IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v88y2011i1p1-16.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Development of micro power generators - A review

Author

Listed:
  • Chou, S.K.
  • Yang, W.M.
  • Chua, K.J.
  • Li, J.
  • Zhang, K.L.

Abstract

The demand for energy sources that are compact, lightweight and powerful has significantly increased in recent years. Traditional chemical batteries which are highly developed are unable to meet the demand for high energy intensity. This gap is expected to widen in the future as electronic devices need more power to support enhanced functionalities. Hydrocarbon fuels have energy densities much greater than the best batteries. Therefore, taking advantage of the high energy density of chemical fuels to generate power becomes an attractive technological alternative to batteries. To address the growing demand for smaller scale and higher energy density power sources, various combustion-based micro power generators are being developed around the world. This review paper provides an update on recent progresses and developments in micro-scale combustion and micro power generators. The paper, broadly divided into four main sections, begins with a review of various methods to enhance and stabilize the combustion at micro-scale, subsequently improving the efficiency. This is followed by a description of various micro-thermophotovoltaic power generators. The third section focuses on MEMS based solid propellant micro-propulsion system. Lastly, a brief review is made to other micro power generators.

Suggested Citation

  • Chou, S.K. & Yang, W.M. & Chua, K.J. & Li, J. & Zhang, K.L., 2011. "Development of micro power generators - A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:88:y:2011:i:1:p:1-16
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306-2619(10)00265-5
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Coutts, T. J., 1999. "A review of progress in thermophotovoltaic generation of electricity," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 3(2-3), pages 77-184, June.
    2. Durisch, W. & Bitnar, B. & Mayor, J. -C. & von Roth, Fritz & Sigg, H. & Tschudi, H. R. & Palfinger, G., 2003. "Small self-powered grid-connected thermophotovoltaic prototype system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(1-2), pages 149-157, January.
    3. Chou, S.K. & Yang, W.M. & Li, J. & Li, Z.W., 2010. "Porous media combustion for micro thermophotovoltaic system applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(9), pages 2862-2867, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chou, S.K. & Yang, W.M. & Li, J. & Li, Z.W., 2010. "Porous media combustion for micro thermophotovoltaic system applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(9), pages 2862-2867, September.
    2. Chukwuma Ogbonnaya & Chamil Abeykoon & Adel Nasser & Ali Turan, 2020. "Radiation-Thermodynamic Modelling and Simulating the Core of a Thermophotovoltaic System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-15, November.
    3. Pan, J.F. & Wu, D. & Liu, Y.X. & Zhang, H.F. & Tang, A.K. & Xue, H., 2015. "Hydrogen/oxygen premixed combustion characteristics in micro porous media combustor," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 802-807.
    4. Alipoor, Alireza & Saidi, Mohammad Hassan, 2017. "Numerical study of hydrogen-air combustion characteristics in a novel micro-thermophotovoltaic power generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 382-399.
    5. Mustafa, K.F. & Abdullah, S. & Abdullah, M.Z. & Sopian, K., 2017. "A review of combustion-driven thermoelectric (TE) and thermophotovoltaic (TPV) power systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 572-584.
    6. Bitnar, Bernd & Durisch, Wilhelm & Holzner, Reto, 2013. "Thermophotovoltaics on the move to applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 430-438.
    7. Attolini, G. & Bosi, M. & Ferrari, C. & Melino, F., 2013. "Design guidelines for thermo-photo-voltaic generator: The critical role of the emitter size," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 618-626.
    8. Gentillon, Philippe & Southcott, Jake & Chan, Qing N. & Taylor, Robert A., 2018. "Stable flame limits for optimal radiant performance of porous media reactors for thermophotovoltaic applications using packed beds of alumina," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 736-744.
    9. Tang, Aikun & Deng, Jiang & Cai, Tao & Xu, Yiming & Pan, Jianfeng, 2017. "Combustion characteristics of premixed propane/hydrogen/air in the micro-planar combustor with different channel-heights," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 635-642.
    10. Guan, Yanling & Zhang, Hao & Xiao, Bin & Zhou, Zhi & Yan, Xuzhou, 2017. "In-situ investigation of the effect of dust deposition on the performance of polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 1273-1284.
    11. Wang, Yu & Lou, Yi-yi, 2015. "Radiant thermal conversion in 0.53 eV GaInAsSb thermophotovoltaic diode," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 8-13.
    12. Jiaqiang, E. & Zuo, Wei & Liu, Xueling & Peng, Qingguo & Deng, Yuanwang & Zhu, Hao, 2016. "Effects of inlet pressure on wall temperature and exergy efficiency of the micro-cylindrical combustor with a step," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 337-345.
    13. Peng, Qingguo & Yang, Wenming & E, Jiaqiang & Li, Shaobo & Li, Zhenwei & Xu, Hongpeng & Fu, Guang, 2021. "Effects of propane addition and burner scale on the combustion characteristics and working performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    14. Tang, Aikun & Cai, Tao & Deng, Jiang & Zhao, Dan & Huang, Qiuhan & Zhou, Chen, 2019. "Experimental study on flame structure transitions of premixed propane/air in micro-scale planar combustors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 558-570.
    15. Akhtar, Saad & Kurnia, Jundika C. & Shamim, Tariq, 2015. "A three-dimensional computational model of H2–air premixed combustion in non-circular micro-channels for a thermo-photovoltaic (TPV) application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 47-57.
    16. Deng, Yuanwang & Liu, Huawei & Zhao, Xiaohuan & E, Jiaqiang & Chen, Jianmei, 2018. "Effects of cold start control strategy on cold start performance of the diesel engine based on a comprehensive preheat diesel engine model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 279-287.
    17. Zuo, Wei & E, Jiaqiang & Liu, Haili & Peng, Qingguo & Zhao, Xiaohuan & Zhang, Zhiqing, 2016. "Numerical investigations on an improved micro-cylindrical combustor with rectangular rib for enhancing heat transfer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 77-87.
    18. Jinshen Tong & Tao Cai, 2022. "Enhancing Thermal Performance, Exergy and Thermodynamics Efficiency of Premixed Methane/Air Micro-Planar Combustor in Micro-Thermophotovoltaic Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-21, December.
    19. Yang, Wenming & Chou, Siawkiang & Chua, Kianjon & An, Hui & Karthikeyan, Kumarasamy & Zhao, Xing, 2012. "An advanced micro modular combustor-radiator with heat recuperation for micro-TPV system application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 749-753.
    20. Qiu, K. & Hayden, A.C.S., 2014. "Implementation of a TPV integrated boiler for micro-CHP in residential buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 143-149.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:88:y:2011:i:1:p:1-16. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.