Design and construction of multi-cylinder type liquid piston Stirling engine

In a multi-cylinder type liquid piston Stirling engine (MCLPSE), liquid columns in U-shaped tubes play the role of solid pistons in a mechanical Stirling engine. Besides the straightforward structure, advantages of the MCLPSE are a relatively low operation temperature difference below 100 K and use of harmless working fluids of air and water. This study presents a mass spring model for the MCLPSE, from which we determine geometrical parameters of MCLPSE to achieve a target acoustic power production under a given temperature condition. The preliminary test results will be presented. © The Authors.