Energies (Sep 2023)

Investigation of the Performance of Thermodynamic Analysis Models for a Cryocooler PPG-102 Stirling Engine

  • George Antonakos,
  • Irene Koronaki,
  • George-Rafael Domenikos,
  • Serafeim Baltadouros

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/en16196815
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 19
p. 6815

Abstract

Read online

Three distinct thermodynamic analysis models are developed and applied to a renowned cryogenic engine (PPG-102), namely the isothermal model, the ideal Schmidt model, and the ideal adiabatic model. Through a comparative analysis, the theoretical outcomes derived from these models are juxtaposed with the corresponding theoretical results from the existing literature. The comprehensive evaluation of these findings demonstrates significant convergence, with minor deviations primarily attributed to the inherent assumptions underlying each model. The design of the PPG-102 engine is meticulously executed within the Solidworks environment, allowing for the subsequent simulation under operating conditions identical to those of the computational models. Remarkably, the simulation results closely approximate the outcomes of the adiabatic analysis, thus corroborating the validity and effectiveness of this particular model. In this work, the presented models, initially developed for thermal Stirling engines, are augmented and applied to a cryogenics Stirling engine, offering a unique understanding of the workings of this apparatus.

Keywords