Study on Operating Characteristics of Stirling Cycle Refrigerator as a Household Machine

Abstract

A prototype Stirling refrigerator employing helium as a working fluid has been investigated to determine whether a freon-free machine is a viable alternative for the current household refrigerator. A displacer-type Stirling cycle machine of 100 W capacity was designed and tested by varying the frequency. COP was, however, below the designed COP, primarily because a significant amount of work was lost in the power transmission mechanism between the motor and the piston. The operational characteristics of the Stirling refrigerator have been clarified. These results demonstrate that the Stirling refregerater is one of the promising candiate as a new refrigerationsystems.