Re: Forced Gas Quenching

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: Matthew Smith <matt-at-kbc-dot-net.au> 

Jim Lux follows up on Matt Deming's reply to my original post:
<snip/>
>Aside from the numerous practical details, this looks like a possibility.
So worthy of further consideration unless we hit a snag which "dead ends" 
the idea...

My main concern at the moment is keeping the compressor oil in the 
compressor and out of the spark gap, although maybe with an inert gas, this 
wouldn't be such an issue.  Probably have an oil trap with a manual valve 
to return the oil to the low-pressure side when the gap's not firing.

>1) The gap itself could be the expansion point
Yep - that's pretty much what I had in mind.  The gap is in a box with the 
small-bore high-pressure line ending in a nozzle "looking through" the gap. 
Larger bore tube evacuates the expanding gasses, returning to compressor.

Richard Modistach points out that the heat exchanger needs to be AFTER the 
compressor.  I think that, to keep the system nice and cool, pre and post 
heat exchangers are indicated.  If the parts are salvaged from an old air 
conditioner, a fan could blow through both of these.

>2) You'd have to watch out for products of dissociating the refrigerant
Wonder if the compressor would be meaty enough to shift SF6 around the 
system. I don't know how it's physical characteristics compare to the 
refrigerants used in these systems.

>You could run air or nitrogen or hydrogen or He, etc.  in such a system
>using the Brayton cycle.
For those about to look this up, I've already done it ;-)  The Brayton 
cycle is the principal behind gas turbines.  Are you proposing a 
closed-loop Brayton engine, Jim?

POINT OF INTEREST:  Most of the air-blast gaps I've seen for TC projects 
seem to be relatively low pressure, high flow.  (A vacuum cleaner.)  I 
wonder what the efficiency of a high-pressure, low flow system such as we 
are discussing would be like in comparison.  If it is any better, this may 
be welcome news to those currently stretching the limits of their power 
supplies by sticking an extra kilowatt or so of vacuum cleaner into the system.

Cheers

M

-- 
Matthew Smith
Kadina Business Consultancy
South Australia
http://www.kbc-dot-net.au