Design, Manufacture and Performance Test of a Small Gamma Type Stirling Engine

In this paper, a small gamma type Stirling engine is designed and constructed. The engine performance is tested with air at atmospheric pressure by using a fuel gas burner as a heat source. The engine is tested with various fuel gas flows to be heat inputs. Variations of engine torque, shaft power at various fuel gas flows with engine speed are presented.

The results indicate that, for a small gamma type Stirling engine, at a maximum fuel gas flow of 0.214g/sec, the engine produces a maximum torque of 0.825N.m at 100.75rpm, a maximum shaft power of 15.74W at 208rpm. The important key to promote the engine performance is to reduce the mechanical friction loss and strengthen the seal design.