Preliminary design of linear alternator dynamometer for free piston Stirling engines. Final report
A preliminary design of a linear alternator type dynamometer for testing free piston Stirling engines (FPSEs) is prepared. The purpose of the dynamometer is to provide the FPSEs with simulated loads such as double-acting inertia compressors for heat pumps, hydraulic pumps, and linear alternators. The dynamometer has two major components: the electromechanical transducer and the control system. The electromechanical transducer consists of a light-weight armature coil tube plunger moving in a permanent magnet field provided by cylindrical magnets made of Samarium Cobalt. The electrical connection to the moving armature coil is accomplished using flexible leads made of thin Beryllium Copper strips on thin high-temperature polyamid ribbons and bent in a U shape. The dynamometer control system utilizes active force control scheme and consists of a microprocessor-based, negative-feedback, control system and the power supply capable of supplying to and absorbing power from the electromechanical transducer. The control system operates in two modes simultaneously: the foreground mode and the background mode. The foreground mode instantaneously regulates the current to the armature coil according to the predetermined load force profile. The background mode continually refines the load force profile and upgrades the foreground mode load force profile until convergence is reached. The digital simulation of the entire system including the control system, the dynamometer, and the RE-1000 FPSE showed that the dynamometer is capable of simulating various loads very accurately and fast. It is expected that experimental investigations of FPSEs operating with the dynamometer-simulated loads will help to accurately predict the FPSEs' performance characteristics under actual load conditions. The dynamometer would also help to design a more suitable load device for a particular application. 10 refs.
- Research Organization:
- Aspen Systems, Inc., Marlborough, MA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 5523786
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/Sub-84-05907/1; ON: DE85015078
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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