Free Piston Stirling Refrigeration System Trainer

Make: EEI, Model: RAC-07, Origin: India

Product Overview

The Free Piston Stirling Refrigeration Test Rig is a specialised educational apparatus designed to demonstrate the operating principles of Stirling-cycle refrigeration and low-temperature cooling. It is suitable for mechanical engineering colleges, thermal engineering laboratories, refrigeration and air-conditioning departments, ITIs, polytechnic institutes, and technical research centres.

The system features a free-piston Stirling refrigeration assembly mounted on a sturdy blue-painted MS frame with caster wheels. It includes a transparent protective enclosure for observing the working mechanism, an instrumentation panel, digital temperature indicators, a voltmeter, an ammeter, control switches, and electrical measurement facilities. The arrangement helps students understand the relationship between electrical input, temperature variation, and the performance of a Stirling refrigeration system.

Working Principle

The free-piston Stirling refrigeration system operates using cyclic compression and expansion of a working gas. Mechanical energy is supplied to drive the refrigeration cycle, producing a temperature difference between the hot and cold regions of the system. Heat is absorbed from the cold region and rejected at the warmer region.

Unlike conventional vapour compression refrigeration systems, a Stirling refrigerator uses a regenerative thermodynamic cycle involving compression, expansion, and regenerative heat transfer. The trainer provides a practical platform for studying this alternative refrigeration technology and its thermodynamic behaviour.

Main Features

Free-piston Stirling refrigeration system for educational demonstrations.

Transparent enclosure for observing the internal mechanism.

Digital temperature measurement and indication.

Voltmeter and ammeter for monitoring electrical input.

Temperature controller and instrumentation panel.

Individual switches for operating the available system functions.

Sturdy MS frame with caster wheels for easy movement.

Accessible control panel for laboratory operation and measurements.

Suitable for practical experiments in refrigeration and thermodynamics.

Educational Experiments

The apparatus can support experiments such as:

Study of the working principle of a free-piston Stirling refrigerator.

Measurement of cold-side and warm-side temperatures.

Observation of temperature differences during operation.

Measurement of electrical input voltage and current.

Investigation of operating conditions and refrigeration performance.

Study of Stirling-cycle refrigeration and regenerative heat transfer.