The simplest stirling engine. How to make a stirling engine with your own hands. Piece of hardwood or plywood

02.05.2020

In which the working fluid (gaseous or liquid) moves in a closed volume, in fact it is a kind of external combustion engine. This mechanism is based on the principle of periodic heating and cooling of the working fluid. Extraction of energy occurs from the emerging volume of the working fluid. The Stirling engine works not only from the energy of burning fuel, but also from almost any source. This mechanism was patented by the Scot Robert Stirling in 1816.

The described mechanism, despite the low efficiency, has a number of advantages, first of all, it is simplicity and unpretentiousness. Thanks to this, many amateur designers are trying to assemble a Stirling engine with their own hands. Some succeed, and some don't.

In this article we will consider Stirling with our own hands from improvised materials. We will need the following blanks and tools: a tin can (you can use it from under sprats), sheet metal, paper clips, foam rubber, elastic, a bag, wire cutters, pliers, scissors, a soldering iron,

Now let's start assembling. Here detailed instructions to how to make a Stirling engine with your own hands. First you need to wash the jar, clean the edges with sandpaper. We cut out a circle from sheet metal so that it lies on the inner edges of the can. We determine the center (for this we use a caliper or ruler), make a hole with scissors. Next, we take a copper wire and a paper clip, straighten the paper clip, make a ring at the end. We wind a wire on a paper clip - four tight turns. Next, soldering the resulting spiral a small amount solder. Then it is necessary to carefully solder the spiral to the hole in the cover so that the stem is perpendicular to the cover. The paperclip should move freely.

After that, it is necessary to make a communicating hole in the lid. We make a displacer from foam rubber. Its diameter should be slightly smaller than the diameter of the can, but there should not be a large gap. The height of the displacer is a little more than half of the can. We cut a hole in the center of the foam rubber for the sleeve, the latter can be made of rubber or cork. We insert the rod into the resulting sleeve and glue everything. The displacer must be placed parallel to the cover, this is an important condition. Next, it remains to close the jar and solder the edges. The seam must be sealed. Now we proceed to the manufacture of the working cylinder. To do this, cut out a strip 60 mm long and 25 mm wide from tin, bend the edge by 2 mm with pliers. We form a sleeve, after that we solder the edge, then it is necessary to solder the sleeve to the cover (above the hole).

Now you can start making the membrane. To do this, cut off a piece of film from the package, push it a little with your finger inside, press the edges with an elastic band. Next, you need to check the correctness of the assembly. We heat the bottom of the can on fire, pull the stem. As a result, the membrane should bend outward, and if the rod is released, the displacer should lower under its own weight, respectively, the membrane returns to its place. In the event that the displacer is made incorrectly or the soldering of the can is not tight, the rod will not return to its place. After that, we make the crankshaft and racks (the spacing of the cranks should be 90 degrees). The height of the cranks should be 7 mm and the displacers 5 mm. The length of the connecting rods is determined by the position of the crankshaft. The end of the crank is inserted into the cork. So we looked at how to assemble a Stirling engine with our own hands.

Such a mechanism will work from an ordinary candle. If you attach magnets to the flywheel and take the coil of an aquarium compressor, then such a device can replace a simple electric motor. With your own hands, as you can see, making such a device is not at all difficult. There would be a desire.

Hello! Today I want to bring to your attention homemade engine, which converts any temperature difference into mechanical work:

Stirling's engine- a heat engine in which a liquid or gaseous working fluid moves in a closed volume, a kind of external combustion engine. It is based on periodic heating and cooling of the working fluid with the extraction of energy from the resulting change in the volume of the working fluid. It can work not only from fuel combustion, but also from any heat source.

I present to your attention my engine, made from pictures from the Internet:

Seeing this miracle, I had a desire to make it)) Moreover, there were many drawings and engine designs on the Internet. I will say right away: it is not difficult to do, but it is a bit problematic to adjust and achieve normal operation. It worked fine for me only the third time (I hope you won’t suffer like that)))).

Stirling engine working principle:

Everything is made from materials available to every brain:

Well, how about without sizes)))

The frame of the engine is made of wire from paper clips. All fixed wire connections are soldered()

The displacer (the disk that moves the air inside the engine) is made of drawing paper and glued with superglue (it is hollow inside):

The smaller the gap between the covers and the displacer in the upper and lower positions, the greater the efficiency of the engine.

Displacer rod - from a blind rivet (manufacturing: carefully pull out inner part and if necessary, clean it with sandpaper zero; Glue the outer part to the upper “cold” cover with the cap inward). But this option has a drawback - there is no complete tightness and there is little friction, although a drop of engine oil will help get rid of it.

Piston cylinder - neck from an ordinary plastic bottle:

The piston casing is made of a medical glove and secured with a thread, which, after winding, must be impregnated with superglue for reliability. A disk made of several layers of cardboard is glued in the center of the casing, on which the connecting rod is fixed.

The crankshaft is made from the same paper clips as the entire engine frame. the angle between the knees of the piston and the displacer is 90 degrees. The working stroke of the displacer is 5 mm; piston - 8mm.

Flywheel - consists of two CD discs that are glued to a cardboard cylinder and planted on the crankshaft axis.

So, stop talking nonsense, I present to you engine running video:

The difficulties I had were mainly due to excessive friction and the lack of accurate dimensions of the structure. in the first case, a drop of engine oil and crankshaft alignment corrected the situation, then in the second, you had to rely on intuition))) But as you can see, everything turned out (though I completely redid the engine 3 times))))

If you have any questions - write in the comments, we'll figure it out)))

Thank you for your attention)))

I have been watching the craftsmen on this resource for a long time, and when the article appeared, I wanted to make it myself. But as always, there was no time and I put off the idea.
But then I finally passed my diploma, graduated from the military department and it-time appeared.
It seems to me that making such an engine is much easier than a flash drive :)

First of all, I want to repent to the gurus of this site that a person in his 20s is doing such nonsense, but I just wanted to do it and there is nothing to explain this desire, I hope my next step will still be a flash drive.
So we need:
1 Wish.
2 Three tin cans.
3 Copper wire (I found a section of 2 mm).
4 Paper (newspaper or office does not matter).
5 Stationery glue (PVA).
6 Super glue (CYJANOPAN or any other in the same vein).
7 Rubber glove or balloon.
8 Wiring terminals 3 pcs.
9 Wine stopper 1 pc.
10 Some fishing line.
11 Tools to taste.

1- the first bank; 2- second; 3- third; 3-lid of the third jar; 4 - membrane; 5 - displacer; 6 - wiring terminal; 7- crankshaft; 8- tin detail :) 9- connecting rod; 10 - cork; 11- disk; 12- fishing line.
Let's start by cutting off the lids of all three cans of two cans. I did it with a homemade dremel, at first I wanted to poke holes in a circle with an awl and cut with scissors, but I remembered the miracle device.
To be honest, it didn’t turn out very nice and I accidentally milled a hole in the wall of one of the cans, so it was no longer suitable for a working container (but I had two more and I made them more carefully).

Next, we need a jar that will serve as a form for displacer(5).
Since the bazaars did not work on Monday and all the nearby auto shops were closed, but I wanted to make an engine, I allowed myself to change the original design and make a displacer out of paper, not steel wool.
To do this, I found a jar of fish food, which is the most suitable for me in size. I chose the size based on the fact that the diameter of the soda can was 53mm, so I was looking for 48-51mm so that when I wind the paper around the form, I get about 1-2mm of distance between the wall of the can and the displacer (5) for air to pass through. (I pre-glued the jar with tape so that the glue does not stick).

Next, I marked out a strip of A4 sheet by 70 mm, and cut the rest into strips of 50 mm (as in the article). To be honest, I don’t remember how many such strips I wound, well, let it be 4-5 (strips 50mm x 290mm, I did the number of layers by eye so that when the glue sets, the displacer is not soft). Each layer was smeared with PVA glue.

Then I made the covers of the displacer from 6 layers of paper (I also glued everything and pressed it with a round pen to squeeze out the remaining glue and air bubbles) when I glued all the layers, I pressed them on top with books so that they would not bend.

I also cut off the bottom of the can (2) with scissors, which was intact, at a distance of about 10 mm, since the displacer did not pass through the upper hole. This will be our working capacity.
This is what happened in the end (I did not immediately cut off the lid of the jar (3), but it still has to be done to put a candle there).

Further, at a distance of about 60mm from the bottom, I also cut off that jar (3) that I still had with a lid. This bottom will serve us furnace.

Then he cut off the bottom of the second jar (1) with a sawn lid, also at a distance of 10mm (from the bottom). And put it all together.

Further, it seemed to me that if a smaller object is glued to the membrane (4) of the working cylinder (2) instead of the cover, then the design will improve and I cut out such a sample from paper. At the base is a square 15x15mm and "ears" of 10mm each. And I cut out a detail from the sample (8).

Then I drilled holes in the terminals (6) with a diameter of 2.1 or 2.5 mm (it doesn’t matter), after which I took a wire (with a cross section of 2 mm) measured 150 mm, this will be ours " crankshaft"(7). And bent it in such dimensions: the height of the displacer elbow (5) -20mm the height of the membrane elbow (4) -5mm. Between them there should be 90 degrees (no matter in which direction). Putting the terminals in their places beforehand. Also I made washers and attached them with glue so that the terminals would not hang around the crankshaft.
It didn’t work out right away and exactly in size, but I redid it again (rather for my own peace of mind).

Then I again took the wire (2mm) and cut off a piece, about 200mm, this will be the connecting rod (9) of the membrane (4), passed the part (8) through it and bent it (will be shown).
I took a jar (1) (the one with a bit of holes) and made holes in it for the “crankshaft” (7) at a distance of 30mm from the top (but it doesn’t matter). And cut through the viewing window with scissors.

Then, when the displacer cylinder (5) was dry and completely glued, I began to glue the covers to it. When I glued the covers, I threaded a wire with a section of about half a millimeter through it in order to attach the fishing line (12).

Next, I carved out wooden handle axle (10) to connect the disks (11) to the crankshaft, but I recommend using a wine cork.
And now the hardest part (as for me) I cut out the membrane (4) from medical gloves and glued the same detail (8) to it in the center. I placed the membrane on the working cylinder (2) and tied it with a thread, and when I began to cut off the excess parts, the membrane began to crawl out from under the thread (although I did not pull the membrane) and when it was completely cut off, I began to pull it and the membrane flew off completely.
I took super glue and glued the end of the can, and then glued the already newly prepared membrane, placing it strictly in the center, held it and waited for the glue to harden. Then he pressed it again, but this time with an elastic band, cut off the edges, removed the elastic band and glued it again (outside).
Here's what happened at the time

Next, I pierced a hole in the membrane (4) and detail (8) with a needle and threaded a fishing line (12) into them (which was also not easy).
Well, when I put everything together, this is what happened:

I admit right away that at first the engine did not work, even more, it seemed to me that it would not work at all, because I had to turn it (with a burning candle) manually and with quite a lot (as for a self-spinning engine) effort. I was completely limp and already began to scold myself that I made a displacer out of paper, that I took the wrong cans, that I made a mistake in the length of the connecting rod (9) or the displacer line (5). But after an hour of torment and disappointment, my candle completely burned out (the one in the aluminum case) and I took the remaining one from the New Year (the one that is green in the photo), it burned MUCH stronger and lo and behold, I managed to start it.
FINDINGS
1 What the displacer is made of does not matter, as I read on one of the sites “it should be light and not heat-conducting”.
2 Changing the length of the connecting rod (9) and the length of the line (12) of the displacer (5) does not matter, as I read on one of the sites “the main thing is that the displacer does not hit the top or bottom of the working chamber during operation”, so I set it approximately in the middle . And the membrane in a calm (cold) state should be even, and not stretched down or up.
Video
Video of the engine running. I put 4 disks, they are used as a flywheel. When starting, I try to raise the displacer to the upper position, as I am still afraid that it will not overheat. It should spin like this: first, the displacer rises, and then the membrane rises behind it, the displacer goes down, and the membrane falls behind it.

PS: maybe if you balance it, it will spin faster, but I have hastily I didn't manage to balance :)

Water cooled video. It doesn’t help much in work, and as you can see, it doesn’t really speed up its rotation, but with such cooling the engine can be admired for longer without fear of overheating.

And here is an approximate drawing of my prototype (large size):
s016.radikal.ru/i335/1108/3e/a42a0bdb9f32.jpg
Who will need the original (KOMPAS V 12) I can send it to the post office.

Perhaps you ask me why it is needed after all, and I will answer. Like everything in our steampunk, mostly for the soul.
Please don't be too harsh, this is my first post.

A Stirling engine is a kind of engine that starts to run on thermal energy. In this case, the source of energy is completely unimportant. The main thing is to make a difference temperature regime, in this case, such an engine will work. Now we will analyze how you can create a model of such a low-temperature engine from a can of Coca-Cola.

Materials and fixtures

Now we will analyze what we need to take to create an engine at home. What we need to take for stirling:

Balloon.
Three cans of cola.
Special terminals, five pieces (for 5A).
Nipples for fixing bicycle spokes (two things).
Cotton wool.
A piece of steel wire thirty cm long and 1 mm in cross section.
A piece of large steel or copper wire with a diameter of 1.6 to 2 mm.
Wooden pin with a diameter of twenty mm (length one cm).
Bottle cap (plastic).
Wiring (thirty cm).
Special glue.
Vulcanized rubber (about 2 centimeters).
Fishing line (length thirty cm).
Several weights for balancing (for example, nickel).
CDs (three pieces).
Special buttons.
A tin can for creating a firebox.
Heat resistant silicone and tin can for making water cooling.

Description of the creation process

Stage 1. Jars preparation.

First you should take 2 cans and cut them off upper part. If the tops are cut off with scissors, the resulting notches will have to be ground off with a file.

Stage 2. Making the diaphragm.

As a diaphragm, you can take a balloon, which should be reinforced with vulcanized rubber. The ball must be cut and pulled onto a jar. Then glue a piece of special rubber on the central part of the diaphragm. After the glue has hardened, in the center of the diaphragm we will punch a hole for installing the wire. The easiest way to do this is with a special button that can be left in the hole until assembly.

Stage 3. Cutting and creating holes in the lid.

Two holes of two mm must be made in the walls of the cover, they are necessary to install the pivot axis of the levers. Another hole must be made in the bottom of the lid, a wire will go through it, which will be connected to the displacer.

On the last step cover must be cut off. This is done so that the displacer wire does not catch on the edges of the cover. For such work, you can take household scissors.

Stage 4. Drilling.

In the jar, you need to drill two holes for the bearings. In our case, this was done with a 3.5 mm drill.

Stage 5. Making a viewing window.

A special window must be cut out in the engine housing. Now it will be possible to observe how all the nodes of the device work.

Stage 6. Terminal modification.

It is necessary to take the terminals and remove the plastic insulation from them. Then we take a drill, and make through holes on the edges of the terminals. In total, three terminals need to be drilled. Leave two terminals undrilled.

Stage 7. Creating leverage.

As a material for the manufacture of levers, copper wire is taken, the diameter of which is only 1.88 mm. How exactly to bend the knitting needles, it is worth looking on the Internet. You can take steel wire, just with copper wire, it is more convenient to work.

Stage 8. Manufacturing of bearings.

To make the bearings, you will need two bicycle nipples. The hole diameter needs to be checked. The author drilled them through with a 2 mm drill.

Stage 9. Installation of levers and bearings.

Levers can be placed directly through the viewing window. One end of the wire should be long, the flywheel will lie on it. Bearings should sit firmly in the right places. If there is a backlash, they can be glued.

Stage 10. Making the displacer.

The displacer is made of steel wool for polishing. For the manufacture of the displacer, a steel wire is taken, a hook is created on it, and then a certain amount of cotton wool is wound around the wire. The displacer must be the same size so that it moves smoothly in the bank. The entire height of the displacer should not exceed five centimeters.

At the end on one side of the cotton it is necessary to make a spiral of wire so that it does not come out of the wool, and on the second side we make a loop from the wire. Then we will tie a fishing line to this loop, which will subsequently be attracted through the central part of the diaphragm. Vulcanized rubber should be in the middle of the container.

Step 11. Making the pressure tank

It is necessary to cut the bottom of the jar in a certain way so that about 2.5 cm remains from its base. The displacer together with the diaphragm must be moved to the tank. After that, this whole mechanism is transferred to the end of the can. The diaphragm needs to be tightened a little. so that it does not sag.

Then you need to take the terminal that was not drilled, and pass the fishing line through it. The knot must be glued so that it does not move. The wire must be lubricated with high quality oil and at the same time make sure that the displacer can easily stretch the line behind it.

Stage 12. Making push rods.

These special links connect the diaphragm and levers. This is made from a piece of copper wire fifteen cm long.

Stage 13. Creating and installing a flywheel

For the manufacture of the flywheel, we take three old CDs. Take a wooden rod as the center. After installing the flywheel, bend the crankshaft rod, so the flywheel will no longer subside.

At the last stage, the entire mechanism is assembled completely.

The last step, creating a firebox

So we have reached the last step in the creation of the engine.

The Stirling engine, once famous, was forgotten for a long time due to the widespread use of another engine (internal combustion). But today we hear more and more about him. Maybe he has a chance to become more popular and find his place in the new modification in the modern world?

Story

The Stirling engine is a heat engine that was invented in the early nineteenth century. The author, as you know, was a certain Stirling named Robert, a priest from Scotland. The device is an external combustion engine, where the body moves in a closed container, constantly changing its temperature.

Due to the spread of another type of motor, it was almost forgotten. Nevertheless, thanks to its advantages, today the Stirling engine (many amateurs build it at home with their own hands) is back again.

The main difference from an internal combustion engine is that the heat energy comes from outside, and is not generated in the engine itself, as in an internal combustion engine.

Principle of operation

You can imagine a closed air volume enclosed in a housing having a membrane, that is, a piston. When the body is heated, the air expands and does work, thus arching the piston. Then cooling occurs, and it bends again. This is the cycle of the mechanism.

It is no wonder that many do-it-yourself thermoacoustic Stirling engines are made at home. The tools and materials for this require the very minimum that everyone has in their home. Consider two different ways how easy it is to create.

Work materials

To make a Stirling engine with your own hands, you will need the following materials:

tin;
steel spoke;
brass tube;
hacksaw;
file;
wooden stand;
metal scissors;
fastener details;
soldering iron;
soldering;
solder;
machine.

It's all. The rest is a matter of simple technique.

How to do

A firebox and two cylinders for the base are prepared from tin, of which the Stirling engine, made by hand, will consist. Dimensions are selected independently, taking into account the purposes for which this device is intended. Suppose the motor is being made for demonstration purposes. Then the sweep of the main cylinder will be from twenty to twenty-five centimeters, no more. The rest of the parts should fit in with it.

At the top of the cylinder for moving the piston, two protrusions and holes with a diameter of four to five millimeters are made. The elements will act as bearings for the location of the crank device.

Next, the working body of the motor is made (it will become ordinary water). Tin circles are soldered to the cylinder, which is rolled up into a pipe. Holes are made in them and brass tubes are inserted from twenty-five to thirty-five centimeters in length and with a diameter of four to five millimeters. At the end, they check how tight the chamber has become by filling it with water.

Next comes the turn of the displacer. For manufacturing, a blank is taken from wood. On the machine, they achieve that it takes the form of a regular cylinder. The displacer should be slightly smaller than the cylinder diameter. Optimal Height they pick it up after the Stirling engine is made with their own hands. Because on this stage length should allow for some margin.

The spoke is turned into a cylinder rod. In the center of the wooden container, make a hole suitable for the stem, insert it. In the upper part of the rod, it is necessary to provide a place for the connecting rod device.

Then they take copper tubes four and a half centimeters long and two and a half centimeters in diameter. A circle of tin is soldered to the cylinder. On the sides on the walls, a hole is made to communicate the container with the cylinder.

The piston is also adjusted to lathe under the diameter of the large cylinder from the inside. At the top, the rod is connected in a hinged way.

The assembly is completed and the mechanism is adjusted. To do this, the piston is inserted into the cylinder bigger size and connect the latter to another smaller cylinder.

A crank mechanism is built on a large cylinder. Fix part of the engine with a soldering iron. The main parts are fixed on a wooden base.

The cylinder is filled with water and a candle is placed under the bottom. The Stirling engine, made by hand from start to finish, is checked for performance.

Second way: materials

The engine can be made in another way. For this you will need the following materials:

tin;
foam rubber;
paperclips;
disks;
two bolts.

How to do

Foam rubber is very often used to make a simple, not powerful Stirling engine at home with your own hands. A displacer for the motor is prepared from it. Cut out the foam circle. The diameter should be slightly smaller than tin can, and the height is slightly more than half.

A hole is made in the center of the cover for the future connecting rod. To make it go smoothly, the paper clip is rolled into a spiral and soldered to the lid.

The foam circle in the middle is pierced with a thin wire with a screw and fixed on top with a washer. Then connect a piece of paper clip by soldering.

The displacer is pushed into the hole on the lid and the jar is connected to the lid by soldering to seal. A small loop is made on the paper clip, and another, larger hole is made in the lid.

The tin sheet is rolled into a cylinder and soldered, and then attached to the can so that there are no gaps at all.

The paper clip is turned into a crankshaft. The spacing should be exactly ninety degrees. The knee above the cylinder is made slightly larger than the other.

The remaining paper clips turn into racks for the shaft. The membrane is made as follows: the cylinder is wrapped in a polyethylene film, pressed through and fastened with a thread.

The connecting rod is made from a paper clip, which is inserted into a piece of rubber, and the finished part is attached to the membrane. The length of the connecting rod is made such that at the lower shaft point the membrane is drawn into the cylinder, and at the highest point it is extended. The second part of the connecting rod is made in the same way.

Then one is glued to the membrane, and the other to the displacer.

Can legs can also be made from paper clips and soldered. For the crank, a CD is used.

Here is the whole mechanism. It remains only to substitute and light a candle under it, and then give a push through the flywheel.

Conclusion

Such is the low-temperature Stirling engine (built with your own hands). Of course, in industrial scale such devices are made in a completely different way. However, the principle remains the same: the air volume is heated and then cooled. And this is constantly repeated.

Finally, look at these drawings of the Stirling engine (you can do it yourself without any special skills). Maybe you are already on fire with the idea, and you want to do something similar?