Stirling cycle engines for recovering low and moderate temperature heat: A review
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Wang, Kai
Sanders, Seth R
Dubey, Swapnil
Choo, Fook Hoong
Duan, Fei
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
A review is presented for the research development of Stirling cycle engines for recovering low and moderate temperature heat. The Stirling cycle engines are categorized into four types, including kinetic, thermoacoustic, free-piston, and liquid piston types. The working characteristics, features, technological details, and performances of the related Stirling cycle engines are summarized. Upon comparing the available experimental results and the technology potentials, the research directions and the possible applications of different Stirling cycle engines are further discussed and identified. It is concluded that kinetic Stirling engines and thermoacoustic engines have the greatest application prospect in low and moderate temperature heat recoveries in terms of output power scale, conversion efficiency, and costs. In particular, kinetic Stirling engines should be oriented toward two directions for practical applications, including providing low-cost solutions for low temperatures, and moderate efficient solutions with moderate costs for medium temperatures. Thermoacoustic engines for low temperature applications are especially attractive due to their low costs, high efficiencies, superior reliabilities, and simplicities over the other mechanical Stirling engines. This work indicates that a cost effective Stirling cycle engine is practical for recovering small-scale distributed low-grade thermal energy from various sources.
Date Issued
2016-09-01
Date Acceptance
2016-04-13
Citation
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016, 62, pp.89-108
ISSN
1364-0321
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
89
End Page
108
Journal / Book Title
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Volume
62
Copyright Statement
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000379270600006&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
GREEN & SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Energy & Fuels
Science & Technology - Other Topics
Stirling engine
Waste heat
Low temperature
Thermoacoustic
Fluidyne
THERMOACOUSTIC ELECTRIC GENERATOR
2-PHASE THERMOFLUIDIC OSCILLATOR
COMPUTATIONAL FLUID-DYNAMICS
DISPLACER DRIVING MECHANISM
LOOPED TUBE
DESIGN CONSIDERATION
SOLAR APPLICATION
POWER
PERFORMANCE
REGENERATOR
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2016-05-02