Theoretical and experimental study on regenerative rotary displacer Stirling engine

Recently a quite new type of hot air engine called rotary displacer engine, in which the displacer is a rotating disk enclosed in a cylinder, has been conceived and developed. The working gas, contained in a notch excavated in the disk, is heated and cooled alternately, on account of the heat transferred through the enclosing cylinder that is heated at one side and cooled at the opposite one. The gas temperature oscillations cause the pressure fluctuations that obtain mechanical power acting on a power piston. In order to attempt to increase the performances for this kind of engine, the authors propose three different regeneration methods. Experimental results with and without regeneration are reported comparatively with a detailed description of the unity. A basic explanation of the working principle of this engine and a theoretical analysis investigating the main influential parameters for the regenerative effect are done. This new rotating displacer Stirling engines, for their simplicity, are expected to attain high rotational speed especially for suitable applications