Ph. D. (Mechanical Engineering), Faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, 1986

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Stirling cycle cryocoolers are used widely in military applications. The regenerator is the key element of Stirling cycle cryocoolers. It is known that performance of the regenerator directly affects the cryocooler performance. Therefore, any improvement on the regenerator will lead to a more efficient cryocooler. Thus, it is essential to have an idea about regenerator parameters and their effects on the system. In this study Stirling engine regenerator, which is constructed by wire mesh screens, is accepted as a porous medium. Using energy balance and continuity equation, matrix and fluid thermal equations are derived. Simplified versions of these equations are obtained for not only the ideal case, but also two other cases which take into account the effects of longitudinal conduction and the effects of regenerator wall. A computer code is developed in Matlab to solve these equations using finite difference method. The developed code is validated by using Sage. Afterwards, effects of all regenerator parameters on regenerator performance are investigated in detail and results are presented. To make this investigation easier, a graphical user interface is also built (in Matlab) and used.

Chip scale refrigeration system is critical for the development of electronics with the rapid increase of power consumption and substantial reduction of device size, resulting in an emergent demand on novel cooling technologies with a high efficiency for the thermal management. In this thesis, active refrigeration devices based on Stirling cycle and an electrocaloric material, are designed and investigated to achieve a high cooling performance. Firstly, a new Stirling micro-refrigeration system composed of arrays of silicon MEMS cooling elements is designed and evaluated. The cooling elements are fabricated in a stacked array on a silicon wafer. A regenerator is placed between the compression (hot side) and expansion (cold side) diaphragms, which are driven electrostatically. Under operating conditions, the hot and cold diaphragms oscillate sinusoidally and out of phase such that heat is extracted to the expansion space and released from the compression space. A first-order of thermodynamic analysis is performed to study the effect of geometric parameters. Losses due to regenerator non-idealities and chamber heat transfer limitation are estimated. A multiphysics computational approach for analyzing the system performance that considers compressible flow and heat transfer with a large deformable mesh is demonstrated. The optimal regenerator porosity for the best system COP (coefficient of performance) is identified. To overcome the computational complexity brought about by the fine pillar structure in the regenerator, a porous medium model is used to allow for modeling of a full element. The analysis indicates the work recovery of the system and the diaphragm actuation are main challenges for this cooler design.The pressure drop and friction factor of gas flow across circular silicon micro pillar arrays fabricated by deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) process are investigated. A new correlation that considers the coupled effect of pillar spacing and aspect ratio, is proposed to predict the friction factor in a Reynolds v number range of 1-100. Silicon pillars with large artificial roughness amplitudes is also fabricated, and the effect of the roughness is studied in the laminar flow region. The significant reduction of pressure drop and friction factor indicates that a large artificial roughness could be built for pillar arrays in the regenerator to enhance the micro-cooler efficiency. The second option is to develop a fluid-based refrigeration system using an electrocaloric material poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)] terpolymer. Each cooling element includes two diaphragm actuators fabricated in the plane of a silicon wafer, which drive a heat transfer fluid back and forth across terpolymer layers that are placed between them. Finite element simulations with an assumption of sinusoidal diaphrahm motions are conducted to explore the system performance detailedly, including the effects of the applied electric field, geometric dimensions, operating frequency and externally-applied temperature span. Multiphysics modeling coupled with solid-fluid interaction, heat transfer, electrostatics, porous medium and moving mesh technique is successfully performed to verify the thermal modeling feasibility. The electrocaloric effect in thin films of P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymer is directly measured by infrared imaging at ambient conditions. At an electric field of 90 V/μm, an adiabatic temperature change of 5.2 °C is obtained and the material performance is stable over a long testing period. These results suggest that application of this terpolymer is promising for micro-scale refrigeration.

This dissertation discusses Stirling’s cycle and its contribution using different approaches. There are calculation of Schmidt’s theory and distinctiveness between ideal and real cycle described. Based on my previous research, this work provides a detailed summary of different methods which are used to stimulate Stirling’s cycles as well as the motor as a whole. Attention is particularly dedicated to current utilization of this machine which is not broadly known within general public.

This paper deals with the thermodynamic cycle of Striling engine. Analysis of the ideal cycle, Schmidt analysis and second-order method with loss correction by PROSA 2.4 software is applied. The results are compared with experimental data of two model engines.

Cette thèse porte sur le développement d’un cogénérateur résidentiel constitué d’un générateur linéaire asynchrone entraîné par deux moteurs Stirling fonctionnant en mode ‘piston libre double effet’. Les critères caractérisant un tel cogénérateur sont décrits ainsi que ses différents modes d’utilisation dans le domaine résidentiel. Les différentes technologies sont passées en revue.Les équations de la mécanique sur lesquelles se fondent le contrôle du couplage thermoélectrique du cogénérateur et sa stabilité y sont définies. Le générateur électrique est modélisé en vue de calculer les grandeurs électriques des équations à bobines couplées et les grandeurs du schéma électrique équivalent, ce schéma permet d’inverser le modèle.Les résultats des modèles analytiques sont validés par des mesures faites sur des maquettes spécialement conçues. Une étude paramétrique de la structure du générateur a permis d’optimiser ses performances. Les équations de la mécanique et le modèle électrique sont utilisés pour poser les bases d’une optimisation ‘système’ du cogénérateur. / This thesis focuses on the development of a residential cogenerator which consists of a linear induction generator driven by two Stirling engines, free-piston double-acting operating mode. The criteria characterizing such cogenerator are described and its various modes of use in the residential sector. The various technologies are reviewed.The equations of mechanics that underlie the control of the coupling of thermoelectric cogeneration and stability are defined.The electric generator is modeled to calculate the electrical coil coupled equations and the magnitudes of the equivalent circuit, this scheme allows us to reverse the pattern. The results of analytical models are validated by measurements on specially designed models. A parametric study of the structure of the generator has optimized its performances. The equations of mechanical and electrical model are used to lay the groundwork for optimization of all the cogenerator, considered as a system.

Dans le contexte économique et énergétique actuel, la mise en œuvre de technologies à l'aide de l'énergie renouvelable comme source de chauffage offre un double avantage: la réduction de la pollution et des coûts de carburant. Il y a un besoin de promouvoir les sources renouvelables d'énergie comme les sources significatives de production d'énergie pour les systèmes décentralisés. Une première étude bibliographique a été fait sur les technologies existantes pour la production d'énergie électrique à partir du solaire. Cette étude consiste dans la recherche d’une nouvelle solution de conversion de l’énergie solaire pour la production d’électricité de faible puissance. L'un des objectifs de cette thèse a été la construction d'un moteur Stirling de type gamma fonctionnant à basse différence de température, adapté à un circuit solaire (capteur plan). Le moteur Stirling a été testé en vue de comparer les résultats expérimentales avec les résultats d’un model Schmidt, fait dans le logiciel, Matlab. Un autre cycle thermodynamique étais étudie dans cette travail, le Cycle Organique Rankine (ORC). Un modèle mathématique a été développé et vérifie dans les logiciels, Thermoptim et EES (Engineering Equation Solver) avec les résultats expérimentaux pour étudier les performances d'installation avec des différentes températures de fonctionnement. La méthode exergétique et la méthode du Pincement sont utilisée pour évaluer les performances du système comme irréversibilité, destruction d’exergie et phénomènes qui se produisent dans toutes les composantes du système ORC pour améliorer son fonctionnement. / In the current economic and energy context, implementation of technologies using renewable energy as heat source has two advantages: reducing pollution and fuel costs. There is a need to promote renewable energy sources such as significant sources of power generation for decentralized systems. In the first part, it was made a literature review on existing technologies for the production of electricity with solar energy. One of the objectives of this thesis was to build a Stirling engine gamma type suitable to use solar energy (flat plate collator). The Stirling engine was tested to compare the experimental results with the results of Schmidt model, realized in the software, Matlab. Another thermodynamic cycle was studied in this work, the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). A mathematical model was developed and verified in software, Thermoptim and EES (Engineering Equation Solver) with experimental results to study the installation performance function of different operating temperatures. The entire system and each subsystem are analyzed according to the first and the second law of thermodynamics. The exergy method and Pinch analysis are used to evaluate the performance of the system like irreversibility and exergy destruction, phenomenon that occurs in all components of the ORC system. This analysis is to improve the operation.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-08T14:59:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2663529 bytes, checksum: 5f0d6dec066e59a555afa41866bdae84 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-06 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The current paper develops an experimental Stirling engine Gama type. Different settings of this type of engine are presented (alpha, beta and gamma), along with the Stirling Cycle Definition and the mathematical modeling for each setting. It´s been Proceed a mathematical analysis based on the Stirling Theory, which is the method based upon the isothermical compression and expansion of an ideal gas, put to analysis by a computer software, determining the dependency between the engine s construction and functioning parameters. Bibliography used takes over the main Stirling engine settings and various working conditions, fed by a numerous types of fuels. The experimental part of the paper is assembling of a Stirling engine gamma type containing no regenerator, therefore, having the air as its working fluid, using electrical resistances as heat source, also a water jet at ambiance temperature to cool down the compression and heat exchanger. Engine tests were performed at atmospheric pressure, temperatures from 100 to 600 °C, 100 to 400 rpm rotations. The results are presented in graphics and are questioned. / O presente trabalho consiste no desenvolvimento experimental de um motor Stirling tipo gama. São apresentadas inicialmente as diferentes configurações deste tipo de motor (alfa, gama e beta), a definição do ciclo de Stirling e a modelagem matemática para cada configuração. Uma análise matemática é feita através da teoria de Schmidt, que é um método baseado na compressão e expansão isotérmica de um gás ideal, implementada em programa computacional permitindo determinar a dependência entre os parâmetros construtivos e de funcionamento do motor. A revisão bibliográfica contempla as principais configurações de motores Stirling e várias condições de funcionamento, alimentados por diversos tipos de combustíveis. A parte experimental do trabalho é a montagem de um protótipo de motor Stirling tipo gama sem regenerador tendo o ar como fluido de trabalho, utilizando resistências elétricas como fonte de calor e um fluxo de água a temperatura ambiente para o resfriamento do trocador de calor de compressão. Os testes do motor serão realizados a pressão atmosférica, para temperaturas de 100 a 600 °C e rotações de 100 a 400 rpm, os resultados são apresentados em gráficos e discutidos.