150 likes | 620 Views
STIRLING ENGINE. 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
E N D
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.
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.
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.
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.
WORKING PRINCIPLE • One side of the engine is continuously heated while the other side is continuously cooled. • First, the air moves to the hot side, where it is heated and it expands pushing up on a piston. • Then the air moves through the regenerator to the cold side, where it cools off and contracts pulling down on the piston. • Temperature change inside the engine produces the pressure change needed to push on the piston and make the engine run.
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)
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.
APPLICATIONS • Water pump stations • Combined heat and power plant • Solar power generation • Stirling cyrocoolers • Heat pump • Marine engines • Nuclear power • Aircraft engines • Micro CHP
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.
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.
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.