Stirling Engines: time for a comeback for these 1970s experimental car engines?
Reader Sarah Turner emailed in a question yesterday asking about the Stirling
Engine and what might come be it’s future as a power source in automobiles. Since this is an excellent topic
that, I think, will interest a lot of AutoblogGreen readers, I’m re-asking the question here. If you’ve got
any knowledge about this, post it in the comments. Turns out Stirling Engines (which, to put it simply, use external sources of heat and cold to move pistons) have been developed for use in automobiles, but this was back in the 1970s when Ford, GM and AMC all built Stirling cars. There is no one (to my knowledge) working on new Stirling Engine vehicles today. Still, the potential is there, especially in a hybrid engine where the batteries would run the car and the Stirling would power the batteries. There is an inherent difficulty in making a Stirling that can shift between quick, inefficient bursts of power and slow efficient energy, something automobiles need to be able to do. The 1979 AMC Spirit’s experimental Stirling engine was the “P-40” and ran on gasoline, diesel, or gasohol! Combine a car engine with that kind of fuel flexibility and some sort of hybrid technology; add in todays biofuels and now we’re talking a really green car. For more information, I recommend this collection of messages and the Stirling FAQ
[Source: Stirling]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Norris Huff 4:27PM (2/28/2008)
Where can I find a P-40 stirling engine for a '79 AMC Spirit car. Or maybe the drawings and specs of one.
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Glenn A. 1:08PM (5/02/2006)
I recall that some time in the 1980's, a company actually managed to build and market sterling cycle generator sets for motor homes. They were apprently nearly completely silent, and since they run at a constant RPM, there were no issues with "throttle response" (and quick demands for RPM changes).
Sounds like an ideal engine for Prius III. Toyota?
Newsflash - Spring 2009. Glenn, having obtained his 3rd generation Prius Stirling powered Hybrid, after a 6 month waiting period, goes to the fuel-station and mulls over whether to use E10 at $6 per gallon, E85 at $5 per gallon, bio-diesel at $4 per gallon, TDP process US sourced diesel oil at $3 per gallon, imported petro-diesel at $7 per gallon, US coal-derived kerosene at $4 per gallon, or US supplied Butanol at $2 per gallon and obviously, chooses Butanol. "Wow, it's a lucky thing I live in a state which can grow corn and switchgrass".
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apple_box 1:54PM (5/02/2006)
The same company and man that brought us the Segway wanted to have the thing powered by a Stirling engine. When it proved to require more research they continued that effort and powered the Segway with batteries.
http://www.dekaresearch.com/coreTech.html
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