This week I have fixed the engine to a temporary platform in order to create a suitable area to work around since drilling into the Stirling engine frame is not allowed.. Further on into the project, once I am certain of all the fixtures I plan on adding, I will change the platform to something more presentable.
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| secured engine to platform |
Also I have mostly been drafting ideas for sensing the power piston position since monitoring the pressure proved to be a much more simple task. However, before I could begin prototyping any solutions, I had to to first model the Stirling engine by using CAD software (Solidworks).
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| CAD model of engine. |
Once that was completed, I then focused on developing my ideas for monitoring piston position.
The power piston has a protruding rod conveniently located underneath it which has a small hole through it for attaching a cable or string. From previous measurements, I knew that the piston travels approximately 53.5 mm linearly. The challenge now is to convert that travel into something meaningful. I had a brainstorm of ideas and the one that seemed most reasonable was further developed.
The developed device operates in the following way. The string connected to the piston rotates the wheel connected to the position sensor when the piston is rising. The wheel is then returned to its' original position by a spring. I went through a large assortment of springs to find one that will not impose too much load on the piston. Also the choice of string had to be strong and not susceptible to stretching under stress. This device, once 3D printed and tested, works well. However, there was a small problem. I loose a lot of sensor resolution, since the sensor operating range is 360 degrees and I am only using about 105 degree of rotation. Although I could fix this problem by mapping the sensor output to the appropriate values in my code, I would much prefer utilise the full potential of the sensor as its' intended design.
I am now exploring other ideas. Most of the work done here is covered in my YOUTUBE PLAYLIST and I have also updated the GALLERY.
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