Hydrogen Internal Combustion Stirling Engine

The hydrogen combustion Stirling engine utilizes internal combustion of a stoichiometric H₂ and O₂ mixture injected into the working gas as thermal input, and the cyclic operation is completed with the removal of water from the engine after condensation at the cooler. In the prototype engine, a catalytic combustor is substituted for the conventional heater, and the H₂-O₂ mixture is injected at a constant flow rate from the boundary between the regenerator and the cooler. The engine internal heating characteristics were compared to those on external heating to clarify the internal heating effect on the engine performance. The internal heating performance showed almost the same characteristics as those of external heating, except for the increase of expansion work due to the direct thermal input. The increase of expansion work improved the engine performance, particularly in the region of high engine speed. Furthermore, it was found that the steady injection method was able to suppress the mixture strength to a relatively low level.