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The atmospheric steam engine as energy converter for low and medium temperature thermal energy

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  • Müller, Gerald

Abstract

Many industrial processes and renewable energy sources produce thermal energy with temperatures below 100 °C. The cost-effective generation of mechanical energy from this thermal energy still constitutes an engineering problem. The atmospheric steam engine is a very simple machine which employs the steam generated by boiling water at atmospheric pressures. Its main disadvantage is the low theoretical efficiency of 0.064. In this article, first the theory of the atmospheric steam engine is extended to show that operation for temperatures between 60 °C and 100 °C is possible although efficiencies are further reduced. Second, the addition of a forced expansion stroke, where the steam volume is increased using external energy, is shown to lead to significantly increased overall efficiencies ranging from 0.084 for a boiler temperature of T0 = 60 °C to 0.25 for T0 = 100 °C. The simplicity of the machine indicates cost-effectiveness. The theoretical work shows that the atmospheric steam engine still has development potential.

Suggested Citation

  • Müller, Gerald, 2013. "The atmospheric steam engine as energy converter for low and medium temperature thermal energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 94-100.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:53:y:2013:i:c:p:94-100
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2012.10.056
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wang, Yang & Zhou, Zhijun & Zhou, Junhu & Liu, Jianzhong & Wang, Zhihua & Cen, Kefa, 2011. "Micro Newcomen steam engine using two-phase working fluid," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 917-921.
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