Ericsson Cycle - History

History

In 1791, before Ericsson, Barber proposed a similar engine. The Barber engine used a bellows compressor and a turbine expander, but it lacked a regenerator/recuperator. There are no records of a working Barber engine. Ericsson invented and patented his first engine using an external version of the Brayton cycle in 1833 (number 6409/1833 British). This was 18 years before Joule and 43 years before Brayton. Brayton engines were all piston engines and for the most part, internal combustion versions of the un-recuperated Ericsson engine. The "Brayton Cycle" is now known as the gas turbine cycle, which differs from the original "Brayton Cycle" in the use of a turbine compressor and expander. The gas turbine cycle is used for all modern gas turbine and turbojet engines, however simple cycle turbines are often recuperated to improve efficiency and these recuperated turbines more closely resemble Ericsson's work.

Ericsson eventually abandoned the open cycle in favor of the traditional closed Stirling cycle.

Ericsson's engine can easily be modified to operate in a closed-cycle mode, using a second, lower-pressure, cooled container between the original exhaust and intake. In closed cycle, the lower pressure can be significantly above ambient pressure, and He or H2 working gas can be used. Because of the higher pressure difference between the upward and downward movement of the work-piston, specific output can be greater than of a valveless Stirling engine. The added cost is the valve. Ericsson's engine also minimizes mechanical losses: the power necessary for compression does not go through crank-bearing frictional losses, but is applied directly from the expansion force. The piston-type Ericsson engine can potentially be the highest efficiency heat engine arrangement ever constructed. Admittedly, this has yet to be proven in practical applications.

The Ericsson-cycle engine (the second of the two discussed here) was used to power a 2,000-ton ship, the caloric ship Ericsson, and ran flawlessly for 73 hours. The combination engine produced about 300 horsepower (220 kW). It had a combination of four dual-piston engines; the larger expansion piston/cylinder, at 14 feet (4.3 m) in diameter, was perhaps the largest piston ever built. Rumor has it that tables were placed on top of those pistons (obviously in the cool compression chamber, not the hot power chamber) and dinner was served and eaten, while the engine was running at full power. At 6.5 RPM the pressure was limited to 8 psi (55 kPa). According to the official report it only consumed 4200 kg coal per 24 hours (original target was 8000 kg, which is still better than contemporary steam engines). The one sea trial proved that even though the engine ran well, the ship was underpowered. Sometime after the trials, the Ericsson sank. When it was raised, the Ericsson-cycle engine was removed and a steam engine took its place.

Ericsson designed and built a very great number of engines running on various cycles including steam, Stirling, Brayton, externally heated diesel air fluid cycle. He ran his engines on a great variety of fuels including coal and solar heat.

Ericsson was also responsible for an early use of the screw propeller for ship propulsion, in the USS Princeton, built in 1842–43.