Study of a Stirling engine used for domestic micro‐cogeneration. Thermodynamic analysis and experiment

One of the aims of this work is the study of the geometry of a micro‐cogenerator using a Stirling engine with four double effect pistons. The complex geometry of the heat exchangers was determined by optical measurements. Results of three thermodynamic models: Direct Method from Finite Speed Thermodynamics (FST), isothermal model (Schmidt), and adiabatic model (Finkelstein) are confronted to experimental ones. Direct Method consists of the study and the evaluation of the irreversibilities of thermal machines by analyzing the cycle, step by step, and directly integrating the equation of the First Law for processes with finite speed combined with Second Law of Thermodynamics, for each process of the cycle. The expression of efficiency and power, depending on the speed of the processes and geometric and functional parameters, is then obtained in a straightforward manner. The isothermal and adiabatic models are based on the division of Stirling engine in 3, respectively 5 control volumes, for which the ideal gas law and the equations of mass and energy balance are applied. Analysis of the process of heat transfer and flow of the working gas, taking place in the Stirling engine, is carried out taking into account instantaneous representation of the working fluid volume in the engine. A system of differential equations is solved by iteration using Matlab/Simulink software. The theoretical results are compared to experimental ones. This comparison allows to point out a good accuracy of the Direct Method and the Adiabatic Model, for the thermal operating parameters of the system, noting the different assumptions of each analysis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.