SolarisA Solar Powered Stirling Engine

Sponsor: Dr. A. KrothapalliFor Energy and Propulsion Research Laboratory

Dustin Harrelson

Chris Newton

Asegun Henry

Hunter Ashmore

Outline

• Requirements• Design• Dish• Heat Containment• Stirling Engine/Generator• Tracking System• Frame• Future Work

Requirements

• Solar Heat Powered

• Generate an optimum electrical output

• Track the sun

• Reset itself automatically at night

• Funding of $5000

Design

• 10ft parabolic dish– Covered in aluminized mylar

• Heat containment, tracking system, stirling engine and generator located at focal point

• Frame/Support System– Needs to support weight of dish along with heat

containment, stirling engine, generator, and tracking system

– Be able to move dish along azimuth and altitude angles

Design

Stirling engine, generator, heat containment and tracking system at focal point

Dish

10 foot parabolic dish

• Old C-Band Dish

• Donated

• Converted to Solar Reflector

Dish

¼ Section of Dish

Closer inspection of Screen Mesh

Dish

Covering dish with aluminized mylar

Completed section of dish

Dish

Dish completely covered in aluminized mylar

Ready for testing

Dish

Preliminary Testing of Dish

• Reached maximum temperature of 720ºF

• Average Temperature of 500ºF

Heat Containment

Stirling Engine

Tracking System

Requirements

• Follow sun as it moves through sky– Enough freedom of motion to point at sun at

any part of the sky– Sensor system to detect suns position– Actuator system to align dish with sun

• Integrated with frame

Tracking System

• Have 2-axis motion– 90º of altitude travel– 240º of azimuth travel

Altitude Angle (s) – angular distance above horizon

Azimuth Agle (s) – angular distance measured along the horizon in a clockwise direction

Tracking System

• Quadrant Photodiode Amplification Module– 4-element array– Silicon Photodiodes

• Produces a current which is proportional to the light falling on it

• Module planned for use– Phresh Photonics’ SiQu50-M

Frame

Future Work

• Confirmation of:– Stirling Engine/Generator– Frame– Heat Containment– Tracking System– Energy Output of Dish

• Begin Construction of ‘Solaris’– Location of where to construct