Power output and efficiency of irreversible regenerative Stirling heat engine using generalized Redlich-Kwong gas as the working substance

Abstract

Performance of a generalized Redlich-Kwong gas Stirling heat engine is investigated, in which the multi-irreversibilities including thermal resistance, regenerative and heat leak losses are taken into account. General expressions for power output and efficiency of the Stirling heat engine are derived, and effects of the nonperfect regeneration and some important performance parameters such as the volume ratio and the temperature ratio are analyzed and discussed. Moreover, it is shown that the efficiency of the gas Stirling heat engine with perfect regeneration and no heat leak can reach that of the Carnot heat engine.