My first Stirling Engines

Soda cans, Tin Cans and ferrofluid piston. 100°,90° and 120° versions and some durability testing. Second and third one run much faster and are some more accurate and efficient. Displacer phase angle 90° made 804 RPM seen here. After 2 million revolutions some wearing in simple mechanical linkages... Without beeing perfect balance and friction the 90° phase angle model turns still 640RPM with alcohol flame (measured with tachometer - thanks Kari).

Tools like electric hand drill and gas soldering flame are needed here - some curiosity and nerves would also help to make these work without precicion tools - hope to improve here with help of my friends and find more simple and practical methods. Emptying all those cans are hard work and have big effect on machine manufacturing speed and accuracy - specially those bigger beer cans. Flywheels was found "readymade" from local metal recycling company.

Collapsing of soda can happened in first trials. It is most propably due to a thin plastic coating bursting into flames in the hot end - result is 1 cycle of internal combustion and next cooling makes the can much closer to vacuum... can is not so durable for underpressures.
Heating the can bottom beforehand until plastic coating smokes/burns away helps - for me this stopped my can collapsing with hot alcohol flame. Also the pint size cans (0,568l) are made for some thicker aluminium like 0.125mm compared to smaller sizes (0,33l) with 0,11mm side wall thickness - part of this thicness is internal plastic coating and surface paint.

Not yet useful work output, active cooling or generator, but these have already enviromentally positive impact - these keep me busy not to do even more harmful things!

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Heat engine
• Stirling Engine
• Soda Can
• Tin Can
• Permanent Magnet
• Hot
• Air
• Engine alternative energy

[358Eki]

@kari758 - Fortunately that decoration was already included on the part! That is beyond my skills.

[kari758]

Great work! Well done with minor set of tools. I do also like that psychedelicdecorated flywheel :-)