Stirlingengineforum.com

Hello everybody,

Just came accros this video.
It is shot at a NASA Research Centre, and they have stirling-engines running there.

I thought they did it only in the past, and quit research, but this video is recent?
Does anybody know more of this? I found the video very interesting.

Video

Nice video! I wish I could buy one of those little test engines, running 160 watts each. I bet they would out live my old ass. I'll take 3K watts please. I wish we could have seen the scaled up models about to be tested in the vacuum chamber!

I have a forest of wood waste, and with my current ice storm (north Arkansas) there will be much more. I don't need atoms as I can make stuff get hot. I need the machine!

Why can't the NASA data be public, or is it?

R

Don't think NASA wants the Chinese taking their Stirling Engine to the moon, although it would be interesting to know what power supply they have got, sounds like they are going to the moon in a big way. Ian S C

I think it is in a way a bit sad that such things are not open to certain people.
I believe NASA has a good bit of knowledge there, and that can be used to boost the usefulness of the SE.

I understand that they don't want other countries to steal their ideas, but i think a great bit of their knowledge could be used outside NASA.
It must be useful, otherwise they wouldn't experiment with these things till now.

The do have a fair bit of info on the web that may be down loaded if you have enough paper, and ink, can't remember, possibly 250 pages on one site. Ian S C

This construction of free piston engine is not a big deal if you need to build one. The highest technical problem is the gas bearing what they used for the lowest friction/long life period between the displacer's rod/piston->cylinder. The construction has a good performance from low cost material too if you can use some easy strokes rubber bellow with 1:3 displacer's piston:power piston diameter ratio. I built some model engine yet and the biggest had a pretty nice power. I change the displacer also the seal rings and I started to centralise. I need to use some springs fro the adjustable stroke. I'll finish it in spring time.

Oh Crap!!

Recently announced-
Another kick in the displacer for Stirling engines..

NASA Pulls the Plug on Plutonium Power Source
http://www.spacenews.com/article/civil- ... wer-source

NASA's cancellation of Advanced Sterling Radioisotope Generator (and they cant even spell Stirling correctly, things that make you go Grrrr..)
http://www.gizmag.com/nasa-cancels-adva ... tor/29880/

vamoose

A lot of the information that NASA has developed is available in research articles and books. For example, work on the advanaced regenerators is available in the book Stirling Convertor Regenerators.

I think I heard that the US govt., has withdrawn a vast amount of funding from NASA, and other agencies, global downturn. Ian S C

'In particular, Pu-238 fuel, which generates about half a kilowatt of heat per kilogram of isotope, has been used to power space missions'

That's from the article vamoose linked. I never realized plutonium had so little energy. I guess its the only option without oxygen or solar, when too far from the sun.