Annular tidal regenerator engine for nuclear circulatory support systems

In order to simplify the configuration of the tidal regenerator engine nuclear-powered circulatory support system, thereby drastically reducing its size and improving the intrinsic reliability, the engine has been redesigned. This redesign focuses on allowing power to be extracted at the low temperature end of the engine utilizing a piston-cylinder arrangement wherein all of the necessary heat transfer processes occur in the annular gap between the piston and cylinder. In all other respects the engine retains its basic characteristics as a hybrid between a Stirling engine and a Rankine engine. A significant advantage of the new arrangement is the ability to raise the superheat temperature limit from 6500F to over 9000F. This has yielded an increase in engine efficiency from 10 percent to 14 percent, and further increases are anticipated by utilizing an expansion and/or a binary version of the engine. The implantable system volume has been reduced by a factor of three and orientation insensitivity with respect to gravity has been demonstrated. Many system components have already demonstrated endurances of several thousand hours