Preliminary testing results of a diaphragm FPSE

Ghozzi, Salem; Boukhanouf, Rabah

Abstract

The paper presents design and preliminary testing results of a Free Piston Stirling Engine (FPSE) prototyp operating at low temperature heat sources. The main focus of this work is to demonstrate the construction of the displacer using flexure bellows as a mechanical supporting spring and as a working fluid seal. The power piston, on the other hand, is made of a planar elastomer material in the shape of a disk with a suitable mechanical elasticity, rigidity, and thermal properties to support the range of operating temperatures. A small prototype of the FPSE was built and tested at operating temperature of under 200 oC. The measured operating frequency was 15 Hz, a reciprocating stroke of 8mm and operating pressure close to atmospheric pressure. The prototype was equipped with instruments to measure all the operating parameters. The power output was measured from the p-v diagram using a two-channel oscilloscope. The preliminary results demonstrated the operation concept and reliable start up, but further improvements will be needed to fine tune the reciprocating components and reduce mechanical friction.

Citation

Ghozzi, S., & Boukhanouf, R. Preliminary testing results of a diaphragm FPSE. Presented at 7th Heat Powered Cycles Conference (HPC 2016)

• Conference Name: 7th Heat Powered Cycles Conference (HPC 2016)
• End Date: Jun 29, 2016
• Acceptance Date: Mar 6, 2016
• Publication Date: Jun 26, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jun 30, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 30, 2016
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Free piston Stirling engine, metal bellow, and diaphragm
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/793477
• Related Public URLs: http://www.heatpoweredcycles.org/index.html
• Contract Date: Jun 30, 2016