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Two Cylinder Stirling Engine Guide

The two-cylinder Stirling engine operates using a closed system where air is alternately heated and cooled between two cylinders. One cylinder is kept hot using fuel burning while the other is kept cool using air circulation through cooling fins. The Stirling cycle involves four phases - expansion, transfer, contraction, and transfer - where the heated air expands in the hot cylinder and transfers to the cool cylinder to contract before transferring back to repeat the cycle. The engine includes a regenerator to improve efficiency by pre-heating the air transferring to the cool cylinder and pre-cooling the air transferring back using stored heat.

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132 views2 pages

Two Cylinder Stirling Engine Guide

The two-cylinder Stirling engine operates using a closed system where air is alternately heated and cooled between two cylinders. One cylinder is kept hot using fuel burning while the other is kept cool using air circulation through cooling fins. The Stirling cycle involves four phases - expansion, transfer, contraction, and transfer - where the heated air expands in the hot cylinder and transfers to the cool cylinder to contract before transferring back to repeat the cycle. The engine includes a regenerator to improve efficiency by pre-heating the air transferring to the cool cylinder and pre-cooling the air transferring back using stored heat.

Uploaded by

Nduati John
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Two Cylinder Stirling Engine


The Stirling engine is one of my favorites. It was invented in 1816 by Rev. Robert Stirling of
Scotland. The Stirling is a very simple engine, and was often billed as a safe alternative to steam,
since there’s no risk of a boiler explosion. It enjoyed some success in industrial applications, and
also in small appliances like fans and water pumps, but it was eclipsed by the advent of inexpensive
electric motors.3 However, because it can run on any source of heat, it now holds promise for
alternative fuel engines, solar power, geothermal power, etc.
Speed 10 fps
Stirling engines feature a completely closed system in which the working gas (usually air but
sometimes helium or hydrogen) is alternately heated and cooled by shifting the gas to different
temperature locations within the system.

In the two-cylinder (or alpha configured3) Stirling, one cylinder is kept hot while the other is kept
cool. In this illustration, the lower-left cylinder is heated by burning fuel. The other cylinder is kept
cool by air circulating through a heat sink (a.k.a. cooling fins).
The Stirling cycle can be thought of as four different phases: expansion, transfer, contraction, and
transfer.

Expansion
Most of the gas in the system has just been driven into the hot cylinder. The gas heats and expands
driving both pistons inward.

Transfer
The gas has expanded (about 3 times in this example). Most of the gas (about 2/3) is still located in
the hot cylinder. Flywheel momentum carries the crankshaft the next 90 degrees, transferring the
bulk of the gas to the cool cylinder.
Contraction
The majority of the expanded gas has shifted to the cool cylinder. It cools and contracts, drawing
both pistons outward.

Transfer
The contracted gas is still located in the cool cylinder. Flywheel momentum carries the crank
another 90 degrees, transferring the gas to back to the hot cylinder to complete the cycle.

This engine also features a regenerator, illustrated by the chamber containing the green hatch lines.
The regenerator is constructed of material that readily conducts heat and has a high surface area,
typically a mesh of closely spaced, thin metal plates. When hot gas is transferred to the cool
cylinder, it is first driven through the regenerator, where a portion of the heat is deposited. When the
cool gas is transferred back, this heat is reclaimed; thus the regenerator “pre heats” and “pre cools”
the working gas, dramatically improving efficiency.3

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