Effect of Adding a Regenerator to Kornhauser's MIT "Two-Space" (Gas-Spring+Heat Exchanger) Test Rig

This study employed entropy-based second law post-processing analysis to characterize the various thermodynamic losses inside a 3-space solution domain (gas spring+heat exchanger+regenerator) operating under conditions of oscillating pressure and oscillating flow. The 3- space solution domain is adapted from the 2-space solution domain (gas spring+heat exchanger) in Kornhauser's MIT test rig by modifying the heat exchanger space to include a porous regenerator system. A thermal nonequilibrium model which assumes that the regenerator porous matrix and gas average temperatures can differ by several degrees at a given axial location and time during the cycle is employed. An important and primary objective of this study is the development and application of a thermodynamic loss post-processor to characterize the major thermodynamic losses inside the 3-space model. It is anticipated that the experience gained from thermodynamic loss analysis of the simple 3-space model can be extrapolated to more complex systems like the Stirling engine. It is hoped that successful development of loss post-processors will facilitate the improvement of the optimization capability of Stirling engine analysis codes through better understanding of the heat transfer and power losses. It is also anticipated that the incorporation of a successful thermal nonequilibrium model of the regenerator in Stirling engine CFD analysis codes, will improve our ability to accurately model Stirling regenerators relative to current multidimensional thermal-equilibrium porous media models

Entropy Generation/Availability Energy Loss Analysis Inside MIT Gas Spring and "Two Space" Test Rigs

The results of the entropy generation and availability energy loss analysis under conditions of oscillating pressure and oscillating helium gas flow in two Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) test rigs piston-cylinder and piston-cylinder-heat exchanger are presented. Two solution domains, the gas spring (single-space) in the piston-cylinder test rig and the gas spring + heat exchanger (two-space) in the piston-cylinder-heat exchanger test rig are of interest. Sage and CFD-ACE+ commercial numerical codes are used to obtain 1-D and 2-D computer models, respectively, of each of the two solution domains and to simulate the oscillating gas flow and heat transfer effects in these domains. Second law analysis is used to characterize the entropy generation and availability energy losses inside the two solution domains. Internal and external entropy generation and availability energy loss results predicted by Sage and CFD-ACE+ are compared. Thermodynamic loss analysis of simple systems such as the MIT test rigs are often useful to understand some important features of complex pattern forming processes in more complex systems like the Stirling engine. This study is aimed at improving numerical codes for the prediction of thermodynamic losses via the development of a loss post-processor. The incorporation of loss post-processors in Stirling engine numerical codes will facilitate Stirling engine performance optimization. Loss analysis using entropy-generation rates due to heat and fluid flow is a relatively new technique for assessing component performance. It offers a deep insight into the flow phenomena, allows a more exact calculation of losses than is possible with traditional means involving the application of loss correlations and provides an effective tool for improving component and overall system performance