Externally heated valve engine an-alternative to the Stirling engine

A new concept of the externally heated valve (EHV) engine is presented. The principle of the engine operation is described. Heat delivered to the working medium (air) in the heater, or several heaters working commutatively, can come from a combustion chamber or other heat generators such as nuclear reactors or solar collectors. The engine construction is entirely different from the well-known Stirling engine. New results of the EHV engine computer modelling are presented. This is connected with a new kind of annular heater applied to the EHV engine. A whirl motion inside the heater is caused to ensure the proper condition of the heat exchange during the whole engine cycle. Three heaters working commutatively have been considered in this model. Comparisons between the power and efficiency of the Stirling engine and EHV engine have been performed for the same engine capacity, rotational frequency, maximum and minimum temperatures of the working gas and for the same mean pressures of both the engine cycles. The power of the EHV engine is in this case over three times higher than the Stirling engine power, while the efficiency of both the engines is almost the same.