Stirlingengineforum.com

@Nobody

This is from wiki article on Kelvin and note his line near bottom:

"the conversion of heat into mechanical effect is probably impossible, certainly undiscovered"

These guys would have paid dearly for some 'blatantly obvious' insight...

Carnot was a mathematician so his theory is based on mathematics, specifically calculus. His theory is based on solid calculus and observation. His analogy is based on peer ignorance. Kinetic theory came later, and Carnot's theories were put to the test. Some, Caloric, we're discarded. Think about ...

Isotherms? What isotherms? The red and blue straight lines represent the temperatures of the hot and cold heat exchangers. Yes, I think it is a stretch... Tom, it's an approximation. Is that helpful or harmful? Does it add or subtract from the potential work output? It is this higher than supplied ...

That there is some benefit to be gained by removing the heat from a heat engine at any point in the cycle is counterproductive A cycle operates between a high energy state and a low energy state. The only benefit to removing heat during the cycle is allowing processes to combine into a cycle !!! ot...

P.S., It is blatantly obvious from Carnot's theory that heat flows in the hot side, and out both the cold side and out as power, proving Caloric Theory wrong. Yikes, this is very poorly worded vs Tom's response which is right on. That the compression stroke is "easier" if heat is thrown a...

This is where process vs cycle is paramount. Prior heat engines, work was via a single output 'process' from windmills and waterwheels without 'cycles'. Then steam engines added a heating process (boiler), Watt added a cooling process (condenser), and steam became a 4 process cycle (feed pump is a c...

Academics get hung up with optimization buzz, but fail to acknowledge approximation issues. I often stare at legacy designs (think antique iron) and ponder exactly what the designer was trying to achieve, then whether he came close (on paper or reality). I look at it this way...consider a mythical e...

Indeed, the reverse arrows suck, as does the blaring Wneg. The best way to think of isobaric compression in an engine is to compare it to a flame licker. Assume that a flame licker has a total vacuum inside cylinder during part of its cycle. During this time, the atmospheric pressure will attempt to...

@ Nobody

Thanks for the 'peer review'. Now, do you see how vol ratio effects eff ??? where increasing vol ratio within other cycle constants increases cycle eff. The major issues would be (1) scheming suitable mech, and (2) solving regen pressure drop between blows.

No Tom, above PV has 2:1 isobaric compression, from 2v @ 600k to 1v @ 300k.

Yes, isobaric compression from pt 3 @ 600k/2v to pt 2 @ 300k/1v, thus 2:1. I'm trying to make several points with this cycle: (1) it's a well known (to some) cycle that doesn't require a 'conventional' compression process (2) the cycle may be open or closed (3) a corresponding mech (engine) which ma...

Lenoir 800k air.png A little PV plot can go a long ways towards exposing mysteries... Tom's thread on high eff probably has any of the lurking engineers thinking Tom is full of **it. Well, Tom may be lacking in engineer speak, but a bigger problem is the engineer mindset that's limited by edu dogma...

Greetings Bumpkin - I'm reminded of a physicist who told me yrs ago that his favorite thing in science was the kinetic theory since it even explains why the soup gets hot, faster, when...stirring the pot (disturbs boundary layer). Although I've been chasing this Holy Grail for yrs (decades), I alway...

sq cycle.jpg There is not a flow of heat from hot to cold. There are two heat sources playing against each other much like tennis players batting a ball back and forth. I've been looking at this for a long time but had not been able to conceptualize it in just this way. I knew the heat did not &quo...

Just to cover my butt (but doubt an issue here) if anyone reduces dia values whereby Cv=2.5 and Cp=3.5, and then reduces my input Q=2.8 likewise to Q=1.4, this has nothing to do with dia gamma (Cp/Cv) and merely a coincidence. Gadz, that caught my eye like a big dog...