Conceptual design of an Advanced Stirling Conversion System for terrestrial power generation

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6808076

This report describes the conceptual design of a system for converting solar energy into electricity using a free-piston Stirling engine directly coupled to a linear alternator. The system is designed for mounting at the focal plane of a 100 m/sup 2/ parabolic solar collector. It includes a receiver which is integrated with the engine heater head. Heat transfer from receiver to engine involves boiling liquid sodium at the heater surface of the receiver and condensing sodium vapor on the engine heater tubes. A sintered wick is located on the back surface of the receiver face to distribute the sodium and gravity is used to return the condensed sodium to a sump within the receiver. The system is connected to a utility power grid. The net power output from the system is 23.2 kWe at the design point (75 kWt into the receiver). Maximum power output is 26.7 kWe at the peak insolation level. Annual output is approximately 60,000 kWh for a site at Albuquerque, New Mexico. The manufacturing cost for the System has been estimated at approximately $8500 (1984 dollars). The installed cost goal is $13,000 (1984 dollars). Costs at the conceptual design level are only approximate but the estimates indicate that acceptable costs are attainable. 2 refs.

• Research Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Cleveland, OH (USA). Lewis Research Center; Mechanical Technology, Inc., Latham, NY (USA); Sanders Associates, Inc., Nashua, NH (USA); Thermacore, Inc., Lancaster, PA (USA); Pioneer Engineering and Mfg. Co., Madison Heights, MI (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AT04-85AL33408
• OSTI ID: 6808076
• Report Number(s): DOE/NASA/0372-1; NASA/CR-180890; MTI-87TR57; ON: DE89001471
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140700 -- Solar Thermal Power Systems
42 ENGINEERING
425003* -- Engineering-- Power Cycles-- Stirling-- (1980-)
ALKALI METALS
ALTERNATORS
CONVERSION
COST
DATA
DESIGN
DIAGRAMS
ELECTRIC GENERATORS
ELECTRIC POWER
ELEMENTS
ENERGY CONVERSION
ENERGY TRANSFER
ENGINEERING DRAWINGS
ENGINES
EQUIPMENT
HEAT ENGINES
HEAT TRANSFER
INFORMATION
METALS
NUMERICAL DATA
POWER
SCHEDULES
SODIUM
SOLAR COLLECTORS
SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SPECIFICATIONS
STIRLING ENGINES