The 11th International Stirling Engine Conference (ISEC) The 11th ISEC was held in Rome, Italy in November 2003. More information is ; http://dma.ing.uniroma1.it/isec2003/ Deadline for the receipt of abstracts or the confirmation of papers previously submitted to the Conference: July 20th, 2003 Authors will be notified of by July 31st, 2003 at the latest. Deadline for the receipt of full text paper: September 30th, 2003 The 11th ISEC will be held on November 19th-21st, 2003. CONFERENCE LOCATION "Aule del Chiostro" Faculty of Engineering Via Eudossiana, 18 - 00184 Rome, Italy PROGRAMME The duration of the Conference is three days. The programme of the Conference will comprise: Opening ceremony with welcome cocktail Two General Sessions Oral Technical Sessions Poster Sessions and discussion in front of the poster Exhibition on Stirling engine technology (tentatively) TOPICS The motto of the 11th ISEC "How to make a business out of Stirling Engines" is an extension of the motto of the 10th ISEC, "Orientation towards an industrial application of Stirling engines". Therefore, also authors of basic and theoretical contributions, which are very important and welcome, should try to show the path to practical applications of the results. Contributions to the following topics are particularly solicited: Topic Nr. 1: Thermodynamics and Systems Design Process simulation Design guidelines and simplified process calculation Calculation of pressure drop and heat transfer in heat exchangers and regenerators Mass forces and mass balance Control strategies and engine management Safety measures New ideas in Stirling process configurations Topic Nr.2: Promising Applications of Stirling Engines CHP production with renewable fuels CHP production with fossil fuels Decentralized Stirling engine applications Micro-CHP production in residential houses Stirling refrigerator and cryocooler Solar Stirling applications (e.g. dish systems) Low temperature Stirling engine applications for developing countries Electricity production with Stirling engines in rural areas Stirling heat pumps Marine applications Other applications Topic Nr. 3: Design and Construction of Components Flue gas specifications for non-fossil fuels (Solid biofuels, biogas, product gas from biomass gasification) Regenerators Design and material selection of heat exchangers Internal seals External seals Hot heat exchanger for unpurified flue gas Power transmission systems Heat recovery Control systems Topic Nr. 4: Operational and Environmental Aspects and Problems Influence of compressibility of the working gas Stainless steel corrosion at high temperatures Asymmetrical dynamic pressure effects Durability tests for regenerators Online measurements of crank mechanism forces Online measurements of temperature variations in regenerators Experience with piston seals, glide rings, external seals Over-speed engine protection Effect of Stirling cooling on global warming Net CO2 reduction by decentralized CHP production Topic Nr. 5: Innovative Solutions and Developments Niche applications New materials in Stirling engine Telecommunication and Aerospace cryogenics applications Topic Nr. 6: Industrial and Commercial perspectives of Stirling Machines Renewable energy powered Stirling processes Techno-economic assessments (investment costs, maintenance costs, pay back time, capital value in life time Examples of grid and off-grid operation Feed-in tariffs for electricity supply Policy incentives for fossil fuel substitution The role of Stirling engines in the Hydrogen era