3 Replies Latest reply on Apr 1, 2016 9:20 AM by Amit Katz

Simulations for a Stirling Engine and Fluid Expansion

Melvin Chandra Mar 30, 2016 8:40 AM

Good evening. I am a student, doing a project regarding CFD simulations for a Stirling engine. I would like to ask how would one set the boundary conditions such that I could simulate a cycle involving the expansion of the working fluid and the pressure changes that would bring about the movement of the displacer (or piston).

Initially I had tried to simplify the problem by having adiabatic walls, and then setting a single real wall at the hot reservoir with a high temperature. When I run the simulations, however, there was barely any results apart from the immediate vicinity of the wall.

I had tried scouring the internet for possible solutions, but have ultimately hit a dead end. Would someone point out my mistakes and advise me on how I could fix it, please?

The following is some screenshots of my cut plots

http://puu.sh/nZnIY/6ab133b4ef.jpg
http://puu.sh/nZnIY/6ab133b4ef.jpg

http://puu.sh/nZnM2/02d0540657.jpg

Re: Simulations for a Stirling Engine and Fluid Expansion

Amit Katz Mar 30, 2016 2:03 PM (in response to Melvin Chandra)

Well, you're not going to be able to simulate the motion of the cylinder, so I'm not sure how useful your simulation will really be. You can't really decouple the motion of the piston from the problem.
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions
- Re: Simulations for a Stirling Engine and Fluid Expansion
  
  Melvin Chandra Mar 31, 2016 2:04 PM (in response to Amit Katz)
  
  Thank you, sir. That is a valid point. I will conduct a motion study so that I could set my piston and displacer as a moving wall and see how it goes. Again, thank you for your hint.
  
  Like Show 0 Likes(0)
  
  Actions
Re: Simulations for a Stirling Engine and Fluid Expansion

Amit Katz Apr 1, 2016 9:20 AM (in response to Melvin Chandra)

I don't think you understood what I was saying. You cannot move geometry AT ALL in Flow Simulation. You need a different software package in order to simulate an engine cycle.
Like Show 0 Likes(0)

Actions

Go to original post