Mechanical Configuration and Thermodynamic Analysis of an Alpha-Type Stirling Engine with Crank-Shifted Driving Mechanism

This study involves performance examination of an alpha-type novel Stirling engine and performance comparison with a V-type alpha engine. The novel engine displays very different features from the conventional V-type alpha engine. In the conventional engine, the work calculated with nodal analysis (real work) is lesser than isothermal work. In the novel engine, however, the real work becomes larger than the isothermal work if the heat transfer in compression and expansion cylinders is poor. If performances of engines are compared for equal amount of working fluid mass, the real work of the novel engine is always larger than the real work of the conventional V-type alpha engine. If performance comparison is made for equal amount of charging pressure of the working fluid, the difference of works of engines becomes multiple. The thermal efficiency of the novel engine is also greater. At relatively lower speeds and lower charging pressures of the engine, the efficiency difference between novel engine and conventional engine becomes more than 25%. The mean gas pressure in the novel engine is about 40% lesser than that in the conventional engine. All of the properties of the novel engine were found to be advantageous except flow losses.