Engine Troubleshooting

Discussion on Stirling or "hot air" engines (all types)
Post Reply
saints9626
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 10:50 am

Engine Troubleshooting

Post by saints9626 »

Hello,

As a second year uni project (2 years ago now) I made a stirling engine. I could however never get it to run. I didn't have the time to troubleshoot or refine the engine as I had plenty of other stuff to do. Now I've finished uni, I want to 'complete' the project, and get it working!

The engine is made entirely from metal, the base plate is Mild 10mm thick, a stainless tube for the displacement cylinder, a tin displacer, mild steel top plate and various ali/stainless/mild parts for the crank and piston arrangements. The power piston is a piece of graphite in a mild steel cylinder (machining finish is not excellent) I have attached a few photos of the engine.

My query is, what is the first thing to improve in order to get it running. When I try it, it offers no indication of even wanting to power itself in either direction.

Here are a few of the things I suspect are wrong:
-Power piston not airtight seal to cylinder
-Displacement cylinder not airtight to top or bottom plate
-Displacement cylinder shaft hole too big
-Passageway from cylinders not large enough/acting as a heatsink

If i have missed anything or referred to anything incorrectly please excuse this, its been a while since I researched them. Any help or input welcome, thank-you!
Attachments
passage-way between displacement and power cylinders
passage-way between displacement and power cylinders
18641400_10213176367311792_2133817466_o.png (265.62 KiB) Viewed 5846 times
18678918_10213176315750503_1578943520_n.jpg
18678918_10213176315750503_1578943520_n.jpg (80.43 KiB) Viewed 5846 times
18676642_10213176315310492_1974154933_o.jpg
18676642_10213176315310492_1974154933_o.jpg (167.56 KiB) Viewed 5846 times
18674923_10213176317750553_1085057095_o.jpg
18674923_10213176317750553_1085057095_o.jpg (175.15 KiB) Viewed 5846 times
18618778_10213176318390569_1970479969_o.jpg
18618778_10213176318390569_1970479969_o.jpg (143.85 KiB) Viewed 5846 times
thanh-cuibap
Posts: 174
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2016 8:09 am
Location: Việt Nam

Re: Engine Troubleshooting

Post by thanh-cuibap »

You can check this :
18678918_10213176315750503_1578943520_n.jpg
18678918_10213176315750503_1578943520_n.jpg (302.28 KiB) Viewed 5836 times
Ian S C
Posts: 2218
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 5:15 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Engine Troubleshooting

Post by Ian S C »

The first thing is that the power cylinder with a graphite piston has to be better than excellent, that is why they are used in glass cylinders. A good steel cylinder with a polished bore is essential. Got to go out to night so I'll look in again.
Ian S C
saints9626
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 10:50 am

Re: Engine Troubleshooting

Post by saints9626 »

Thank you for the responses, what would you recommend for gasket material? I have some thin neoprene i could cut up. You have illustrated a heatsink, what is the purpose of this?

Thankyou!
thanh-cuibap
Posts: 174
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2016 8:09 am
Location: Việt Nam

Re: Engine Troubleshooting

Post by thanh-cuibap »

Hi Saints9626 ..may be help you !!
1.jpg
1.jpg (78.65 KiB) Viewed 5804 times
4.jpg
4.jpg (39.59 KiB) Viewed 5804 times
18676642_10213176315310492_1974154933_o.jpg
18676642_10213176315310492_1974154933_o.jpg (334.01 KiB) Viewed 5802 times
Post Reply