Hi everyone, I am Emmanuel Katto. I just joined this community. I wanted to know what modifications have you guys made to enhance the performance of their Stirling engines? Any tips on optimizing efficiency?
Looking forward to your responses.
Thanks,
Emmanuel Katto
How to enhance the performance - Emmanuel Katto Uganda
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emmanuelkatto
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2024 9:55 pm
Re: How to enhance the performance - Emmanuel Katto Uganda
Hello Emmanuel, and welcome.emmanuelkatto wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 10:01 pm Hi everyone, I am Emmanuel Katto. I just joined this community. I wanted to know what modifications have you guys made to enhance the performance of their Stirling engines? Any tips on optimizing efficiency?
Looking forward to your responses.
Thanks,
Emmanuel Katto
The first thing you should know, however, is this forum seems to have recently been abandoned by the sole owner/moderator.
I don't want to speculate why.
Unfortunately, as of a few months ago the forum has been filling up with quite a lot of SPAM, so you are pretty much on your own and should be careful what forums you view and what links you follow.
With the forum owners whereabouts or condition unknown, it is also unknown who might, or might not be paying any hosting fees, so for all I know this place may disappear at any time, so if you are looking to establish and maintain contacts with anyone here it would probably be a good idea to establish some alternative means of doing so.
As far as your questions, several here have been working on various performance and efficiency enhancements.
I'd particularly recommend looking over posts by VincentG.
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=7394
Re: How to enhance the performance - Emmanuel Katto Uganda
I've been doing tests with this solar Stirling engine in my workshop:
https://youtu.be/upO-S9hylCo
The engine is rated at 3,000 watts electrical output, but 7,000 watts of the 10,000 watts of input heat is absorbed by the cooling system and dissipated through the radiator as "waste heat".
This is required, apparently, mostly as a means of protecting the heat sensitive neodymium magnets in the linear alternator from overheating as well as the heat sensitive windings.
This is, perhaps the stupidest arrangement possible.
The majority of the heat input goes directly into the cooling water.
By separating the power generation unit a greater distance away from the heat input, such waste just to protect the heat sensitive generator would be unnecessary and could theoretically at least, more than triple the efficiency of such an engine.
That engine was built in 2009 to go into one of these INFINIA Power Dish solar generators.
https://youtu.be/VEpq-WCTOrM
If you watch the above INFINIA video, notice the two big cooling fans on the bottom of the units. Those cooling radiators are taking away 70% of the heat input from the concentrated solar.
https://youtu.be/upO-S9hylCo
The engine is rated at 3,000 watts electrical output, but 7,000 watts of the 10,000 watts of input heat is absorbed by the cooling system and dissipated through the radiator as "waste heat".
This is required, apparently, mostly as a means of protecting the heat sensitive neodymium magnets in the linear alternator from overheating as well as the heat sensitive windings.
This is, perhaps the stupidest arrangement possible.
The majority of the heat input goes directly into the cooling water.
By separating the power generation unit a greater distance away from the heat input, such waste just to protect the heat sensitive generator would be unnecessary and could theoretically at least, more than triple the efficiency of such an engine.
That engine was built in 2009 to go into one of these INFINIA Power Dish solar generators.
https://youtu.be/VEpq-WCTOrM
If you watch the above INFINIA video, notice the two big cooling fans on the bottom of the units. Those cooling radiators are taking away 70% of the heat input from the concentrated solar.
Re: How to enhance the performance - Emmanuel Katto Uganda
Comparatively, one or two of these can generate as much output at much much lower temperatures.
https://youtu.be/duuk_r--lqU
Even so, a great deal of heat is "wasted" to heat the cooling water. An improved design could very likely increase the electrical output there as well. Though, in this case, I believe the hot water produced is actually put to some use rather than the heat being driven off into the passing breeze and completely wasted.
https://youtu.be/duuk_r--lqU
Even so, a great deal of heat is "wasted" to heat the cooling water. An improved design could very likely increase the electrical output there as well. Though, in this case, I believe the hot water produced is actually put to some use rather than the heat being driven off into the passing breeze and completely wasted.
Re: How to enhance the performance - Emmanuel Katto Uganda
Mr. Emmanuel Katto, welcome to the forum. I am thinking that you would like a power generating engine, mechanical or electrical, that runs on fuel that is available to you. It would need to be in that 1000 Watt or higher range. It needs to be built from easily obtainable materials and put together with minimal tools. Am I correct?
This website has threads that discuss, mostly, small toy engines that produce one Watt or less. However mixed in, are discussions of more powerful engines.
Look around for materials you might have. If you want a simple machine it can be made without pressurization. It will run slowly a few hundred RPM's and be low powered unless it is quite large.
Some materials and items that may be available to you are pressure cylinders, propane, air compressors, oxygen cylinders, steel pots, stainless steel if you have a choice. Bicycle cranks might even work.
Remember these things run from pressure changed so thin materials may bend, bow, and buckle. Doming the camber heads can help.
People here and on YouTube have made beginner engines out of many different kinds of scrap. Even a fourth grade girl.
If you get one running, build a second with some improvements that you've read about and learned from your first one.
For the hot side try to use higher temperature capable materials like steel and ceramic and avoid lower temperature materials like aluminum and plastic. Lower temperature materials are useful for the cold parts.
Do a little research, the information is out there. Start with a cheaper little one until you get the ideas working. Then scale up slowly. There is no wrong or right process for building and learning about these. Good luck, carry on.
.
This website has threads that discuss, mostly, small toy engines that produce one Watt or less. However mixed in, are discussions of more powerful engines.
Look around for materials you might have. If you want a simple machine it can be made without pressurization. It will run slowly a few hundred RPM's and be low powered unless it is quite large.
Some materials and items that may be available to you are pressure cylinders, propane, air compressors, oxygen cylinders, steel pots, stainless steel if you have a choice. Bicycle cranks might even work.
Remember these things run from pressure changed so thin materials may bend, bow, and buckle. Doming the camber heads can help.
People here and on YouTube have made beginner engines out of many different kinds of scrap. Even a fourth grade girl.
If you get one running, build a second with some improvements that you've read about and learned from your first one.
For the hot side try to use higher temperature capable materials like steel and ceramic and avoid lower temperature materials like aluminum and plastic. Lower temperature materials are useful for the cold parts.
Do a little research, the information is out there. Start with a cheaper little one until you get the ideas working. Then scale up slowly. There is no wrong or right process for building and learning about these. Good luck, carry on.
.
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sarimshaikh
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2024 11:01 am
Re: How to enhance the performance - Emmanuel Katto Uganda
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