Ivo Kolin (1924, Zagreb - 2007, Zagreb) was a Croatian economist, engineer and inventor.[1]

Animation of the Low Temperature Difference Stirling engine

After years of experimentation he demonstrated in 1983 the first Low Temperature Difference (LTD) Stirling engine which ran at the temperature difference as low as 15 °C, astonishingly low at the time.[2] It was also the first time in history of piston motors heat was turned into a mechanical work at the temperature lower than the boiling water.[citation needed][3] The engine was later significantly improved by an American engineer James Senft building on his previous work with Ringbom Stirling engines.[i][5] Senft created an ultra LTD Ringbom Stirling engine which ran at the temperature difference of just 0.5 °C.[6][7] Such engines, which could even run from heat absorbed while resting on the palm of a human hand, offer many applications, such as Solar Powered Stirling Engines.[8]

Notes edit

  1. ^ The Ringbom Stirling engine was patented in 1904 by the Finn Ossian Ringbom.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Biography at ivokolin.com Archived 2014-11-11 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Hind El Hassani; N. Boutammachte; M. Hannaoui (2014). "Study of some power influencing parameters of solar low temperature Stirling engine". European Journal of Sustainable Development. 3 (2): 109–118. doi:10.14207/ejsd.2014.v3n2p109.
  3. ^ G. Aragon-González; M. Cano-Blanco; M. Cano-Blanco; A. León-Galicia (2013). "Developing and testing low cost LTD Stirling engines". Revista Mexicana de Física S. 59 (1): 199–203.
  4. ^ US 856102, Ossian Ringbom, "Hot-air engine", issued 4 June 1907 
  5. ^ Hind El Hassani; N. Boutammachte; J. Knorr; M. El. Hannoui (2013). "Study of a low-temperature Stirling engine driven by a rhombic drive mechanism". International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering. 4: 40. doi:10.1186/2251-6832-4-40. S2CID 110131012.
  6. ^ Caleb C. Lloyd (2009). "A low temperature differential Stirling engine for power generation" (PDF). A master's thesis, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
  7. ^ "Kontax Stirling & Stove Fan Engines - Stirling History". stirlingengine.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  8. ^ B. Kongtragool; S. Wongwises (2003). "A review of solar-powered Stirling engines and low temperature differential Stirling engines". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 7 (2): 131–154. doi:10.1016/S1364-0321(02)00053-9.