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We have designed and tested a prototype dish/Stirling hybrid-receiver combustion system. The system consists of a pre-mixed natural-gas burner heating a pin-finned sodium heat pipe. The design emphasizes simplicity, low cost, and ruggedness. Our test was on a 1/6th-scale device, with a nominal firing rate of 18kWt, a power throughput of 13kWt, and a sodium vapor temperature of 750°C. The air/fuel mixture was electrically preheated to 640°C to simulate recuperation. The test rig was instrumented for temperatures, pressures, flow rates, overall leak rate, and exhaust emissions. The data verify our burner and heat-transfer models. Performance and post-test examinations validate our choice of materials and fabrication methods. Based on the 1/6th -scale results, we are designing a full-scale hybrid receiver.

This paper describes recent results in a project at KUBOTA to develop a multi-fuel gas engine driven Stirling heat pump. It is mainly driven by engine shaft power and is partially assisted by thermal power from the engine exhaust heat source. We have previously developed the D-3 machine, the fourth generation prototype of the heat-assisted Stirling heat pump. Performance simulations of the next (E-3) machine are presented in conjunction with driving engine characteristics. System matching and optimization criteria and constraints are discussed with implications for performance. This machine uses helium gas as a working gas and is constructed as two 3-cylinder sets, each a combination of two Stirling sub-systems (one a power producer and one a heat pump). Utilizing both shaft power and thermal power, performance is controlled by phase shifting of the hot-side pistons to adjust the absorbing of thermal power.