Effect of Radial Clearance on the Secondary Motion and Tribological Performance of Stirling Engine Piston-Crosshead

Abstract

The cylinder radial clearance is a significant influencing factor for secondary motion and frictional power consumption of Stirling engine piston-crosshead structure. In this paper, a piston-crosshead dynamical model of the Stirling engine considering the surface tribological characteristics is established, and the correctness of the model is verified on the piston rod sealing test bench. The influence of the clearance on the dynamics and the tribology of the Stirling engine piston-crosshead is analysed based on this model, and it is shown that the crosshead knocking force and the frictional force reach equilibrium when the clearance is 0.06 mm.