Quote:
Originally Posted by darcane
Does that 80% theoretical efficiency account for inefficiencies of combustion or is that just for converting the heat energy into motion?
Much of the inefficiency of a gasoline engine comes from the need to get rid of waste heat (through exhaust and coolant). If you are using combustion of a fuel to power the Stirling engine, you will have to consider that also. I suspect that's why GM's testing was only around 39% efficient.
As project to learn how to use the tools in the machine shop, I built a Stirling engine in college many years ago. I still have it somewhere...
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darcane,they're saying that 80 % of the chemical energy contained in the fuel could be delivered to the flywheel as useful mechanical power.
If you had the materials technology to pull it off,which appears to be the sticking point.