Stirling engine combustor
AssigneeMechanical Technology Incorporated
InventorJohn J. Dineen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gaseous fuel combustor for a Stirling engine includes a shell mounted on the engine, and air inlet and exhaust ports formed in the shell. An annular cylindrical recuperator communicates with the inlet and exhaust ports for preheating the combustion air with the heat from the exhaust. An annular burner surrounds the dome shaped engine heater head for mixing gaseous fuel with the air and burning it at the outer peripheral edge of the heater head. The combustion products converge upwardly in a narrow space between a ceramic partition and the heater head dome so that the heat flux is constant. The combustion products exhaust through a axial hole in the center of the ceramic partition and travel back outward over the top of the partition to the annular recuperator.
Claims10
A gaseous fuel combustor for a Stirling engine, comprising:
- a shell having lower portions adapted to engage a Stirling engine heater head;
- air inlet and exhaust ports formed in said shell;
- a heat recuperator having inlet and exhaust channels opening at one end communicating with said inlet and exhaust ports;
- an annular burner disposed in said shell lower portions and having gas flame apertures facing radially inwardly at the radial extremities of said heater head and communicating with the inlet channel at the other end of said heat recuperator;
- a dome-shaped, centrally apertured partition closely spaced from said heater head and forming therewith a first dome-shaped gap;
- a dome-shaped insulating cap disposed over said partition and forming therewith a second dome-shaped gap communicating with the first dome-shaped gap through said central aperture of said first dome partition, and with the exhaust channels of said other end of said heat recuperator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.