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Design Optimization of Flexure Springs for Free-Piston Stirling Engines and Experimental Evaluations with Fatigue Testing

Author

Listed:
  • Chang-Whan Lee

    (Department of Mechanical System Design Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Korea)

  • Dong-Jun Kim

    (Department of Mechanical System Design Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Korea)

  • Sung-Kwon Kim

    (Department of Mechanical System Design Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Korea)

  • Kyuho Sim

    (Department of Mechanical System Design Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Korea)

Abstract

The free-piston Stirling engine is a closed-cycle regenerative heat engine that converts heat energy into mechanical work, and requires a spring element for vibratory operations of the displacer and power pistons. In this study, the geometry of the flexural spring design was optimized through structural finite element analyses and fatigue test evaluations. First, we constructed a target design space considering the required natural frequency of the displacer spring assembly under the geometric constraints of total mass and module height. The design of experiments was employed to construct simulation cases for design factors such as the outer diameter, thickness, and number of spirals in the spring sheet. As a result, the optimized design values were obtained to satisfy the design requirements. We also fabricated a test spring specimen and conducted fatigue tests using a linear actuator system developed to have the same motion as the engine. The test results indicated that the optimized spiral spring had no fracture under operating conditions with the design piston amplitude, revealing the effectiveness of the design method.

Suggested Citation

  • Chang-Whan Lee & Dong-Jun Kim & Sung-Kwon Kim & Kyuho Sim, 2021. "Design Optimization of Flexure Springs for Free-Piston Stirling Engines and Experimental Evaluations with Fatigue Testing," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:16:p:5156-:d:618451
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qiu, Songgang & Gao, Yuan & Rinker, Garrett & Yanaga, Koji, 2019. "Development of an advanced free-piston Stirling engine for micro combined heating and power application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 987-1000.
    2. Jigui Zheng & Jing Chen & Ping Zheng & Hongxing Wu & Chengde Tong, 2017. "Research on Control Strategy of Free-Piston Stirling Power Generating System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Zhu, Shunmin & Yu, Guoyao & O, Jongmin & Xu, Tao & Wu, Zhanghua & Dai, Wei & Luo, Ercang, 2018. "Modeling and experimental investigation of a free-piston Stirling engine-based micro-combined heat and power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 522-533.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dong-Jun Kim & Yeongchae Park & Tae Young Kim & Kyuho Sim, 2022. "Design Optimization of Tubular Heat Exchangers for a Free-Piston Stirling Engine Based on Improved Quasi-Steady Flow Thermodynamic Model Predictions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-20, May.

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