Stirling engines |
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When I first heard of the Stirling engine, and understood its principle,
I just had to build one myself. Meanwhile, this has grown into a timeconsuming
hobby, but it is a tremendous feeling when after many hours of calculating,
designing and constructing, the engine actually runs.
My latest engine is an Alpha type Stirling engine: Version 5a: Alpha type. 240 rpm at a temperature difference of 150 degrees celsius. This is the result after months of tinkering to reduce mechanical losses. I did not yet measure the output power or the efficiency. There are some improvements planned, and after I will list both. Anyway, I am extremely pleased that I got it to run. My second attempt was to make a version more powerful: Version 4c: Gamma type. 120 rpm at a temperature difference of 80 degrees celsius. I tested the mechanical power of this machine by lifting a bottle of water. Changing the amount of water, and recording the lift speed, I calculated the mechanical output power to be about 0.6 W. Not so much yet, but the fact that real work is done is encouraging to build a stronger and more efficient version. This is my first working Stirling engine: Version 3b: Gamma type without regenerator. 60 rpm at a temperature difference of 80 degrees celsius. After having added a regenerator, the engine runs at 120 rpm at the same temperature difference. I did not try to measure the mechanical output power: it is enough to keep the engine running, but no more. |