The Stirling Engine

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The Stirling Engine

• Angela Hon
• Jared Williams
• Pete Mazzarella
• Richard Gray

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History
The Stirling Engine, originally known as the
Economiser, was patented by Rev. Robert Stirling
in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1816.
The Economiser was originally developed as a
safer alternative to steam engines however, when
steam engines were redesigned to be safer,
Stirling engines became nearly obsolete.
This simple engine can run on a variety of fuel
sources, including flames, decaying vegetation,
and even the heat of your hand.
The Stirling Engine has a work output far closer
to the theoretical ideal efficiency than most
engines.
Despite high efficiency and availability of fuel
sources, the Stirling engine has always taken a
back seat to more popular designs such as steam
engines and internal combustion engines.
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The Stirling Cycle
CONTRACTION The piston in the cooled cylinder
(right) starts to compress the gas. Heat
generated by this compression is removed by the
cooling source.
EXPANSION Heat is added to the gas inside the
hot cylinder (left), causing pressure to build.
Air expands, forcing the piston to move down.
This is the part of the Stirling cycle that does
the work.
COOLING The left piston moves up while the right
piston moves down. This pushes the hot gas into
the cooled cylinder, which quickly cools the gas
to the temperature of the cooling source,
lowering its pressure. This makes it easier to
compress the gas in the next part of the cycle.
HEATING The right piston moves up while the left
piston moves down. This forces the gas into the
heated cylinder, where it quickly heats up,
building pressure, at which point the cycle
repeats.
Diagram taken from http//electron9.phys.
utk.edu/phys136d/modules/m3/m3ex1.htm
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TSE-03 from http//www.bekkoame.ne.jp
Our revised model Stirling Engine
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OUR DESIGN CHANGES
Changed design from metric to english, including
bolts and holes
Adjusted sizes of cylinders, pistons, heater, and
holes in cylinder cover
Redesigned pistons to make them solid and add
o-ring groove.
Changed materials for pistons and cylinders
Added o-rings for sealing pistons into cylinders
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Resources

• http//www.stirlingengine.com/
• Link to the American Stirling Company,
  manufacturers of commercial and model Stirling
  Engines
• http//www.bekkoame.ne.jp/7Ekhirata/english/mk_t0
  3.htm
• Where we got our basic design
• http//travel.howstuffworks.com/stirling-engine.ht
  m
• Howstuffworks- an excellent resource for
  understanding the Stirling Cycle
• http//web.vtc.edu/MEC/1012/Spr04_Group_Projects/P
  irates/Web20Pages/Group20Webpage.html
• Our Web Site