[lotrfan55345]

http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/070102.html

Over 90% efficiency? Almost no hydrocarbon emissions? hmmm.....

[master_rb]

scam, try to go to the company's web site
http://www.enginion.com

every few weeks we hear about breakthroughs, new engines and stuff, it always turns out to be a scam

[davep]

Where does it claim it's 90% efficient?

The article says the enginion is a research project of IAV

http://www.iav.de/eng/index.php

They appear to be a serious German engineering firm.

[RdSnt]

Whether this particular example may be a scam isn't so important.
That steam and stirling engines should be seriously looked at in relation to Peak Oil is a no brainer. Why? Because they are external combustion engines.

[davep]

Agreed, RdSnt.

For anyone not aware of the utility of an external combustion engine, it means you're not necessarily tied to petrol or diesel because any heat source may potentially be used.

A further benefit of the stirling engine is that it is the best at attaining the limits of the carnot (heat) cycle in theory. However, this seems quite difficult in practice as the engines are scaled up in size.

[lotrfan55345]

I read the 90% efficiency off some BBC(?) article that linked to that website.

But that technology seems promising, I never knew external combustion engines were still being researched.

[RdSnt]

Thanks, appreciate that someone else understands this stuff.

Have you check out Kockum?
http://www.kockums.se/Submarines/submarinesmain.html

They seem to be at the leading edge of practical , high powered stirling engines.

What I find most intreging about the Stirling cycle is that it relies on a heat differential. Any heat differential, it doesn't have to be what we conventional think of. Meaning it doesn't necessarily have to be hot.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('davep', 'A')greed, RdSnt.

For anyone not aware of the utility of an external combustion engine, it means you're not necessarily tied to petrol or diesel because any heat source may potentially be used.

A further benefit of the stirling engine is that it is the best at attaining the limits of the carnot (heat) cycle in theory. However, this seems quite difficult in practice as the engines are scaled up in size.