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Stirling Engine

Mechanical Design Fall 2023

For Olin's Mechanical Design class, my team designed and built a running Stirling Engine from scratch. The Stirling Engine is a type of external combustion engine that converts heat energy from burning fuel into mechanical power.

engine running at night

Engine sitting in photo studio

All the parts layed out on a table . mmmmmm so juicy.

My contributions and experience gained include:
- FEA Structural Analysis of multiple flexures in Solidworks
- Analytical and numerical models coded in Python to choose engine parameters
- Thermal FEA Analysis of engine components and assembly
- Fatigue Analysis of parts using Goodman diagram
- Assisted with fabrication and assembly

mesh at a joint
FEA mesh at a stress concentration of a flexure

mesh for shaft FEA
Mesh for a structural study on a spinning shaft assembly

displacement plot for working flexure
Displacement plot for a loading case where the flexure sucessfully holds to the shaft. Note the shaft has no rotational displacement.

displacement plot for failed flexure
Displacement plot for a loading case where the flexure fails due to insufficient preload. Note the shaft has rotational displacement.

Skelly and his comrades warming their hands from the fire created by their glorious invention -- like proud fathers they beam in approval at their creation
Team picture with the engine

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