On designing low pressure loss working spaces for a planar Stirling micromachine

[摘要] In this paper, research was undertaken with the objective to design low pressure loss working spaces for a Stirling cycle micro heat engine operating from low temperature waste heat. This planar free-piston heat engine is anticipated to operate at the kHz level with mm3displacement. Given the resonant nature of the free-piston configuration, the complexity of its working gas' flow geometry and its projected high operating frequency, flow analysis is relatively complex. Design considerations were thus based on fast prototyping and experimentation. Results show that geometrical features, such as a sharp 90° corner between the regenerator and working spaces, are strong contributors to pressure losses. This research culminated into a promising revised working space configuration for engine start-up, as it considerably reduced total pressure losses, more than 80% at Re = 700, from the original design.

[发布机构] Institut Interdisciplinaire d'Innovation Technologique (3IT), Labo. Nanotech. Nanosystèmes (LN2), CNRS UMI 3463, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada^1;Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Annecy, France^2

[效力级别] 能源学

[关键词] Design considerations;Fast prototyping;Flow geometries;Geometrical features;High operating frequency;Low-temperature waste heats;Micro heat engine;Total-pressure loss