Development of a beta-type Stirling engine with rhombic-drive mechanism using a modified non-ideal adiabatic model

• Published in: Applied energy 2017-08, Vol.200, p.62-72
• Main Authors: Yang, Hang-Suin, Cheng, Chin-Hsiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beta type; Non-ideal adiabatic model; Prototype engine; Stirling engine
• ISSN: 0306-2619; 1872-9118
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.05.075

•An efficient and practical model is presented to predict performance of Stirling engine.•A 500-W prototype Stirling engine is successfully built based on the parametric study by the model.•Experiments are conducted on shaft power of the engine for verifying the model.•Effects of pressure drops, mechanical loss, mesh number, heating temperature and rotation speed are evaluated. The aim of this study is to develop an efficient theoretical model that can more accurately predict the performance of the designed engine. The developed model is practically further applied in the development of a 500-W engine. The theoretical model is built by modifying the existing non-ideal adiabatic analysis to more accurately predict performance the designed engine. In this model, pressure drops in the heater, the regenerator and the cooler caused by fluid friction, channel sudden expansion and sudden contraction are taken into consideration. Furthermore, an empirical formula for the mechanical loss as a function of rotation speed of the engine is obtained by experiments and introduced into the model. The shaft power, indicated power, and thermal efficiency of the engine are determined. Furthermore, a prototype engine is then built and tested to validate the model. Experimental measurements on the power output are conducted in this study. It is found that maximum shaft power of the prototype engine can reach 556W at rotation speed of 1665rpm and at a heating temperature of 1100K.