Heat Engine with Reciprocating Super-Adiabatic Combustion in Porous Media

A one-dimensional numerical calculation has been performed on a new reciprocating heat engine proposed on the basis of super-adiabatic combustion in porous media. The system consists of two pistons and a thin porous medium in a cylinder; one being a displacer piston and the other a power piston. These create reciprocating motions with a phase relation angle. By means of the reciprocating flow system, the residual combustion gas enthalpy is effectively regenerated to induce enthalpy increase in the mixture through the porous medium. Due to heat recirculation, the thermal efficiency reaches to 58% under the condition of the compression ratio of 2.3.