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This study is carried out to investigate the solar thermal energy conversion for generating power. This form of renewable energy can be utilised for power production deploying the free piston Stirling engines, which convert thermal energy into mechanical energy. Such systems have an advantage of production of work using low and high temperature differences in the cycle which could be created by different sources of heat including solar energy, combustion of a fuel, geothermal energy, nuclear energy or waste heat. The thermodynamic analysis of the free piston Stirling engine have been carried out and implemented in past studies with different methods of approach with various difficulties exhibited. In the present study isothermal, ideal adiabatic and Quasi steady flow models have been produced and used for investigation of the engine performance. The approach in this study deals with simultaneous mathematical modelling of thermodynamic processes and pistons dynamics. The steady state operation of the engine depends on the values of damping coefficients, spring stiffness and pressure drop within the heat exchangers during the engine’s operation, which is also a result of the energy transfer in each engine’s component. In order to design effective high performance engines it is necessary to develop such advanced mathematical models to perform the analysis of the engine’s operation and to predict its performance satisfactorily. The aim of this study was to develop several levels of mathematical models of free piston Stirling engines and to evaluate their accuracy using experimental and theoretical results available in published sources. The validation of the developed free piston Stirling engine models demonstrates a good agreement between the numerical results and experimental data. The validated model then was used for optimisation of the engine, deploying Genetic Algorithm approach with the purpose to determine its optimal design parameters. The developed optimisation procedure provides a noticeable improvement in the engine’s performance in terms of power output and efficiency.

This thesis describes the application of microprocessor engine management techniques to the control of the hydrogen/petrol engine. A discussion of the world's fuel resources and the need for energy conservation is followed by a review of the literature related to the use of hydrogen as a fuel. The concept of hydrogen supplementation is introduced and then the work of other researchers in this field is studied in some detail in order to establish the control requirements for hydrogen/petrol operation. A survey of the literature relating to engine management techniques precedes a description of the microprocessor-based controller which was developed for this work. Following this is a description of the engine calibration process which involves the use of specially developed surface-fitting and contour-tracing software. Steady-state operation in the hydrogen/petrol mode resulted in significant energy savings but poor driveability was obtained when the control system was fitted into a Ford Transit Crew Bus. Transient operation during the ECE-15.04 test resulted in a small fuel economy gain but the exhaust emissions exceeded the legislative limits. It was concluded that, although the steady-state performance showed promise, further development of the control system was required to meet the demands of transient operation.

This study uses CFD methodology to simulate an advanced Diesel engine operated at higher than conventional peak cylinder pressures. The existing mathematical models for Diesel combustion, pollutant formation and wall heat transfer are improved and validated for this operating range. The fluid flow is described via the gas-phase Favre-averaged transport equations, governing the conservation of mass, chemical species, momentum and energy, based on the Eulerian continuum framework. These equations are closed by means of the k — e turbulence model. The liquid phase uses the Lagrangian approach, in which parcels, representing a class of droplets, are described by differential equations for the conservation of mass, momentum and energy. The numerical solution of the gas phase is obtained by the finite volume method applied to unstructured meshes with moving boundaries. Diesel ignition is modeled via a reduced kinetics mechanism, coupled with a characteristic timescale combustion model. Additionally, NOx and soot emissions are simulated. For the elevated cylinder temperatures and pressures, the behaviour of the thermophysical properties of the gases and liquids involved is critically examined. A near-wall treatment is applied accounting for the large gradients of thermophysical properties in the vicinity of the wall. Furthermore an alternative combined combustion and emissions modelling approach, RIF, based on the laminar flamelet concept is tested. The methodology is validated by reference to experimental data from a research engine, a constant volume pressure chamber and a high-pressure DI Diesel engine at various operating conditions. The modified near-wall treatment gives better agreement with the heat transfer measurements. The methodology predicts Diesel combustion evolution reasonably well for the elevated pressures. Best agreement was achieved using the LATCT combustion model combined with a NOx and soot model. The predictions of emissions show encouraging trends especially regarding the soot/NOx tradeoff, but require tuning of model coefficients.