a state in which the hand section 10 is about to grasp the heavy object 12, so the valve 8 is is closed. In (b), the loading of the heavy object 12 is completed and it is floating, so the pulp 8 is opened.
Hydrogen gas is sent to the variable volume chamber 1 to increase the volume and generate buoyancy.

Note that 11 indicates a packet.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram when the device of the present invention is used as a temperature sensor for liquid.
indicates the switch OFF state. In other words, since the switch 15 is ON in P), the current from the power supply 13 flows to the heater 14.
It is flowing to. However, at this stage, the water temperature in the tank 16 has not yet warmed sufficiently, so hydrogen gas is stored in the heat exchanger 2 (1), and therefore a sufficient amount is stored in the bellows-shaped volume variable chamber 1. Since it does not contain hydrogen gas, it does not generate enough buoyancy to overcome its own weight. When the water temperature in the tank 16 eventually rises, hydrogen gas begins to be dissociated from the heat exchange device 2, enters the variable volume chamber 1, and expands in volume. As a result, the variable volume chamber 1, which has generated buoyancy, rises along the guide 17, and lifts the switch 15 at its head to turn the switch OFF. When the electricity supply is stopped in this way, the water temperature in the tank 16 starts to drop again, and the variable volume chamber 1 loses hydrogen and contracts, loses its buoyancy and descends, returning to the state of 0) and again. Since the switch is turned on, it goes back and forth between (-r) and (b). Therefore, if an appropriate alloy is selected from the P-7 curve shown in FIG. 1, a precise temperature sensor for each dissociation temperature will be obtained.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention is configured as described above, by controlling the temperature of the alloy chamber, it is possible to adjust the dissociation of hydrogen and obtain buoyancy depending on the degree of volumetric expansion due to the dissociated hydrogen gas. Therefore, it has become possible to repeat generation and loss of buoyancy over a long period of time and many times without the waste and danger of releasing hydrogen gas out of the system. In addition, since the generation of buoyancy can be adjusted simply by using a heating medium, it is mechanically simple and there are few operational troubles, and an extremely safe, stable, and inexpensive buoyancy generating device has been provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a P-T diagram of various hydrogen storage alloys, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of the device of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 7 are explanatory diagrams showing application examples of the device of the present invention. 1... Volume variable chamber 2... Heat exchange device 3...
Piping 4...Piston 6...Submersible
8...Valve 9...Deep sea boat 14.
...Heater Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] A buoyancy generating device characterized in that a hydrogen gas introduction/exhaust pipe is connected to a variable volume chamber, and an end of the hydrogen gas introduction/exhaust pipe is connected to a heat exchange device containing a hydrogen storage alloy.