Newtek

IK4-TEKNIKER participated in the 2014 ISEC conference

The Euskalduna Conference Centre in Bilbao hosted the 16th International Conference on Stirling Technology; it was being organised by the Stirling Centre, the Basque centre of excellence in research and development of products geared towards the generation and efficient use of energy in the home, and Mondragon Components; both organisations are part of the MONDRAGON CORPORATION.

The event, which took place on 24, 25 and 26 September, brought together experts in Stirling technology applied to energy efficiency and renewable energies so that they could share knowledge and applications on energy efficiency and “green” technologies.

Conference subjects

The conference discussed subjects relating to the various applications of the Stirling engine like renewable energies (biomass, biogas, geothermics, solar), cogeneration refrigeration and heat pumps. It also covered subjects dealing with new concepts and components of these engines as well as aspects relating to the thermodynamic modelling and simulation of the Stirling cycle.

Specifically, IK4-TEKNIKER was giving two papers: the first, “Characterisation and simulation of a restored V160 Stirling engine”, presented the latest experimental results on the characterisation of a V160 Stirling engine using IK4-TEKNIKER’s Stirling engine test bench (BEMS); it included a comparison between the measured experimental values of power indicated and those estimated by numerical methodology developed by the University of Oviedo, as well as by GGSISM® Stirling engine simulation software.

The second paper “Tribological study of different sealing solutions for a Stirling engine”, reported on the results of the tribological study carried out on IK4-TEKNIKER’s sealing test bench TESSA; it involves three commercial seals produced in three different materials with PTFE matrix and subjected to the operating conditions that prevail in a Stirling engine. The study sets out to try and find a cheaper, commercial alternative for the routinely used Leningrader type seals.

Participants

In addition to representatives of the Government of the Basque Country and Provincial Council, the conference was attended by Paul Verhoef, European Commissioner for New and Renewable Energy Sources, and Carlo M. Bartollini, Chairman of Stirling International. There were about 60 speakers from the academic, scientific and industrial fields of 30 countries.

Further information

For further information, please check out the official website of the ISEC 2014 Conference here