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What is a Toroidal Vortex?

And why would you create one just to destroy it?


The answer to part TWO of this question is "heat."

The answer to part ONE of this question can be found about halfway through this article.


The Science Refresher

 

OK, some of what follows may read like the basics from a Jr. High science class, but to get to the end, sometimes it helps to start at the beginning. Of course, you can skip to the next section if you don’t want to spend your time on a science refresher.


What is Heat


The heat that we feel can be thought of as an indicator of the energy present in whatever we are touching. Even though it may not seem like it, the molecules that make up anything and everything we “feel,” whether it is a piece of metal, a cup of coffee, or the air in the room, are in motion. They are constantly vibrating around and bumping against each other. This motion is what we perceive as heat (Heat - Wikipedia, Heat - A simple introduction to the science of heat energy).


Atom Molecule Representation

This energy can even cause things to change their “state.” If there is less motion, the thing may be a solid – like steel or ice. More motion may cause the thing to become a liquid – like lava or water. Lots of motion and it can become a gas – like air or steam. It takes different amounts of energy (heat) to cause different molecules (steel or water, for instance) to change their state. As we all know, water likes to be a solid if the temperature is below 0°C or 32°F and tends to be a liquid above this. Water likes to stay a liquid around the temperatures that we humans consider to be ideal or “comfortable.”

 

Types of Heat Generation

 

Just as we humans have an ideal temperature range that we like to function within, so too many of our creations – like machines and equipment – have temperature ranges that they function best within. For this reason, it is good to have a compact, dependable, powerful, and efficient way to create heat.



Clearly, there are times when we want, even need, heat for ourselves, for our equipment, and for our working environment. There are many ways to create heat, like Combustion (burning stuff), Mechanical Friction (rubbing things together), Electrical Friction (resistance heat), and Liquid Friction (creating heat within a liquid).

 

  • Burning stuff works well, but it isn’t always the best solution: First, you need enough stuff to burn, and second, you may not want to have sparks and flames around you or within your environment. Burning stuff also creates exhaust/smoke.

  • Except for starting fires at scout camp, rubbing things together isn’t used very often to create heat. It tends to wear things out and doesn’t create heat very efficiently.

  • Electrical resistance heat is pretty efficient, but this requires access to large amounts of electricity, and there can be sparks and ignition sources you may need to avoid.

 

What about creating heat within a liquid?

 

OK, for you physicists out there, sorry, we’re going to keep this very basic. If you are wondering how to go about creating heat with liquid, here is the short version of how it works:

 

From our kinetic energy review above, we know that motion is energy. If we swing a stick around, we put energy into the stick. If we swirl a liquid around, we put energy into the liquid. But the stick won’t catch fire just because we are swinging it around, and the water won’t become super-hot just because we’re stirring it around.

 

The way you get a stick to make heat from motion is by stopping it – or a part of it, anyway. When you rub one stick on another, the portions of the sticks that are touching are trying to stop each other from moving. As the molecules at the contact point continually crash into each other, the “motion energy” from the sticks is translated into “heat energy” (molecules vibrating more and more rapidly) at the contact point.

 

Rubbing a liquid against itself isn’t like rubbing two sticks together to start a fire. Liquid friction doesn’t work that way. Just try holding a piece of water in each hand and rubbing only the water together. Doesn’t work.

 

Basically, when a liquid “rubs against itself,” rather than coming to an abrupt stop, it will just change direction. The “motion energy” mostly remains motion energy, so great amounts of heat are not created.

 

 The Toroidal Vortex, Liquid Friction, and the Ventech LHG

 

A toroidal vortex is a very specific and strong spinning pattern of motion within a liquid, and creating one requires targeted motion energy. Here’s the interesting part: if you create one and then abruptly stop it from spinning without giving the liquid an opportunity to gently change direction, you can cause the liquid molecules to “smash into each other.” And when molecules smash into each other, “motion energy” is quickly and efficiently changed into “heat energy.”


The LHG

Within the liquid heating chamber of a Ventech LHG (Liquid Heat Generator), the precise conditions exist to translate incoming motion into huge numbers of toroidal vortices and then stop them – fast. There is no mechanical friction, there is no electrical resistance, there is no flame. Just lots of precisely contained liquid molecules smashing into each other, over and over and over. Very quickly converting motion energy into lots and lots of heat (Water brake/torque absorption - Wikipedia).


 

In one sentence: “The Ventech LHG utilizes the rapid creation and collapse of toroidal vortexes to convert mechanical energy into heat, achieving an efficiency of over 90% and up to 98%.”

 

What Can You Do with It?

 

When an LHG rotor is turned, heat is created. The more rotational/motion energy put in; the more heat is generated within the liquid heating chamber. Since liquids are very good at holding and transferring heat, you now have an efficient flame-free, spark-free source of non-combustible liquid heat. 

 

Ventech’s LHG (Liquid Heat Generator) provides cutting-edge heating and load-banking possibilities by using a motion source (like an engine, electric motor, wind turbine, motion breaking, hydraulics, etc.) and a liquid medium (like coolant). A number of innovative applications are currently available, and a myriad of pioneering solutions await demand and implementation.



What is possible with a liquid heat generator?

  • Vehicle Cabin Heating: Efficiently heating the interior of vehicles, ensuring comfort for passengers.

  • Non-electrically resistive load banks: diesel engine protection and wet stacking prevention systems for diesel generators.  

  • Promoting engine and exhaust after-treatment health: Maintaining optimal temperatures for diesel engines, turbos, EGRs, and after-treatment systems to enhance performance and longevity.  

  • Temperature Control for Liquid Transport Trucks: Ensuring transported liquids remain at desired temperatures.  

  • Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Heating Systems: Providing necessary heat for APUs, which is crucial in various transportation and industrial applications.  

  • Mobile Arctic Bathrooms: Offering reliable heating solutions in extremely cold environments.  

  • Safety-Mandated Flameless and Sparkless Environments: Providing safe heating solutions in environments where traditional heating methods pose safety risks.

 

With autonomous operation, LHG systems turn on and off as needed, providing efficient and effective heating tailored to specific applications. If you need efficient and reliable heating solutions for diverse applications, Ventech’s LHG technology can meet your needs.


All this from forming and shearing a toroidal vortex.


And now you know why it can be quite advantageous to create a toroidal vortex just to destroy it.

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