Performance of a twin power piston low temperature differential
Stirling engine powered by a solar simulator
This paper provides an experimental investigation on the performance of a low-temperature differential Stirling engine. In this study, a
twin power piston, gamma-configuration, low-temperature differential Stirling engine is tested with non-pressurized air by using a solar
simulator as a heat source. The engine testing is performed with four different simulated solar intensities. Variations of engine torque,
shaft power and brake thermal efficiency with engine speed and engine performance at various heat inputs are presented. The Beale number,
obtained from the testing of the engine, is also investigated. The results indicate that at the maximum simulated solar intensity of
7145 W/m2, or heat input of 261.9 J/s, with a heater temperature of 436 K, the engine produces a maximum torque of 0.352 N m at
23.8 rpm, a maximum shaft power of 1.69 W at 52.1 rpm, and a maximum brake thermal efficiency of 0.645% at 52.1 rpm,
approximately.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The low temperature differential (LTD) Stirling engine is
a type of Stirling engine that can operate with a low temperature
heat source. There are many low temperature heat
sources available including solar energy. The LTD Stirling
engine then provides the possibility of direct conversion of
solar energy to mechanical work.
A LTD Stirling engine can be run with small temperature
difference between the hot and cold ends of the displacer
cylinder (Rizzo, 1997). LTD Stirling engines
provide value as demonstration units, but they immediately
become of interest when considering the possibility of
power generation from many low-temperature waste heatsources in which the temperature is less than 100 C (Van