Using a Stirling Engine Simulation Program as a Regenerator Design Aid

The regenerator in Stirling engines has long been recognized as a critical component as far as engine performance is concerned. Yet there are little or no formal Stirling engine regenerator design procedures to be found in the literature. A design procedure is proposed that makes use of a third order Stirling engine simulation program to predict the optimum regenerator configuration for the respective requirements of maximum engine power and efficiency. Tests were conducted to determine the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop characteristic of a popular regenerator material.