Evaluation Of The STM4-120 Kinematic Stirling Engine

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Solar Thermal Program has identified the Stirling cycle heat engine as the conversion device for dish-electric systems with the most potential for meeting the program's goals. To advance the technology toward commercialization in a dish-electric system, Sandia National Laboratories has acquired a Stirling Thermal Motors, Inc. kinematic Stirling engine, STM4-120, for evaluation. During the past year this engine has been operating at Sandia's Engine Test Facility. The engine's heat input has been provided through fossil fuel combustion and sodium heat pipes, while the output power has been absorbed with an eddy-current dynamometer. This paper presents the evaluation of the engine performance during the past year.