Abstract :
A stirling engine is a heat engine that operates by cyclic compression and expansion of air or other gases (working fluid) at different temperature levels such that there is a net conversion of heat. The general cycle of a stirling engine consists of compressing cool gas, heating the gas, expanding the hot gas, and finally cooling the gas before repeating the cycle. The working fluid inside the stirling engine in this case is heated gas using solar energy from the sun.
The main components of this project are:
Stirling Engine Solar Tracker
Parabolic Dish Alternator
The parabolic dish which acts as a solar concentrator, concentrates heat of the sun on the receiver of the stirling engine which causes the expansion of the gas contained in it. It is the receiver end of the stirling engine, which contains the working fluid. The receiver end of the engine is placed at the focus of the parabolic dish so that it can receive the maximum amount of energy that is concentrated by the dish. The expansion/movement of the working fluid inside the engine causes crank to rotate. The crank is coupled with an alternator which will generate the electricity. The movement of the parabolic dish along with the sun is synchronized using a solar tracker. Just like the sun flower, a solar tracker turns towards the sun, in order to maximize solar radiation incidence.