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A free-piston Stirling generator integrated with a parabolic trough collector for thermal-to-electric conversion of solar energy

Author

Listed:
  • Zhu, Shunmin
  • Yu, Guoyao
  • Ma, Ying
  • Cheng, Yangbin
  • Wang, Yalei
  • Yu, Shaofei
  • Wu, Zhanghua
  • Dai, Wei
  • Luo, Ercang

Abstract

Concentrated solar power (CSP) has attracted increasing attention as a renewable energy source with zero carbon emission. For efficient conversion of the externally concentrated heat, a suitable electric generator is crucial. In contrast to the currently widely used steam turbine, the free-piston Stirling electric generator (FPSG) features a flexible power range, high reliability, and zero water consumption. To date, most Stirling electric generators have been integrated with a parabolic dish concentrator in a dish-Stirling system. However, this configuration faces great difficulties in incorporating thermal energy storage or an auxiliary heating facility. To address this, a trough-Stirling concentrated solar power system, in which the parabolic dish concentrator is replaced with a parabolic trough collector (PTC), might be a good candidate. In this study, a free-piston Stirling electric generator integrated with a parabolic trough collector is constructed and tested for solar thermal power generation for the first time, and the performance of the generator and the overall system are experimentally investigated, with Therminol VP-1 being used as the circulating heat transfer fluid. The preliminary on-sun test results show that a maximum output electric power of 2008 W with a thermal-to-electric efficiency of 15% on the free-piston Stirling electric generator can be obtained at a heater head temperature of 300 °C, accompanied by a maximum overall efficiency of 3.0%. Loss analysis indicates that the dominant losses are the end loss and cosine loss of the parabolic trough collector, and that heat loss occurs in the heat collection elements and pipelines, thus providing indications as to where further improvements can be made.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhu, Shunmin & Yu, Guoyao & Ma, Ying & Cheng, Yangbin & Wang, Yalei & Yu, Shaofei & Wu, Zhanghua & Dai, Wei & Luo, Ercang, 2019. "A free-piston Stirling generator integrated with a parabolic trough collector for thermal-to-electric conversion of solar energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 1248-1258.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:242:y:2019:i:c:p:1248-1258
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.03.169
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Alamdari, Pedram & Khatamifar, Mehdi & Lin, Wenxian, 2024. "Heat loss analysis review: Parabolic trough and linear Fresnel collectors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    5. Sun, Haojie & Yu, Guoyao & Zhao, Dan & Dai, Wei & Luo, Ercang, 2023. "Thermoacoustic hysteresis of a free-piston Stirling electric generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    6. Buscemi, Alessandro & Lo Brano, Valerio & Chiaruzzi, Christian & Ciulla, Giuseppina & Kalogeri, Christina, 2020. "A validated energy model of a solar dish-Stirling system considering the cleanliness of mirrors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    7. Khanmohammadi, Shoaib & Kizilkan, Onder & Ahmed, Faraedoon Waly, 2020. "Tri-objective optimization of a hybrid solar-assisted power-refrigeration system working with supercritical carbon dioxide," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 1348-1360.
    8. Mehrenjani, Javad Rezazadeh & Gharehghani, Ayat & Ahmadi, Samareh & Powell, Kody M., 2023. "Dynamic simulation of a triple-mode multi-generation system assisted by heat recovery and solar energy storage modules: Techno-economic optimization using machine learning approaches," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    9. Zhu, Shunmin & Yu, Guoyao & Liang, Kun & Dai, Wei & Luo, Ercang, 2021. "A review of Stirling-engine-based combined heat and power technology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    10. Jiang, Zhijie & Xu, Jingyuan & Yu, Guoyao & Yang, Rui & Wu, Zhanghua & Hu, Jianying & Zhang, Limin & Luo, Ercang, 2023. "A Stirling generator with multiple bypass expansion for variable-temperature waste heat recovery," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    11. Ji-Qiang Li & Jeong-Tae Kwon & Seon-Jun Jang, 2020. "The Power and Efficiency Analyses of the Cylindrical Cavity Receiver on the Solar Stirling Engine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, November.

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