Discussion: “Design Improvements to a Biomass Stirling Engine Using Mathematical Analysis and 3D CFD Modeling” (Mahkamov, K., 2006, ASME J. Energy Resour. Technol., 128, pp. 203–215)

Abstract

As the designer of the engine featured in Dr. Mahkamov’s paper, I welcome his pioneering application of CFD modeling to the Stirling cycle. The technique would have been helpful in 1996 when this engine was on the drawing board and then during testing in 2003, when absence of dynamic pressure measuring equipment hindered diagnosis of the problem he subsequently identified by modeling—flow restriction caused by a dimensional error in the crown of the power piston.