Renewable Energy From An Old Concept
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by: MichaelEdwards | Total views: 82 | Word Count: 415
In the process of doing research for an article I did on solar green products, I came across the Stirling air engine. The engine was once called a hot air engine because it requires no internal diesel or fuel to run. Let's take a deeper look at this unique engine that requires no fuel and has recently been adapted for use on solar collector dishes.
The Stirling engine goes back to the early 1800's, when steam was the order of the day. Steam was used to power factories, trains, and many types of work that required lots of horsepower. However, with steam came the danger of a boiler blowing up when something went wrong. Robert Stirling saw a different approach. His invention still used fire to heat the hot chamber but instead of steam, he used the heat to move pistons.
The Stirling engine has many different designs, some more efficient than others. Some designs use the two cylinder Alpha design, some the Beta single cylinder design and some the Gamma design (a variation of the beta for use in multiple cylinder applications). The beta Sterling design has a single chamber with two pistons and uses a highly efficient regenerator gas as the thermal conductor.
The operation of the Stirling engine is not complex, it only requires an external heat source. Some heat sources have been fuel, while some solar designs use a Fernell lens, and the latest source is large parabolic mirrors.
The basic operation of this thermal engine is really quite simple. The engine has two chambers, one hot and one cold. When an external heat source is applied the hot air expands moving a piston and flows to the cold chamber. A flywheel is attached to maintain movement.
The Stirling engine is ideal for use in a solar power generating system. With one of the hottest heat sources available (sunlight), the hot chamber will continue to operate without external fuels as long as there is daylight. This makes it ideal for use as a peaker type power plant when the demands for electricity are at there highest.
With better-designed engines and new types of material, a movable (tracking) parabolic mirror, and a single Stirling engine you can produce 25 kilowatts of electricity.
In another article on green products, I will be doing a comparison of the different types of solar energy producing products to see how they play out and if they are a viable alternative power source or just a bunch of fancy equipment.
Michael
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