COMPARISON OF STIRLING ENGINES FOR USE WITH A 25-KW DISH-ELECTRIC CONVERSION SYSTEM

ABSTRACT:
The Department of Energy's (DOE) Solar Thermal Technology Program, Sandia National Laboratories (SNLA), is evaluating heat engines for terrestrial solar distributed heat receivers. The Stirling engine has been identified by SNLA as one of the most premising engines for terrestrial

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applications. The potential to meet DOE's goals for performance and cost can be met by the free-piston Stirling engine. NASA Lewis is providing technical management for an Advanced Stirling Conversion System (ASCS) through a cooperative Interagency Agreement with DOE, Parallel contracts have been awarded to Mechanical Technology, Inc. (MTI) of Latham, New York, and Stirling Technology Company (STC) of Richland, Washington, for the conceptual designs of an ASCS. Each design will feature a free piston Stirling engine, a liquid-metal heat pipe receiver, and a means to provide about 25 kW of electric power to a utility grid while meeting DOE's long-term performance and cost goals. The MTI design incorporates a linear alternator to directly convert the solar energy to electricity while STC generates electrical power indirectly by using a hydraulic output to a ground--based hydraulic pump/motor coupled to a rotating alternator. Both designs for the ASCS's will use technology which can reasonably be expected to be available in the 1980's. Both the MTI and STC concepts will be evaluated by the same, but independent, contractor to provide a manufacturing and cost analysis including life cycle cost. The ASCS designs using a free-piston Stirling engine, a heat transport system, a receiver, and the methods of providing electricity to the utility grid will be discussed.

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