Dish Stirling Engine Research Articles

Comparative Energy and Economic Analysis of Dish Stirling Engine and National Grid Electricity for Residential Building in Mafraq, Jordan

The primary purpose of this research is to determine the most economical approach to installing a solar dish Stirling engine (SDSE) system on a building for residential purposes in Mafraq while taking into account the local weather, usual monthly consumption of energy and the prices charged by the local powered utility. The house uses an average of 622.25 kWh of energy every month, with the highest consumption in February and the lowest in May. A range of optical efficiencies between 50% and 98% are used to mount the SDSE system. This study evaluated the relationship between the price of electrical energy and the amount of power consumed to identify the times of day when energy consumption is highest. Another approach relevant to consider is solar power, which likewise varies across the whole year. When the available intensity of the sun and power rates are at their peak, an SDSE system is regarded as a feasible solution for fulfilling the energy requirements. This is because SDSE systems can still make electricity even during cloudy days. This work also includes a comprehensive analysis of the solar power that an SDSE receives and the generated electrical power.

Design and dynamic numerical modeling of a hybrid reverse osmosis/adsorption-based distillation system driven by solar dish Stirling engine for enhanced performance and waste heat recovery

In light of green solutions to address the shortage of freshwater shortage, energy crisis, and climate change. Tri-generation renewable systems are recently efficient approaches that can offer multiple energy outputs, such as heat, electricity, and distilled water. This paper presents a new hybrid freshwater production system driven by renewable energy for enhanced performance and waste heat recovery. This hybrid system proposes the utilization of reverse osmosis, an adsorption distillation system, and a solar dish Stirling engine (RO-ADS/SDSE). The cooperative concept is based on the re-desalination of the brine of the RO unit using an adsorption desalination system driven by the heat rejected from the SDSE, while the RO system is driven by the electrical energy produced by the Stirling engine. A mathematical model conducted in MATLAB coupled with EES package is developed to investigate the performance of the proposed RO-ADS/SDSE with and without pressure recovery (PR) mode at different salinity concentrations varying from 30000 to 50000 ppm at a constant feed pressure of 80 bar. The investigation is conducted based on the meteorological data of Tianjin, China. The results showed significant superiority in the performance of the proposed RO-ADS/SDSE system, as the annual freshwater production rate of the RO-ADS/SDSE with PR increased by up to 3000 m3 compared to 1700 m3 for the standalone RO system at a feed salinity of 45000 ppm and feed pressure of 80 bar. On a daily basis, the hourly permeating flow rate of the RO-ADS/SDSE with PR increased from 2.30 m3/h to 2.60 m3/h, and the permeate salinity decreased from 190 to 120 ppm. While the daily electricity consumption decreased from 5.20 to 4.40 kWh/m3. In conclusion, the proposed RO-ADS/SDSE system with PR can be considered a promising approach in maximizing the performance of desalination systems.

Active power control of autonomous hybrid power system using two degree of freedom PID controller

This paper shows an approach of active power control stratagem for an islanded Hybrid Power System (hPS) comprising of dish-stirling engine solar thermal system, wind accumulated turbine generator, diesel supplied generators, aqua electrolyzer with fuel cells and battery unit. Due to the intermittent output of DSTS and WTG as well as the load fluctuations in such a hPS, there is a rising demand for an appropriate control strategy. The Two-Degree-of-Freedom (2DOF) controllers are employed for the considered autonomous hPS so as to contain the frequency fluctuation under varying conditions. The controller gains are tuned by leveraging Flower Pollination Technique (FPA). The system’s dynamic reveal that 2DOF-Proportional–Integral–Derivative controller performs better to reduce fluctuations and stabilized time factor as compared to classical proportional–integral (PI), classical Proportional–Integral–Derivative (PID), and 2DOF-PI controllers. A Sensitivity assessment is performed to check the sturdiness of the optimized controller gains as well. Results show that the proposed active power control scheme addresses intermittent output of renewable generation and operates in a very robust way with very limited oscillations introduced to the system. In this fashion, more renewable generation can be deployed with stability and reliability.

Performance evaluation of a stand-alone solar dish Stirling system for off–grid electrification

ABSTRACT The performance of solar-powered Stirling engine system with a parabolic dish collector to electrify rural residential houses is presented. The developed model considers both the nonlinearized heat losses of the solar dish collector and the effect of the irreversibility of the Stirling engine. Governing equations for the solar collector, receiver heat transfer, thermodynamic cycle for Stirling engine, and mechanical and electric energy conversion are integrated and simulated in MATLAB software. Validation of the current model against experimental data is found in a very good match. A simulated model located in southern Jordan is built as a case study. The model simulates the hourly thermal to the electric conversion of solar energy to meet the required household load. The simulations results predict that overall system efficiency during summer is around 30% while it is around 22% during wintertime. The optimal concentration ratio is about 230 for the current solar dish Stirling engines configuration studied in this work. Furthermore, the load of loss probability is found to decrease linearly with increasing collector size. It was found that the solar dish Stirling engine with proper reflector size can meet the load demand with high reliability factor. Finally, storage capacity equal to daily energy demand is sufficient to meet uncontrollable load under varying weather conditions during summer, spring, and fall seasons in Jordan.

Design and Techno-economic assessment of a new hybrid system of a solar dish Stirling engine instegrated with a horizontal axis wind turbine for microgrid power generation

The increasing interest in renewable microgrids have motivated the exploration of more sustainable alternatives to traditional energy supply. In this study, a novel hybrid renewable energy-based microgrid power system is proposed, designed and techno-economically assessed. The system consists of a concentrated parabolic solar dish Stirling engine and a horizontal axis wind turbine integrated with a battery bank. The novelty of the study lies in replacing conventional hybrid systems, such as a typical photovoltaic/wind assembly, with a novel solar dish/wind turbine system that has the potential to achieve higher efficiencies and financial competitiveness. The solar dish Stirling engine serves as the primary source of electrical power generation while the horizontal axis wind turbine, in conjunction with a battery bank, supplies backup electricity when the primary source of power is unavailable. The system has been designed through advanced modelling in the MATLAB/ Simulink® environment that efficiently integrates the individual energy technologies. A technical sensitivity analysis has been performed for all the units in order to reduce the respective design limits and identify optimum operational windows. Further, the performance of the model has been tested at two locations in Jordan, and a thorough techno-economic analysis of the integrated system has been conducted. The simulation results show that at the optimal design point the efficiency of the Stirling engine is 37% with a net output power of 1500 kWe. For the horizontal axis wind turbine, a module of 100 kWe with a power coefficient of 0.2–0.24 is suitable for operation in terms of cost, power, torque and farm size. Also, two economic indicators, namely, the levelised cost of electricity and hourly cost, have been calculated. The levelised cost of electricity lies between 0.13 and 0.15 $/kWh while the hourly cost is found to be around 4 $/h. Thus, the economic evaluation revealed that the proposed system is very competitive with other integrated renewable energy technologies.

A review study on mathematical modeling of solar parabolic d ish‐Stirling system used for electricity generation

The intensity of the solar radiations falling on the earth surface ranges between 5 and 7.5 kWh/m2/day. For the non-directed solar thermal application, higher intensity level is required. The Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology incorporating reflecting mirrors reinforces the solar radiations with high intensity. It is suitable for various applications; that is, space heating, space cooling, and cooking, steam, and power generation without any polluted emissions. Meanwhile, among the various CSP technologies, the Concentrating Solar Parabolic Dish Stirling engine System (CSP-DSS) has got attention of the research community due to its various attractive features. The output power and efficiency of the CSP-DSS depend upon their geometrical, optical, and operating parameters. It is therefore, necessary to mathematically investigate the influence of these parameters on system performance before its design and installation. In the existing literature reported, only some specific parameters of the CSP-DSS have been focused and considered to investigate the system performance. To the best of author's knowledge, no literature has been found to provide the mathematical modeling of all the system parameters in a single manuscript to study and investigate their influence on the system performance. Hence, this review article aims to compile, expansively review and organize the systematical mathematical modeling for all optical, geometrical, and operating parameters of the CSP-DSS along with the system design methodology. Likewise, the effects of these parameters on the system output power and efficiency under various operating conditions have been investigated. In addition, comprehensive study of CSP-DSS components along with their classification have been painstakingly discussed to determine optimal system configuration. Finally, the latest review study in the field of CSP-DSS have been deeply and comprehensively discussed. This review study concludes that, the kinematic gamma type Stirling engine coupled with Permanent Magnet DC generator (PMDC) and Azimuth-Altitude Dual Axis Tracker (AADAT) could be the better CSP-DSS design and configuration in context of the standalone off-grid electricity generation system.

Performance investigation of a reverse osmosis desalination system powered by solar dish-Stirling engine

Solar desalination is a promising technology to reduce the costs and environmental impact associated with the use of fossil fuel resources. Currently, almost all reverse osmosis (RO) desalination technologies powered by solar thermal energy are based on organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems. Considering the significant advantages of the Stirling cycle in the utilization of solar energy, in this paper we present a RO desalination system powered by a solar dish-Stirling (DS) engine; a detailed parametric analysis based on finite-time thermodynamics is carried out to evaluate the water productivity as well as the energy and exergy efficiency of the system. The water productivity monotonically increases with increasing absorber temperature, while the optimal absorber temperature for maximum energy and exergy efficiency ranges from 1100 to 1300 K. Linear correlations are found between the optimal working fluid temperature of the source side and the maximized water productivity, energy/exergy efficiency, and average absorber temperature. The water productivity and energy/exergy efficiencies show an initial increase followed by a decrease with increasing sink side temperature. Among these properties, the stagnation point for maximum water productivity is found at a higher sink side temperature.

Design and Three-Dimensional Simulation of a Solar Dish-Stirling Engine

Design and three-dimensional simulation of a solar Dish-Stirling (SDS) engine is currently performed. The design starts with the GPU-3 Stirling engine, which is originally built to generate power from the fossil fuel exclusively. The design is conducted through three subsequent phases. Firstly, several parabolic dishes with different rim angles and number of facets are investigated to optimally design the dish concentrator. Secondly, different relative positions of the receiver aperture to the dish focal plane are tested to reach the optimal position. The optical simulation of the solar concentration process is carried out using SolTRACE software. Finally, an optimal design for a cavity receiver that involves a new structure of the heater tubes is performed. The simulation of the engine with the designed receiver is implemented using the commercial CFD code ANSYS FLUENT. Having finished the design, a comprehensive energy analysis of the designed SDS engine is carried out. The results show that a nearly uniform temperature distribution of the heater tubes throughout the cycle is achieved. The overall thermal efficiency of the designed SDS engine is about 31.8 % at a DNI of 1000 W/m2.

Comparative analysis of dish Stirling engine and photovoltaic technologies: Energy and economic perspective

Solar energy can be harnessed by direct conversion of solar energy to electrical energy by using photovoltaic (PV) technology or with the help of thermodynamic cycle by using concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies. The goal of this paper is to perform detailed comparative analysis for the two solar technologies namely: PV and dish Stirling engine (DSE). In order to ensure a fair comparison, the two systems are designed for the same rated capacity of 1 MW for Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The average values of direct normal irradiance (DNI) and global horizontal irradiance (GHI) in Tabuk are 7.43 kWh/m2/day and 6.31 kWh/m2/day, respectively. The two technologies are analyzed based on several performance indicator factors such as capacity factor (CF), solar to electric efficiency, energy output, levelized electricity cost (LEC), and net present value (NPV). The comparative analysis of the two technologies shows that PV system has 6.9% better CF and 54% more energy output compared to DSE system. The LEC of PV systems is 3.39 ¢/kWh which is much better than the 11.74 ¢/kWh from the DSE system. The NPV of the PV system is positive while DSE system has negative NPV. This paper present useful insight of the two technologies which is helpful to choose a solar power technology for a power project.

A Comprehensive Perspective of Waste Heat Recovery Potential from Solar Stirling Engines

Despite the higher efficiency advantage, the cost reduction of PV technology has been more successful compared to the dish Stirling engine (DSE) due to the large market volume and sturdy competition. Irrespective of the types of source, there exists a potential of waste heat recovery from Stirling engines operating at higher temperature regime. Accordingly, to make DSE commercially viable and efficient, innovative ways such as hybridization (combing a bottoming cycle), Co-generation, Tri-generation etc. need to be explored. In this paper, the techno-economic feasibility of hybridization of a typical solar DSE with a bottoming organic Rankine cycle (ORC) via. a heat recovery vapour generator (HRVG) is explored. The overall energetic and exergetic efficiency of the DSE has been improved by 5.79% and 5.64% while recovering the waste heat through a bottoming ORC. The design and effective incorporation of the HRVG with cooler side of the Stirling engine is identified to be crucial for the overall exergetic performance of solar Stirling-ORC. Further, the economic feasibility of a solar String-ORC combination is evaluated in terms of levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and payback period. Both LCOE and payback period are found to be in comparable range with the PV technology.

Thermo-economic analysis and multi-objective optimization of a solar dish Stirling engine

ABSTRACT Stirling engines operate in a variety of temperatures and the electric power production via dish Stirling systems could be considered as an appropriate alternative for high-temperature solar concentrator energy harvesting systems. To this end, by performing various studies and analyses on the engine, Stirling cycle, and heat exchangers while utilizing the solar energy as the input thermal energy of the Stirling engine, parameters with the highest effect on the output power and engine stability are detected and considered as optimization variables. In this case, output power, thermal efficiency, and economic evaluation are taken to be the three suitable objective functions for multi-objective optimization. Moreover, two optimization algorithms of MOPSO and SPEA/2 are introduced and applied for the first time for analyzing a dish Stirling engine. Finally, the optimization variable values before and after optimization, as well as the yielded improvement in the output power and thermal efficiency are presented, using LINAMP and TOPSIS techniques for optimum point selection. The optimization results show that the optimum conditions for three objective functions in case of three-objective optimization acquired by LINAMP and TOPSIS methods are 38.96, 0.2391, 0.3127 and 38.71, 0.2433, 0.3152 of P-η-F, respectively, acquired from optimization by SPEA/2 algorithm. However, single-objective optimization of each of the three objective functions optimized separately yields the values of (42.27, 27.51, and 0.3379) and (42.12, 27.62, and 0.3361) for MOPSO and SPEA/2 algorithms, respectively.

Voltage stability of solar dish-Stirling based autonomous DC microgrid using grey wolf optimised FOPID-controller

ABSTRACT This paper proposes the maiden application of a modern meta-heuristically optimised fractional order PID (FOPID) controller for ensuring the voltage stability of a DC microgrid system having PMDC generator coupled to a solar dish-Stirling engine. A significant cost reduction and efficiency enhancement can be achieved by the proposed topology. Popular meta-heuristic optimisation algorithms such as grey wolf optimiser (GWO), mine blast algorithm (MBA) and particle swarm optimisation (PSO) are adopted for tuning the gain constants of the controllers. The major focus of this article is to keep the common DC bus voltage of the microgrid at the desired steady-state value under varying load and varying solar insolation conditions. The results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed controller.

Exploring dynamic operation of a solar dish-stirling engine: Validation and implementation of a novel TRNSYS type

The combination of solar dishes and Stirling engines is a promising and reliable technology to convert solar radiation into power which can minimize fossil fuel consumption for electricity generation. The current research intends to explore solar dish/Stirling engine system functionality under different operating conditions and climates. A numerical routine has been developed and adopted to TRNSYS© to estimate the impact of dynamic parameters, including irradiation flux and ambient temperature on the daily, monthly, or seasonal performance and efficiency of the solar dish-Stirling engine system. The routine is based on Schmidt’s theory in association with a heat transfer model for the receiver of the dish. First, the routine has been validated against experimental measurements with an error below 15%. Then, the effect of the dish’s angle and cold sink temperature on system efficiency have been investigated. It is found that an approximately 5% increase in power will be realistic if the cold sink temperature fell by 30 degrees. Eventually, the annual performance of the system in different climates has been examined. It can be concluded that the best output of the system will occur in desert climates with over 20 GJ of electrical energy per year (24% efficiency). In contrast, in a continental humid climate, the rate of power generation is 50% lower (15% efficiency).

Design a Solar Powered Stirling Engine Prototype to Produce Electricity

For the concerns of environmental issue such as global warming, sustainable and green way to produce energy is highly in demand. Dish Stirling system is one of the most efficient system among others concentrated solar power technologies. However, the system is in disadvantage in terms of cost and reliability when compare to others CSP technologies. In this study, a fundamental prototype of solar powered dish Stirling engine is designed, manufactured, and tested. One component of the prototype which is the power piston is malfunctioning. It was found that the accuracy requirement of the manufacturing of the prototype was high and it requires high skill and experience in machining process.

A solar dish Stirling engine combined humidification-dehumidification desalination cycle for cleaner production of cool, pure water, and power in hot and humid regions

Zero-energy building (ZEB) is a promising solution for dealing with the current issues of high pollutant gas emissions and substantial energy load, which is made possible by applying renewable energy resources and energy storage technologies. This paper proposes an innovative design of combined cooling, potable water and power ZEB using solar irradiance, which utilizes a solar dish Stirling engine for cogeneration of power and heat. The proposed structure uses the power output of the Stirling engine to drive the air blower and provide the energy load of the building. Also, to drive the water desalination process, the heat outlet of the Stirling cycle is utilized as a clean and sustainable energy resource. In a general description, the proposed design links a closed-air open-water humidification dehumidification (HDH) desalination process to solar Stirling engine and evaporator heat exchanger that makes the capability of attaining heat wastage during the power supply operation of the power unit and the building air conditioning apparatus. A nonlinear problem is simulated using a generalized algebraic mathematical modeling system and engineering equation solver to demonstrate the feasibility and robust performance of the proposed system in satisfying the cool, pure water and the electricity demands of a hotel building located in East Azerbaijan Iran.

Modeling and Control of Dish-Stirling Solar Thermal Integrated With PMDC Generator Optimized by Meta-Heuristic Approach

This paper proposes an autonomous microgrid system for the first time with solar thermal dish-Stirling engine coupled with permanent magnet direct current generator and battery energy storage system along with uncontrolled variable loads. Both proportional-integral (PI) and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers are considered separately for the bidirectional charge controller and buck-boost converter controller for the dish-Stirling system. The modern meta-heuristic algorithms including recent ones like particle swarm optimization, mine blast algorithm and grey wolf optimizer (GWO), have been adopted for tuning the gain parameters of the controllers used for the direct current common bus voltage stability and power sharing. The work considers variable insolation level for somehow mimicking the natural solar variation all the day. The simulation of the proposed model is carried out in MATLAB/Simulink and the results are obtained with two types of controllers for comparison. The results demonstrate the superior performance of the PID controllers optimized with GWO algorithm in terms of faster convergence rate, DC voltage profile, and maintenance of SOC of battery and energy efficiency as compared to the other two algorithms. It is also to be noted that the use of a permanent magnet DC generator coupled to the solar dish-Stirling engine improves the electric conversion efficiency and reduces cost effectively as compared to AC generators.

Utilizing thermoelectric generator as cavity temperature controller for temperature management in dish-Stirling engine

Harvesting energy from sustainable and accessible resources such as solar energy is one of the most interesting research areas in the last decades. This study proposes a novel application of thermoelectric generator (TEG) energy harvester in a dish-Stirling system to protect the system from thermal overloading and also to improve the overall energy conversion performance. Using the TEG as an energy harvester in the cavity makes it possible to have a larger solar concentration over the system. In the middle of the day, temperature of the cavity increases due to increasing of the intensity of the solar radiation. The cavity temperature controller protects the Stirling engine from increasing its hot-side temperature over the critical temperature defined for the system. Moreover, Control of the cavity temperature by the TEG leads to generate more electrical power by the Stirling engine in the beginning and ending hours of the day. Performance of the system is investigated by a coupled analytical model developed in this study. The results illustrate the proposed dish-Stirling engine generates 14.1 kW at solar noon. Furthermore, the proposed cavity temperature control strategy improves overall performance of the system 20–30% at the beginning and ending hours of a day.

Improved multi-objective Jaya optimization algorithm for a solar dish Stirling engine

This study proposes an adaptive multi-team perturbation guiding Jaya (AMTPG Jaya) algorithm. The proposed approach uses multiple teams to explore the search space. Depending on the percentage of consumed function evaluations, the AMTPG Jaya algorithm adjusts the number of teams in the search. Furthermore, all teams move from a single population set and are simultaneously guided by different perturbation equations to different regions of search space. As each team has a different perturbation scheme, the set of moves to new positions by each team is unique. During the search process, the perturbation equations are exchanged depending on the quality of the solutions produced by them. The proposed algorithm employs dominance principles and the crowding distance estimation method to handle the multiple objectives simultaneously. The proposed algorithm is examined using two multi-objective optimization case studies of a solar dish Stirling heat engine system and a multi-objective optimization case study of the Stirling heat pump. Also, the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution decision-making method is employed for identifying an optimal solution. The computational results obtained by the proposed AMTPG Jaya algorithm are superior to those achieved by the other algorithms presented in this work.

An adaptive multi-team perturbation-guiding Jaya algorithm for optimization and its applications

This study proposes an adaptive multi-team perturbation-guiding Jaya (AMTPG-Jaya) algorithm which uses multiple teams to explore the search space. The proposed algorithm adapts the number of teams to explore the search space based on the convergence to the optimum. Furthermore, each team uses the same set of the population, and there is a different perturbation or movement equation for each team. As each team has a different perturbation scheme, the set of the moves to new positions by each team is unique. The moving equation of the worst performing team will be updated by the superiority of solutions produced by each team. The superiority of the solutions for each team is calculated based on the fitness value and boundary violations of solutions. The proposed algorithm is examined using computationally expensive constrained optimization problems taken from the CEC-2017 technical report. Computational test results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the AMTPG-Jaya algorithm when compared to the other well-known approaches. Also, a multi-objective optimization is carried out on a solar dish Stirling engine system to find the optimal thermo-economic parameters to maximize dimensionless power and thermal efficiency. The computational results revealed that the AMTPG-Jaya algorithm results are superior to those achieved by the other algorithms presented in this work.

Performance of solar dish Stirling engine systems under Egyptian operating conditions

Performance of solar dish Stirling engine systems under Egyptian operating conditions