Solar stirling engine for electricity production

Ill SOLAR STIRLING ENGINE for ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION (M. Sc. Thesis) Tolga PIRASACI GAZI UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE of SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY December 2001 ABSTRACT Solar energy is a clean and renewable energy source. Various systems were developed to produce electricity from solar energy. One of these systems is Solar Dish/Stirling system. Dish/Stirling systems utilize point focusing concentrating solar collectors that track the sun in two axes. The receiver absorbs energy reflected by the concentrator and transfers it to the engine's working fluid. The Stirling engine is used to convert heat to mechanical power. An alternator is used as a mechanical-to-electrical conversion device. Of all solar technologies, Dish/Stirling systems have demonstrated the highest solar-to-electric conversion efficiency (-29%). Also these systems are characterized by modularity and autonomous operation that allows them to be used in larger application areas. However, the large dimensions of Dish/Stirling systems limit their usages. The objective of this study is to design and optimize a Solar Stirling Engine system, which is appropriate to the conditions of Turkey and suitable to supply electricity for domestic purposes. In this study the operating conditions of a Solar Stirling Engine system were determined and the performance values of the system were obtained. In thisIV system, a three-piston Stirling engine was used as heat to mechanical conversion device. The collector used to supply heat to the Stirling engine was designed so that it can be placed on the roof of buildings. Science Code: 625.04.01 Key Words renewable energy, solar energy, solar collector, Stirling engine, dish/stniing systems Number of Page 145 Adviser Prof. Dr. Mecit SÎVRİO?LU