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Hey Tom, considering the basic topic of the thread, your Gamma Stirling drawing brings to mind that making the displacer only connect the working fluid on one side like discussed earlier, would turn it into an Alpha Stirling. I don’t know if anyone has ever played with changing the dwell of an Alpha...

Hey Tom, thanks for reminding me of Peter Lynn. I had visited that site quite a bit some years ago, partly for his attitude and realistic perspective. Looks like he’s added a lot since then. Tom Booth said: “Or, have people simply given up trying to talk sense into my hair brained schemes to set me ...

I can’t find the reference now, but I am certain I have seen text/diagrams pertaining to a (mid 1800s?) Stirling that governed by varying the displacer stroke. Not hit and miss, but sorta the same premise.
Bumpkin

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Bumpkin

Once you see that high temperature Stirlings are sorta useless anyway, it’s kinda liberating when you realize that dead space isn’t, as a percentage, as important to low or moderate temperature engines as to high temp versions. It lets you shift the compromises towards more flow or more regeneration...

Hey Matt, I suppose you could call this stirring the pot, but I can’t resist and I hope you take it in fun. This thread reminds me of the book “Air Engines” by Theodor Finkelstein and Allan Organ, wherein Organ goes on and on about “The regenerator problem.” It’s evidently very useful for folks who ...

Tom said: “Carbon fiber seems, by itself, impervious to flame, but…” Hey Tom, I mentioned carbon fiber felt, but I meant to say carbon felt. It’s different. Google it up - it might be of interest. Looking at that, I ran across carbon foam again (like the burnt pancake,) and it looked like there migh...

Whatever the material, (preferably porous to act as a regenerator) It could be stronger (or lighter for the same strength) if it is formed into a slight cone shape — with chamber ends to match of course. I’ve mentioned somewhere before about carbon fiber felt being an interesting possibility, it’s a...

That particular engine type is the one I feel most comfortable to say of the thermal lag source, “I get it.” Which is not to say I’m right, but here goes... —The nozzle directs a stream through the heating chamber without contacting the cylinder itself or mixing (too much) with the surrounding air. ...

Hey Justin, Think of it this way: When your engine is at maximum displacement, more of the air is at the cool end. When your engine is at minimum displacement, more of the air is at the hot end. That’s the same in principle as the thermal lag engine except you’ve complicated it and you still need to...

Hi Justin. You can accomplish 180 degree phasing and differing displacements with one piston — the rod is sealed and oversized to diminish displacement on that side, so both sides of the same piston work. There have been a lot of heat engines, Ericsson and many others,) that used that premise, but I...

I made my own intake and exhaust manifold set for my pickup a few years ago, and prior to cutting metal I tried to absorb what lore I could on the subject. My project was mildly successful, but certainly not worth the hassle, except that I get stubborn. Thing is, I suppose some of the same dynamics ...

Well as I said, I like pancakes. Perhaps I should have said “structure” of pancakes but given the topic —. Anyway, for STIRLING engines, (not THERMAL-LAG engines like the Ted Warbrooke engine,) I think a slightly conical, but otherwise flat-as-a-fritter Beta design is the way to go. Conical to give ...

Hey Alphax and Tom, this looks like fun so I’ll jump in and disagree with both of you. Firstly take a cube one unit high — six sides = six square units. Three dimensions is 1X1X1 units =1 cubic unit. Ratio of six to one area to volume. Now compare to a cube two units high — each side is four square ...

That’s probably what the picture is. It wouldn’t make much average pressure difference in a low temp low pressure engine but it’s also to replace blow-by. Not really necessary in a LTD, but helpful.
Bumpkin