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The high price and limited availability of oil fuel forces a return to coal as the primary fuel. This provides unprecedented opportunities for applications of Stirling engines to stationary power and automotive application over a broad spectrum. For heavy automotive application in railway locomotives and the larger off-highway mining and earth moving vehicles, it appears possible for Stirling engines of corresponding power and efficiency to replace diesels in the same installation envelope. Proposals are presented for the conversion of diesel engines to Ringbom—Stirling engines using air as the working fluid, water as the lubricant and with high pressure steam injection for power boost at peak load conditions. An experimental proof-of-principle Ringbom-Stirling diesel conversion presently under development at the University of Calgary is briefly described.

This paper presents a method for quickly evaluating the effect of changes in bearing location on bearing design for stability of rotating machinery. This method is intended for use by rotating machinery designers to select the “best” bearing locations prior to the bearing design process. The purpose of the method is to improve the design process by separating the problem of determining the “best” bearing locations from that of determining the actual bearing design. The method is independent of the type of bearing employed. For each candidate bearing configuration, the method provides a scalar measure of the relative ability of bearings to meet stability specifications. Within certain limits, the stability specifications are defined by the designer. The scalar measure is used to rank the candidate bearing locations and thereby select the best one. The scalar measure is compared to a practical measure of magnetic bearing design such as the infinity norm of the controller for an example design of a multi-stage centrifugal compressor.

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