SESSION 42.

4
EVALUATION
OF THE
STM4-120 KINEMATIC STIRLING ENGINE*
Kevin L. Linker
Solar Thermal Electric Technology
K. Scott Rawlinson
Greg Smith
Solar Thermal Test Facility
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185

ABSTRACT presently testing the STM4-120 in a test cell at

Sandia’s Engine Test Facility (ETF) [l]. Over the
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Thermal past year Sandia has conducted operational tests of
Program has identified the Stirling cycle heat the engine along with obtaining performance and
engine as the conversion device for dish-electric reliability information. This paper updates this
systems with the most potential for meeting the progress.
program’s goals. To advance the technology
toward commercialization in a dish-electric system,
Sandia National Laboratories has acquired a Stirling
Thermal Motors, Inc. kinematic Stirling engine,
STM4-120, for evaluation. During the past year this
engine has been operating at Sandia’s Engine Test
Facility. The engine’s heat input has been provided
through fossil fuel combustion and sodium heat
pipes, while the output power has been absorbed
with an eddy-current dynamometer. This paper
presents the evaluation of the engine performance
during the past year.

INTRODUCTION
The Stirling cycle heat engine has been identified
by the DOE’S Solar Thermal Program as the
candidate conversion device for the dish-electric
system. Furthermore, the Stirling Thermal Motors,
Inc. (STM), STM4-120, kinematic Stirling engine has
been selected as the near-term Stirling engine
showing strong promise for these systems. (See
Figure 1.) Because of its characteristics, the Stirling
cycle engine is well matched for solar applications.
In particular, it has a well known conversion
efficiency, 30 to 45%; it can be hermetically sealed
for long life; it is quiet and uses a benign working
fluid allowing its operation in populated areas; and it
requires external heating, permitting the use of
several fuel sources.
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), the lead
laboratory for solar thermal electric systems, is
%AND90-0009C. This work was supported by the
U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) under
Contract DE-AC04-76DP00789.
Fig. 1 STM4-120
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STM4-120
The STM4-120 kinematic Stirling engine is a four
cylinder double-acting piston design coupled to a
variable swashplate drive. (See Figure 2.) The
engine incorporates several design innovations that
are intended to correct problems that have plagued
previous Stirling engines. These design features
include:
0 variable swashplate,
0 pressurized crankcase, and
0 sodium heat pipe input.
At a heater head temperature of 800 “C, cooler
temperature of 45 “C, and a cycle pressure of 12
MPa, the engine is designed to deliver a nominal 25

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 cvLIN
CONNECTIONTO COMPRESSION
SPACE OFTHE NEXT CYLINDER

PISTON
'

SPACE

COMPRESSION
SPACE
angle of the swashplate is changed relative to the
output shaft of the engine. The pistons are
connected to the perimeter of the swashplate with
a cross-head and slider, and the piston stroke is
varied with the change in swashplate angle. Thus,
the stroke can be changed from 0 mm to 48.5 mm
during operation. This mechanism allows for a
continuous power control system that i s
completely self contained within the engine.
Piston rod seals have been a source of continuing
PISTON problems limiting the reliability and life of the
kinematic Stirling engine. Previous Stirling
engines have required piston rod seals to separate
the crankcase lubricating oil at atmospheric
pressure from the high pressure working fluid. The
ability of these seals t o perform as both oil
scrapers and pressure seals for extended periods
has been difficult. To eliminate the high pressure
sealing, the STM4-120 has been designed with a
VARIABLE SWASH PLATE pressurized crankcase. With this additional
\ feature, the crankcase can be pressurized to the
mean operating pressure of the engine working
\ /'
\

'..\ ROTATING SHAFT

OUTPUT

------/
. 0
/
fluid. This means that piston rods seals are
required only to separate lubricating oil from the
cycle working fluid.
Finally, the STM4-120 uses sodium heat pipe
Fig. 2 STM4-120 Cross-section technology as a means for providing energy to the
engine. Utilizing heat pipes with a Stirling engine
kW of shaft power when operating at full stroke allows for even temperature distribution around the
(48.5 mm) and 1800 RPM. This corresponds to a cycle and greater flexibility in the type of heat
conversion efficiency, defined as shaft power source for the engine. With a sodium heat pipe
output divided by heat input, of 42 to 45% without design in a solar application, a receiver can be
parasitics. Table I outlines the other engine designed and constructed to "smooth out" the
parameters. uneven flux distribution on the receiver's solar
absorber surface [2].
Table I STM4-120 Parameters
TEST RESULTS
Arrangement: Four double-acting cylinders
symmetrically arranged about General
a common axis. One heat
exchanger assembly per Since its installation in the ETF test cell, the Stirling
cylinder.
Thermal Motors kinematic Stirling engine,
Bore: 56 mm STM4-120, has operated a total of 132 hours.
During this time the engine cycle pressure was
Stroke: 48.5 mm increased from 4 to 6.5 MPa. At a cycle pressure
Overall Length: 635 mm of 6.5 MPa, and an evaporator temperature of 780
" C (Note: Sandia has chosen to temporarily
Cross-section: Largest cross section is 300 operate the engine at 780 "C),cooling water
mm in diameter. temperature of 23 "C, an engine speed of 1800
Total Weight: 75 kg rpm, and full piston stroke of 48.5 mm the engine
produced 12.3 kW of shaft power at an efficiency of
Working Fluid: Helium 35%. (See Figure 3.) Figure 4 indicates the
progression made during the past year in the
Cycle Pressure: 12 MPa (mean) @ 25 kWs power output with the increasing pressure. Also, in
Materials: W-818 heater heads, CG-27 this figure are shown the predicted engine power
heater tubes, 321 SS heat output from STM's computer code and the GLIMPS
pipes, Inconel625 bellows computer code run at Sandia [3]. (Note: GLIMPS
provided PV power output predictions. The PV
The variable swashplate drive mechanism gives p o w e r was c o r r e c t e d f o r p i s t o n r i n g a n d
the STM4-120 a compact and simple method of mechanical losses based on information from STM
power control. Through a rotary actuator, the resulting in the shaft power.)

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 Enaine
Mechanically the STM4-120 has performed t o
expectations. However, during initial testing a
potential problem appeared i n the original
swashplate. Two symmetric cracks developed
about t h e s w a s h p l a t e r o t a t i n g axis. An
investigation determined that the cracks were a
result of an improperly designed drive shaft
connecting the engine to the dynamometer. The
torsional stiffness of this drive shaft caused the
natural frequency of the system to occur near the
operating speed of 1800 RPM. Both the drive shaft
and the swashplate have since been replaced
without further problems.
Heat lnmt Svstem
During testing, several areas of concern appeared
in the heat pipes used to power the Stirling engine.
As a result, the engine shaft power output was
limited to 12.3 kW. The 10-fin gas fired heat pipe
evaporators have been the main cause limiting the
engine performance. Figure 5 shows STM’s
current 1O-fin evaporator design used at Sandia
[4]. Heat pipe leaks have occurred at the leading
edge of the evaporators. Investigation has lead to
a conclusion that insufficient weld penetration is
occurring in the leading edge of the evaporator fins
during fabrication. Without full weld penetration,
the combustion gases appear to be entering the
HEATPIPE

FRONT EVAP TEMP

REAR EVAP TEMP
HEATER HEAD TEMP
F TO ENGINE
WITH VAPOR
FLOW

1730 1800 1830

MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME (hr)

Fig. 3 Engine Performance

Fig. 5 1O-Fin Evaporator

Base Case: Heater Head Temp = 780°C. thin weld areas and causing an internal-to-external
oxidation process, resulting in a failure. Because
Speed = 1800 rpm the combustors are operated with 50% excess air,
the failure is accelerated due to the additional
-& GlimpdSTM
Prediction
oxygen. (Note: 50% excess air was recommended
by STM t o reduce the likelihood of hydrogen
diffusion into the heat pipes. STM has also
modified their current heat pipe design to include
$I 15 a hydrogen diffuser to allow excess hydrogen to
escape to the atmosphere,) Corrective actions
Actual Data have since taken place to avoid this problem in the
10 0 Sandia
future. Specifically, nondestructive testing (NDT) is
conducted on the welded areas. This consists of a
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
helium leak check for leaks, and ultrasound testing
for weld penetration. The finned evaporator
Pressure (MPa)
appears to be a good design if the fabrication
quality can be controlled. Since the initial testing,
the life of a gas fired finned evaporator has been
Fig. 4 Measured vs Predicted increased by a factor of 10. With a NDT, this
Performance should be increased further.
Other heat pipe failures occurred at the bellows of
the engine’s heater heads. The bellows allow for

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 expansion and contraction that naturally occurs
within the heater head. Metallurgical analysis
indicates that the failures are the result of external
oxidation of the bellows. The outer surface of the
bellows (321 SS) oxidized rapidly due to the
elevated operating temperatures. During normal
thermal cycling the bellows returns to its initial
condition, cracking the outer oxidized layer of the
material. This layer then flakes off and exposes
new, unprotected metal. This process continues
during each thermal cycle until a failure occurs.
Figure 6 shows a t y p i c a l bellow from the
STM4-120, see Figure 1 for location, and two
different sections through the bellow. The dark
side of each section shows the layer of oxidation.
Section A shows how the oxidation propagated
through the material thickness, eventually causing
a failure. Section 6 is along a straight section of
the bellows where the depth of oxidation is not as
severe. To prevent future failures, all of the
bellows will be made from lnconel 625. lnconel
625 does not exhibit the rapid oxidation of 321 SS.
In addition, the 625 provides a fatigue failure
lifetime of 2 million cycles for this bellows design.
This compares with 321 SS which has a fatigue
failure life of 1000 cycles [5]. The sections through
the bellows also show the absence of sodium
attack on the bellows. (The sodium interface is
opposite the oxidation side.)
A B
Fig. 6 Bellows
SUPPORT
In addition to SNL performing operational tests,
verifying the engine design was viewed as a
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complete test program. Several critical engine
components that are used in the STM4-120 Stirling
engine were analyzed. The purposes of the
analyses were to:
0 provide an independent quality check on the
components;
0 eliminate reliability problems in the future;
and
0 ensure safe operation of the engine and
heat pipes
These components were determined important
because of their exposure to high stress and/or
high temperature, or testing proved them to be
potentially vulnerable to failure. COSMOS/M, a
commercially available finite element analysis
(FEA) code was used to analyze the components.
The components analyzed to date include the
regenerator housing, the cylinder housing, the
pressure hull and oil sump vessels, and the
swashplate. (See Figure 7.) Each of these
components was assumed to be axisymmetric in
the FEA and the results are discussed below.
' \I
Swash Plate Cross Section of
Swash Plate
(e)
Fig. 7 FEA Components
(a) regenerator housing: (b) inder housing; (c) pressure hull;
(d) oil sump:$) swashplate
 m q
The regenerator housing is a major part of the
heater head assembly. As its name implies, this
component houses the engine's regenerator. It is
placed under high pressure, 12 MPa, and a rather
severe temperature gradient, 50 to 800 "C. The
bottom flange of the regenerator bolts to the
engine crankcase. The top of the housing is bored
out and the header plate for the heater head tube
bundle is welded into this bore. Due to the tube
bundle penetrations, the plate is perforated, not
solid. SNL analyzed the housing with both solid
and perforated plates. The perforated plate area
was modeled by using an adjusted value for the
modulus of elasticity and Poisson's ratio to account
for porosity. Although displacements between the
two cases are different, high stress areas are very
similar. A summary of the model used is given
below:
Elementtype: enode quadrilateral,"PIANEPD"
Average element size: 1.5 mm
Force pressure boundary conditions: 12 MPa applied to all
interior element faces
Temperature boundary conditions: 1073 K along top heater
flange surface, 328 K along bottom bolt flange surface.
Displacement boundary conditions: Zero displacement in x and
y at centerline of bolthole pattem (58 mm from axis), and zero y-
displacement radially outward from this point.
Modulus of elastici 138,000 N/mm2 with the exception of
perforated plate areafaving a modified value of 55,000 N / m d
Poisson's ratio: 0.3, with the exception of perforated plate area
having a modified value of 0.32
Thermal conductivity: 0.02007 W/mmX
Coefficient of thermal expansion: 17.37- dm-C
The displacement analysis yielded a maximum of
0.8 mm for the free end, which is mostly due to
thermal expansion. The high stress areas of
interest, Figure 7 (a), include the outside upper
radius at 214 MPa, the outside lower radius at 220
MPa, and the inner wall opposite the outside lower
radius at 210 MPa.
The area of concern is located at the upper outside
radius, due primarily to the endurance limit of
materials being much lower at high temperature.
The FEA model predicts a temperature of 966 OK
at this point. In addition, the regenerator housing
is subjected to alternating stresses due to cycle
pressure variations. SNL analyzed the stresses at
the minimum and maximum cycle pressures.
Fortunately, the alternating stresses are only 10
MPa. SNL calculated the fatigue-creep life to be
9,124 hours, based on an endurance limit of 105
MPa [6,7]. Since the endurance limit used is very
conservative, problems with the regenerator
housing are not expected. STM calculated the
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fatigue-creep life of the regenerator housing to be
8,222 hours [a]. There are slight differences in the
boundary conditions used by STM and SNL in
modeling the housing. The life predicted by both
SNL and STM are b a s e d o n conservative
information regarding the material. Both assumed
stresses and temperatures for the regenerator
h o u s i n g are s i g n i f i c a n t factors in t h e life
predictions. A 5% change in either variable can
change the predicted life by a factor five.
Cvlinder housing
The cylinder houses the piston assembly and is
connected to the regenerator by a hot connecting
duct welded into the cylinder's top flange. Like the
regenerator housing, the cylinder housing was
modeled as axisymmetric using the following
parameters:
Element type: 4-node quadrilateral, "PIANEPD"
Average element size: 1 mm
Force pressure boundary conditions: 12 MPa applied to all
interior dement faces
Temperature boundary conditions: 1073 K along top heater
flange surface, 328 K along bottom bolt flange surface.
Displacement boundary conditions: Zero displacement in x and
y at centerline of bolthole pattem (45 mm from axis), and zero y-
displacement radially outward from this point.
Modulus of elasticity: 138,000 N/mm2
Poisson's ratio: 0.3
Thermal conductivity: 0.02007 W/mm-K
Coefficient of thermal expansion: 17.37e-6 m/m-C
The cylinder deformation, a maximum of 0.97 mm,
is mostly along the cylinder axis and is relatively
small. The local maximum stresses in the areas of
concern (Figure 7 (b)) are 81 MPa along the
outside edge of the upper wall in the middle of its
curvature toward the connecting duct flange, 86
MPa at the lower outside radius, and 86 MPa along
the inside wall opposite the lower outside radius.
Since these stresses are less than the stresses in
the regenerator housing, the life limit of the heater
head assembly will be limited by the results
discussed previously for the regenerator housing.
Pressure hull
The function of the pressure hull is to maintain the
helium pressure on the crankcase side of the
engine. While the total energy at 12 MPa is only 87
kJ, the component is still considered a pressure
vessel. Therefore, it must be designed to meet
ASME and SNL pressure safety requirements. This
implies that the safety factor shall be 4.0 based on
the ultimate strength of the material. The material
used i s 4140 steel, a good material choice
 because it can be heat-treated for additional
strength while remaining ductile. The pressure
hull is heat-treated to a Rockwell "C"hardness of
22 to 29. This heat treatment results in an ultimate
strength between 810 and 900 MPa, with an
elongation between 22.5% and 18%, respectively.
To maintain a 4.0 safety factor, the stresses should
remain under 202 MPa. The following parameters
were used in the pressure hull analysis:
Element type: 4-node quadrilateral, "PLANEPD"
Average element size: 2.5 mm
Force pressure boundary conditions: 12 MPa applied to all
interior element faces
Temperature boundary conditions: none
Displacement boundary conditions: Zero displacement in x and
y at centerline of bolthole pattern (130 mm from axis),and zero
y-displacement radially outward from this point.
Modulus of elasticity: 200,000 N / m d
Poisson's ratio: 0.3
The displacements were small and of no great
concern with exception of the end seal. The
maximum stresses in the cylindrical hull exceeded
--
250 MPa greater than the maximum allowable
stress of 202 MPa. However, all existing pressure
hulls have proof tested to 1.5 times the maximum
allowable working pressure. In order to meet the
safety factor criteria, the pressure hull wall
thickness was increased from 5.0 mm to 6.5 mm
(taper length unchanged). This design change
was proved satisfactory by the FEA (see Figure 7
(c)) and is to be implemented on all future
pressure hulls.
Oil sumq
The oil sump is located underneath the pressure
hull. The oil sump serves as a drain point for the
oil and contains the oil filter as well as maintaining
helium pressure on the crankcase side of the
engine. All of the pressure safety requirements
described above for the pressure hull apply to the
oil sump. The oil sump was modeled using the
following parameters:
Element type: h o d e quadrilateral, "PLANE2D
Average element size: 0.75 mm
Force pressure boundary conditions: 12 MPa applied to all
interior element faces
Temperature boundary conditions: none
Displacement boundary conditions: Zero displacement in x and
y at centerline of bolthole pattem (42 mm from ax's), and zero y-
displacement radially outward from this point.
Modulus of elasticity: 200,000 N / m d
Poisson's ratio: 0.3
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The analysis yielded a maximum displacement of
.10 mm, and stresses in the cylindrical hull of
approximately 250 MPa. As with the pressure hull,
the 4.0 safety factor was violated, requiring an
increase in the wall thickness from 2.0 mm to 2.6
mm (taper length unchanged). With the new
design, to be included in all future oil sumps, these
stresses (see Figure 7 (d)) dropped below 200
MPa.
Swashdate:
The swashplate is the mechanical device that
converts the reciprocating piston motion t o
rotational shaft power. A finite element analysis
was performed on this component due to concerns
that the swashplate mechanisms may be highly
stressed. For modeling simplicity the swashplate
hub axis was made coincident with the swashplate
slider surface axis, a 12.5 degree offset. This was
considered valid since the high stresses were in
the slider surface, whereas the hub area had very
low stresses (this assumption was verified by
performing a FEA using a 2-D model). The
swashplate was modeled using the following
parameters:
Element type: &node solid, "SOLID"
Average element size: 4.5 mm Q 15 deg. intervals about y axis
Force pressure boundary conditions: proprietary, but modeling
at maxmum loading conditions
Temperature boundary conditions: none
Displacement boundary conditions: No radial displacement on
inner hub surfaces parallel to axis of rotation, no y-displacement
on surfaces per endicular to axis of rotation, no radial or y-
displacement in tfreaded nut area.
Modulus of elasticity: 207,000 N/mm2
Poisson's ratio: 0.3
The largest displacement is at the edge of the
swashplate ring and is relatively small (0.05 mm).
The highest stresses (see Figure 7 (e)), 92 Mpa,
are located where the slider surface meets the
outer hub surface. This appears to be reasonable,
since the piston forces are on a plate cantilevered
out from the hub area (the highest stresses on a
cantilever beam occur at the fixed end of the
beam). Stresses are low in the hub area, so the
approximation of the hub and slider axes being
coincident is reasonable. Finally, since the
stresses are well under that endurance limit for the
material used (the swashplate has been case
hardened to a Rockwell "C"hardness of 58 to 62),
problems due to fatigue are not expected.
CONCLUSION
The STM4-120 has mechanically operated to its
design point. The gas fired heat pipes appear to
 be a functional design, but the fabrication 8. Kister, J., "Finite Element Analysis of the
techniques need to be followed with additional Heater Head," Internal Proprietary Document
quality control. The experience gained during the by Stirling Thermal Motors, November 1989.
past year from the gas combustion heat pipe
systems has been very beneficial. Eventually, a
hybrid solar/fossil fired receiver will be considered
for this engine and a gas fired liquid metal thermal
transport system will be required. The FEA
conducted provided an additional verification of
the STM design. All major components exposed to
the high temperatures and pressures are designed
to meet their functional requirements. After
conducting NDT on the heat pipe evaporators and
upgrading the heater heads, the engine will be
back on test at Sandia. Increasing the engine's
cycle pressure and operating hours will be the
main thrust during the coming year.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank Vern Dudley, Daniel Ray,
Tim Moss, Ted Bryant, and Walt Einhorn for their
help during the past year on the STM4-120 project.
In addition, we would like to extend our thanks to
those at STM who have also helped along the way.
REFERENCES

tinker, K.L., D.R. Adkins, and K.S. Rawlinson,

"Testing of the STM4-120 Kinematic Stirling
Engine for Solar Thermal Electric Systems,"
Proceedings of the 24th IECEC, Paper No.
899048, Washington, D.C., August 1989.
Diver, R.B., C.E. Andraka, J.B. Moreno, D.R.
Adkins, and T.A. Moss, "Trends in Dish-
Stirling Solar Receiver Designs," Proceedings
of the 25th IECEC, Reno, NV, August 1990.
GLIMPS is a Stirling cycle simulation code by
Gedeon Associates.
Khalili, K., T.M. Godett, and R.J. Meijer,
"Design and Testing of a Heat pipe Gas
Combustion System for the STM4-120 Stirling
Engine," Proceedings of the 24th IECEC,
Paper No. 899540, Washington, D.C., August
1989.
The fatigue failure lifetime was calculated by
the manufacture Metal Bellow.
-
Bhattach a ry y a, S .,I' C re e p R u p t u re an d
Fractographic Analysis of Candidate Stirling
Engine Superalloys Tested in Air," Journal of
Materials for Energy Systems, March 1984,
vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 188-204.
Cronin, MJ., "Room Temperature Fatigue
Properties of Alloy XF-818," Automotive
Stirling Engine Development Program, NASA
Contract DEN3-32, April 1985.

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