Experimental and theoretical investigation of Stirling engine heater: Parametrical optimization

Ramla Gheith (1) , Houda Hachem (1) , Fethi Aloui (2) , Sassi Ben Nasrallah (1)

1 LESTE / ENIM - Laboratoire d'Etudes des Systèmes Thermiques et Energétiques [Monastir]
2 LAMIH - Laboratoire d'Automatique, de Mécanique et d'Informatique industrielles et Humaines - UMR 8201

The aim of this work is to optimize γ Stirling engine performances with a special care given to the heater. This latter consists of 20 tubes in order to increase the exchange area between the working gas and the hot source. Different parameters were chosen to evaluate numerically and experimentally the heater. The selected four independent parameters are: heating temperature (300–500 °C), initial filling pressure (3–8 bar), cooling water flow rate (0.2–3 l/min) and frequency (2–7 Hz). The amount of energy exchanged in the heater is significantly influenced by the frequency and heating temperature but it is slightly enhanced with the increase in the cooling water flow rate. The thermal and the exergy efficiencies of the heater are very sensible to the temperature and pressure variations.

Mots clés: "Stirling engine"; "Heater optimization"; "Energy waste"; "Efficiency"

Domaines: Mécanique [physics.med-ph]

Ramla Gheith, Houda Hachem, Fethi Aloui, Sassi Ben Nasrallah. Experimental and theoretical investigation of Stirling engine heater: Parametrical optimization. Energy Conversion and Management, 2015, 105, pp.285-293. ⟨10.1016/j.enconman.2015.07.063⟩. ⟨hal-03448409⟩