Sterling Engine

1. STIRLING ENGINE

2. HISTORY
Inventor = Robert Stirling
(1790 - 1878)
Sought to replace the steam
turbines of his days due to
frequent explosion caused by
unsustainable high pressure
killing and injuring workers
Invented Stirling engine in
1816 which could not
explode and produce more
power then th steam engine
used.

3. WHAT IS STIRLING ENGINE ?
Device that converts heat energy to
mechanical power by alternately
compressing and expanding a fixed quantity
of working fluid at different temperatures.
Regeneration as alternative.

4. WHY STIRLING ENGINE?
Best teaching and learning for any
engineering students device especially in
the field of thermodynamics.
Unique technology.
An innovation with hundreds of application.
An innovation with a mission to save the
earth.
Fuel independency.

5. MAIN COMPONENTS
Power piston – small tightly sealed piston that
moves up when the gas inside the engine expands
Displacer – larger piston and it is very loose in its
cylinder so air can move easily between the heated
cooled sections of the engine as the displacer
moves up and down
These piston move by the action of compression
and expansion.
Difference in pressure causes the piston to move
and produce power.

6. COMMON CONFIGURATION

7. GAMMA MECHANICAL CONFUGURATION

8. WORKING PRINCIPLE
I. One side of the engine is continuously heated
while the other side is continuously cooled.
II. First, the air moves to the hot side, where it is
heated and it expands pushing up on a piston.
III. Then the air moves through the regenerator to
the cold side, where it cools off and contracts
pulling down on the piston.
IV. Temperature change inside the engine produces
the pressure change needed to push on the
piston and make the engine run.

9. EFFICIENCY
Theoretically
 Stirling engine efficiency = Carnot efficiency
 Unfortunately working fluid or gas is not ideal this
causes the efficiency to be lower than Carnot
efficiency.
 In fact, Stirling engine efficiency depends on
 Temperature ratio (proportionally)
 Pressure ratio (inversely proportional)
 Specific heat ratio (inversely proportional)

10. ADVANTAGES
Various heat sources (solar, geothermal,
nuclear energy, waste heat, biological)
Environmental friendly
Heat is external and the burning of a fuel-air
mixture can be more accurately controlled.
Operates at relatively low pressure and thus
are much safer than typical steam turbines
Less manpower needed to operate any type
of commercial Stirling engine.

11. APPLICATIONS
Water pump stations
Combined heat and power plant
Solar power generation
Stirling cyrocoolers
Heat pump
Marine engines
Nuclear power
Aircraft engines
Micro CHP

12. APPLICATION
WATER PUMP STATION
A Stirling engine used for
pumping water can be
configured so that the water
cools the compression space.
This is most effective when
pumping cold water.

13. APPLICATION
STIRLING CYROCOOLERS
 Any Stirling engine will also work in reverse as
a heat pump. When a motion is applied to the
shaft, a temperature difference appears
between the reservoirs.
NUCLEAR POWER
 Replacing the steam turbines of the nuclear
power plant with Stirling engine might simplify
the plant, yield greater efficiency, and reduce
the radioactivity by products.

14. CONCLUSION
Unlimited source of heat source
Political awareness of green heat and power
production.
Large market experiencing rapid growth.
Many different possible applications.
Time to change.