Posted on 08/13/2005 3:42:35 AM PDT by Arkie2
he was also developing this really cool device for 3rd world nations that would incorporate a sterling into a thing that would purify water and generate power enought to power a small well pump. You could run it on any fuel, alcohol, cow dung, sticks.....
The place that the internal combustion engine beats the Sterling is in horsepower per pound. The place that the Sterling beats the internal combustion is in efficiency.
In other words, the Sterling can get more horsepower out of a given amount of fuel, but it takes a bigger engine to do it.
There is a simple reason for this difference. The internal combustion uses the explosion of fuel, right at the point that the cylinder is starting to go back down, to maximize the heating (and expansion) of the gases. Normally, when you expand gases, they cool, which works against the heating you want to get the gas to continue to expand the combustion chamber rapidly on the power stroke. The internal combustion engine uses exploding petro to keep the expanding gases hot. This gets more power per pound of engine, but is less efficient.
The Sterling engine uses no chemical explosions. It is an efficient mechanism to convert any available temperature difference into a mechanical rotary motion. It is very useful on submarines, where you have hot nuclear fuel (or steam derived therefrom) on one side, and cold ocean on the other side. It is very useful on the solar project described in this post, where you've got heat from concentrated solar rays on one side, and the relative cool of ambient air on the other side. In these example applications, the increased weight penalty per horsepower of the engine is not a significant problem.
The Sterling engine moves a closed gas between the hot side and the cool side. When on the cool side, the gas contracts pulling a piston one way. When on the hot side, the gas expands, pushing a piston the other way. A flywheel is necessary to keep the action moving, from one stage to the next.
Not one acre for ANWR drilling but 4500 acres for some sun depriving monster in the California desert. Where are the eco freaks who speak for the poor desert wildlife being deprived of their homes.
For the Sterling engine, the second cylinder is just going along for the ride, to help move the gases between the hot and cold sides of the main cylinder at the right time. That second cylinder is producing no power on its own. It must be 90 degrees off the primary cylinder, because that is what is needed to move the gases at the right time. Since it is not producing any power on its own, its phase makes no difference to how smooth the power is.
Dear PythonicCow,
Thanks for a very lucid explanation.
sitetest
The efficiency gap is closing quickly, new materials, composite, techniques, use of solar power, etc... This article states they are are getting 45 Kilowatts of power from an engine that will fit inside of a 55 barrel drum.
This power is generated everytime the sun shines without any fuel source, how can you complain? I often wonder how many advancements would have been made if the research and development of this engine was spread out over those 111 years.
You're welcome.
Is 25 KW enough to power a single home? Could one just have one of these things at their own home?
Dear krb,
Twenty-five kilowatts is enough to power my house (fairly new, pretty big, pretty good number of gadgets, electric heat pump) as long as I don't turn everything on all at once. ;-)
I was looking into a whole-house standby generator at around 15KW, propane or natural gas-powered. With 15KW, I could turn on most of my stuff, but I'd have to be a little careful. With 25KW, I could pretty much turn on everything in the house and leave it all on, it's just the peak requirements if I flipped all the switches all at once.
That being said, I'm not sure where I live I'd get 25KW from a dish this size even on a sunny summer day - just too far north. And at night and on cloudy days...
Still, if the price were right, it'd put a big dent in my electrical bill.
sitetest
We used to set one 25 KVA pot/5 houses. LOL. I'm old...
Acres and acres of arid scrubland along I-40 in New Mexico alone. Millions more, no doubt, in California and Nevada (I saw some of it last month). There's miles of flat sand with only I-15 and a railroad track going through it, adjacent to Primm, NV. There are also the Bonneville Salt Flats in UT. We have tons of room for solar, wind, and any other renewable energy source.
I can't wait for the greens to start their objections though. Surely there's some toad or lizard that will be affected by all those solar power arrays.
As far as the greenies are concerned, tell them to deal with it, or move to Europe. Put the endangered species in a frickin' zoo, baby!
I bet with a 25KW stirling solar generator and a good demand control unit in your house you could do it...
Dear patton,
"LOL. I'm old..."
Yeah, me too. ;-)
Our first house had been UPGRADED from, I think, a 60-amp fusebox to a 100-amp fuse box. My current house has TWO circuit breaker boxes. I'm not expert at this stuff, but it seems that each is 400 amps??
Wow.
sitetest
Dear krb,
You're probably right!
I have enough roof area, between the house and the detached garage, and the sheds, for six or eight of these things. I could produce 100KW or more, and store what I don't use during daylight hours in batteries.
I could convert one of the sheds to store the batteries required, and we'd be a net PRODUCER of energy. BGE (local utility) would send ME monthly checks!
Now, all I need is the six figures (or however much it would cost) to buy it all and get it installed. Anyone wanna give me a grant?? LOL.
sitetest
I grew up in a time of dozens of migrant workers in the fields to harvast corn, cotton, and other row crops. Now I sit on my deck and watch as two people harvest a field in 1/10th the time it used to take dozens.
I grew up in a time of dozens of migrant workers in the fields to harvast corn, cotton, and other row crops. Now I sit on my deck and watch as two people harvest a field in 1/10th the time it used to take dozens.
They will be along shortly. Trust me.
Sometimes that happens even if you hit refresh. I always assume it's been posted. ;^)
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