2011/9/16 Alan J Fletcher <a...@well.com>:
> I'm still trying to figure out what's going on!
>
> The outlet port is very high on the unit ... if it was just the overflow
> from a kettle boiler then there wouldn't be any room for steam.
> I might have to go back to thinking of it as a Tube boiler, where the flow
> of the steam carries the water with it.
>
If there is not enough room for steam, then steam makes the room,
either it breaches boiler vessel or pushes some water away. As there
is no percolator effect, there should be plenty of water still and
bubbling will just spill some surface water away. How much water is
spilled? This depends on the inner geometry, but anyway spilling
should be in equilibrium.
Note that as a kettle boiler, water can create 15 kW worth of more
steam than inlet water can replenish the 25 kg water reservoir for an
hour, before all water is boiled away. As E-Cat operates cyclically, I
would say that it is highly probable that power production peak
exceeds water inflow rate by plenty. But when it goes too much above
that limit, Rossi just cuts the power. Here the limit was probably ca.
130°C although power production keep up rising up to 133.7°C.
Therefore I think that peak power was well over 100%. This would also
explain why there was no bump in the temperature graph when input
power was cut off. Electric power was just less than 10% of the core
heat production that was still increasing and as there is lots of
thermal inertia, it could absorb 2.5 kW loss of heating power that we
did not even notice it.
Note also that only steam production rate does have an influence on
pressure. The more steam, the more there is pressure. And if no steam
production, then no pressure.
> I think there are three ways of reaching 130C.
>
> a) The internal pressure is 3 Bars, and the quality is 0.5. The water and
> the steam are in equilibrium at 130C.
>
liquid water content was 50% when there was 118°C and 180 kPa pressure.
> b) The internal pressure is 1 Bar (atmospheric, plus a little
> back-pressure), as a single chamber.
>
> In this case, the only way you can reach 130C is for ALL the water to
> evaporate, and for the steam to be super-heated.
>
And in addition to that, as specific heat of superheated steam is low,
there is no way to maintain stable temperature. Stable temperature is
only possible, if there is liquid water present and temperature is at
the boiling point.
> I can't figure out the "dumping" of the water at the end, either. Is it
> 100C water, or is it 130C water? 1 Bar or 3 Bars ?
>
No, it was 123°C and steam pressure is ca, 210 kPa. But as I have
emptied autoclaves, it sure looked like an autoclave, although they
opened pressure release valve much faster than they teach in school to
do (but not much faster than students and others actually do open it
=). Therefore I have zero doubt that there was 210 kPa pressure when
valve was opened.
This is also the reason, why I do not believe that two chambered inner
structure. We do not have any evidence that would support the idea of
superheated steam and also I do not see how it would make any sense in
this case on engineering and power production perspective. Also
superheated steam and liquid water cannot coexist in the same space as
heat transfer is almost instant. But this you probably considered.
–Jouni
