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A heat engine is a device used to extract heat from a source and then convert it into mechanical work used for various applications. For example, a steam engine on an old-style train can produce the work needed for driving the train.
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An Otto engine is a four-stroke engine that uses a mixture of gasoline and air as the working fuel. The fuel is injected into the cylinder, and the piston is moved completely down so that the cylinder is at maximum volume. By moving the piston up, adiabatic compression takes place. The spark plug ignites the gasoline-air mixture, and the burning fuel adds heat to the system at a constant volume. The heated mixture expands adiabatically and gets further cooled by exhausting heat, and this cyclic...
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A Rapid Method for Modeling a Variable Cycle Engine
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Mechanical Autonomous Stochastic Heat Engine.

Marc Serra-Garcia1, André Foehr1, Miguel Molerón1

  • 1Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), 8092 Zürich, Switzerland.

Physical Review Letters
|July 16, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces an autonomous stochastic heat engine using coupled resonators. It converts random thermal motion into useful work and exhibits negative thermal conductivity.

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Area of Science:

  • Thermodynamics
  • Statistical Mechanics
  • Nonlinear Dynamics

Background:

  • Stochastic heat engines harness random thermal motion for work, with historical proposals like Maxwell's demon.
  • Recent experimental demonstrations are nonautonomous, requiring external control and consuming excess energy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present a novel, autonomous stochastic heat engine.
  • To demonstrate the conversion of random excitation into a low-entropy oscillation.
  • To investigate anomalous heat transport properties.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized three coupled mechanical resonators: two ribbons and a cantilever.
  • Employed geometric nonlinearities in the resonating ribbons.
  • Subjected the system to a stochastic drive.

Main Results:

  • Achieved autonomous conversion of random excitation into a low-entropy, nonpassive cantilever oscillation.
  • Demonstrated the anomalous heat transport property of negative thermal conductivity.
  • Showcased passive energy transfer from a cold to a hot reservoir.

Conclusions:

  • The developed engine operates autonomously, overcoming limitations of previous designs.
  • The engine's ability to exhibit negative thermal conductivity is a significant finding.
  • This work opens new avenues for designing efficient stochastic heat engines.