[lseguine]

hello all,
i'm curious? would a fly wheel shaped in an eliptical shape work?
i'm building low temp stirling engins for show. thought i might be fun to make a strange looking flywheel. wouldlike to try one shaped from an elipitical program.

any thoughton this working or being a problem child ?

larry in alaska

[txcncman]

As long as it is well balanced, should be no big deal. It would not be as efficient as a fully round flywheel though. Do you understand the physics of a flywheel?

[UUU]

Any shape you like can work in theory - as long as you pivot at the point of balance.

Low temp Stirling engines can be quite fussy - as they produce so little power you need everything in your favour - particularly the little ones that run on the palm of your hand. You might find that a stray draught may disturb an odd shaped flywheel more than a disc one. Perhpas that's also why discs seem to be preferred on this type over spoked - less aero drag. If you're going for a big one (1 foot diameter displacer), you may be less affected.