Abstract
A novel liquid-piston steam engine which attains high efficiency in the low-temperature region at <300℃, as well as high reliability and low cost has been developed. Sintered metal was employed in the heating section to obtain high evaporation rate. The proposed engine achieved a thermal efficiency of 12.7% which was approximately 40% of the Carnot efficiency working at a heating temperature of 270℃ and a cooling temperature of 80℃. The liquid piston steam engine can be expected as a promising energy conversion device for waste heat below 300℃.
