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24/10/2008
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A potentially world-beating source of ‘green’ energy has been unveiled
Small Stirling engine generators, each mounted at the focus of a steerable reflector dish, could become economically viable as a major source of sustainable energy by using sodium vapour as a working fluid.
To this end, Dr Shaiq Haq, professor of mechatronic engineering at the Air University in Islamabad, Pakistan, has been conducting studies, using a former satellite dish antenna with a 3.5 square metre surface area, covered in coated, aluminium foil, and a small Stirling engine placed at its focus. With a solar insolation of 1,600W per square metre, Haq explains this high amount of energy input means “we can afford a less efficient engine”. He also reveals that, in an experiment placing a soft drinks can at the focus, this easily reached 700ºC.
The system uses a microcontroller and small motors to make the concentrator follow the calculated sun’s position during the day, after which it slowly returns to its initial position during the night.
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Author
Tom Shelley
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