Advance on combustion-driven free piston Stirling generator with helical tube heat exchanger

IF 9 1区工程技术 Q1 ENERGY & FUELS

Energy Pub Date : 2025-06-11 DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2025.136939

Wang Xiao , Haojie Sun , Hangyu Ma , Guoyao Yu , Weijie Zhao , Ercang Luo

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Recent years witness dire need of high-performance portable power supplies due to harsh environment and thriving of outdoor recreation. Free-Piston Stirling Generator (FPSG) featuring in compact size, high theoretical efficiency, and multi-heat-source adaptivity, presents as a good candidate. The research proposes an innovative design of a helical-tube bundle heat exchanger, for the sake of a better coupling with a porous media evaporative combustor (PMEC). A balance between lightweight design and thermal efficiency has been achieved through thermoacoustics-based nodal analysis, on operating frequency and hot-end heat exchanger. Further investigation using three-dimensional numerical simulations of combustion-coupled oscillatory flow revealed significant three-dimensional loss features that were underestimated in the quasi-one-dimensional computations. The experiments demonstrated a well improved stand-alone specific power of 112 W/kg for the FPSG, and a maximum fuel-to-electric efficiency of 13.9 %, compared with 66.7 W/kg and 11.98 %, respectively, in our previous work. This study provides valuable insights into addressing the challenges of low efficiency in small-scale FPSGs operating at high frequencies, offering guidance for future improvements in portable power solutions.

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螺旋管换热器燃烧驱动自由活塞斯特林发电机的研究进展

近年来，由于恶劣的环境和户外娱乐的蓬勃发展，对高性能便携式电源的需求日益迫切。自由活塞斯特林发电机（FPSG）具有体积小、理论效率高、多热源自适应等优点，是理想的备选方案。为了更好地与多孔介质蒸发燃烧室（PMEC）耦合，提出了一种螺旋管束换热器的创新设计。通过基于热声学的节点分析、工作频率和热端换热器，实现了轻量化设计和热效率之间的平衡。进一步研究利用燃烧耦合振荡流动的三维数值模拟揭示了在准一维计算中被低估的显著三维损失特征。实验表明，FPSG的独立比功率为112 W/kg，最大燃油电效率为13.9%，而之前的研究结果分别为66.7 W/kg和11.98%。该研究为解决小型高频fpsg低效率的挑战提供了有价值的见解，为未来便携式电源解决方案的改进提供了指导。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Energy 工程技术-能源与燃料

CiteScore

15.30

自引率

14.40%

发文量

审稿时长

14.2 weeks

期刊介绍： Energy is a multidisciplinary, international journal that publishes research and analysis in the field of energy engineering. Our aim is to become a leading peer-reviewed platform and a trusted source of information for energy-related topics. The journal covers a range of areas including mechanical engineering, thermal sciences, and energy analysis. We are particularly interested in research on energy modelling, prediction, integrated energy systems, planning, and management. Additionally, we welcome papers on energy conservation, efficiency, biomass and bioenergy, renewable energy, electricity supply and demand, energy storage, buildings, and economic and policy issues. These topics should align with our broader multidisciplinary focus.