8/4/2019 Stirling engine - Energy Education

Stirling engine
Stirling engines are a type of reciprocating external heat engine that uses
one or more pistons to achieve useful work through some input of heat
from an external source. They differ vastly from internal combustion
engines that are seen in most vehicles. Stirling engines use the same gas
over and over, unlike internal combustion engines which constantly intake
and exhaust the gas. Also, Stirling engines do not use explosions like
normal gasoline engines, therefore they are very quiet.[2]

Although these seem like major advantages to an ordinary engine, they

are less practical in most vehicles because they require external heat,
rather than internal heat. The external source of hit needs extra time for
the heat get the inside of the engines. This heat transfer makes the engine Figure 1. Gotland class submarines use Stirling
far less responsive than internal combustion engines.[2] Stirling engines engines.[1]
have also been found to be largely impractical in power plants; Stirling
engines have low specific power, meaning that the engine has to be quite
large in order to produce a relatively small amount of power.[3]

Operation
The key unique characteristic of Stirling engines is that there is a fixed amount of gas inside.[2] The pressure of the gas can
be manipulated by adding or removing heat. Adding heat will increase the pressure (and temperature)—in contrast, removing
heat will decrease the pressure (and temperature). By changing how these two processes are done, the engine can be made to
deliver useful work. The engine follows the "Stirling cycle" described below in a general form and can be seen in Figure 2.
The cycle is as follows:[2]

1. Heating and expansion- Heat is input from an external source, raising the temperature and therefore pressure of the
gas. This causes a piston to expand and provide useful work.
2. Flow and cooling- The piston moves up forcing the gas into another cylinder, where it is cooled. The cooling of the gas
allows for easier compression, which means that less work is needed than was produced in step 1.
3. Compression- The gas is now compressed, and the excess heat created from this compression is removed by the
cooling source.
4. Reverse flow and heating- The compressed gas moves back into the initial chamber where the cycle repeats.

Figure 2. Basic ideal Sterling cycle.[4]

The Stirling cycle can give more power by having a hotter source of heat in step 1, or by having a cooler cold sink in step 2.

Click here (http://stirlingshop.com/html/stirlingengines_types.html) to learn about the different types of Stirling engines.

Application
Stirling engines have many applications:[5]

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8/4/2019 Stirling engine - Energy Education

Cogeneration (CHP)- In a cogeneration unit, a Stirling engine can make use of

waste heat that is produced due to the second law of thermodynamics. This waste
heat can go towards powering the Stirling engine for industrial or agricultural
processes.

Solar power generation- Placed at the focus of a parabolic mirror as seen in

Figure 2, Stirling engines can convert solar energy to electricity with an efficiency
better than some photovoltaic cells.

Submarines- Stirling powered submarines can stay submerged much longer than Figure 3. A Stirling engine, as seen
conventional submarines. Swedish ship builder Kockums first installed Stirling in the center of this parabolic mirror,
engines in submarines, and with them the submarine doesn't have to surface to can be heated by the Sun.[6]
recharge its batteries, extending its submersion from days to weeks.[8]

Nuclear power plants- There is potential for Stirling engines to replace steam
turbines in nuclear reactors, and could increase the plant's efficiency and reduce
radioactive by-products. These would use liquid sodium as coolant, and remove the
need for water anywhere in the cycle.[5]

Educational demonstration- A low temperature difference Stirling engine will run

on any low temperature difference, for example the difference between the palm of
a hand as seen in Figure 4.

The U.S. has also developed a Stirling engine to generate electricity for use in space
exploration.

For Further Reading

External combustion engine Figure 4. A Low temperature
Heat engine differential (LTD) Stirling engine,
Solar power can generate around 1 W of power
Nuclear power from a person's palm.[7]
Cogeneration
Or explore a random page

References
1. Wikimedia Commons [Online]. (June 4 2015). Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotland-
class_submarine#/media/File:Swedish_attack_submarine_HMS_Gotland.jpg
2. How Stuff Works, How Stirling Engines Work [Online], Available: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/stirling-engine.htm
3. Electropaedia, The Stirling Engine [Online], Available: http://www.mpoweruk.com/stirling_engine.htm
4. Made internally by a member of the Energy Education team
5. Stirling Shop. (June 4, 2015) Stirling engine - Applications [Online]. Available:
http://stirlingshop.com/html/applications_.html
6. Wikimedia Commons [Online]. (June 4 2015). Available:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/EuroDishSBP_front.jpg
7. By Arsdell [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
8. Saab. (June 4, 2015). The Stirling Engine [Online]. Available: http://saab.com/naval/Submarines-and-
Warships/technologies/The-Stirling-Engine/

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Authors and Editors

Bethel Afework, Jordan Hanania, Kailyn Stenhouse, Jason Donev
Last updated: June 25, 2018
Get Citation

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