1993 Volume 55 Issue 2 Pages 3-11
Performance of the Stirling engine is directly affected by the effect of regenerator element. Influence of the material of regenerator matrix element and the bulk density of matrix packed element on engine performance is discussed. The tested engine system with the displacer in which the regenerator was built, had, instead of a power piston, a stainless steel welded bellows element as its power actuator to prevent gas leakage and to reduce friction loss at sealing. The power output characteristics produced by four types of material were greatly affected by the aerodynamic friction as the working gas passed through the porespace in the matrix element. As the density of the packed element increased, the power loss increased, while the indicated power and the net power grew in parallel. This was the reason why the effectiveness of thermal improvement by the regenerative effect of higher density overcame the drawback of greater aerodynamic friction loss. The regenerator might have the optimum material and amount of matrix element packed in so that maximum power can be obtained in the system.
