ADVANCED STIRLING ENGINE HEATER HEAD

STIRLING TECHNOLOGY COMPANY (STC) WILL BUILD AND DEMONSTRATEA PROPRIETARY STIRLING ENGINE PRESSURE STABILIZED HEATER HEAD (PSHH) WITH AN INTEGRATED HEAT PIPE WHICH OFFERS LONG LIFE, HIGH RELIABILITY, IMPROVED PERFORMANCE AND LOWER COSTSRELATIVE TO EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES. THE U.S. PATENT OFFICE HAS RECENTLY ISSUED A PATENT ALLOWANCE FOR THIS UNIQUE HEATER HEAD CONCEPT, AND EVALUATIONS OF THE PSHH BY EXPERIENCED STC ENGINEERS SHOW THAT IT HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR ELIMINATING VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE PROBLEMS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCED BY EXISTING HEATER HEAD DESIGNS. THE WORK WILL BE CONDUCTED IN TWO PHASES. THE OBJECTIVES OFPHASE I ARE TO IMPROVE ANALYTICAL MODELING, ESTABLISH TESTBED SPECIFICATIONS, DEFINE PHASE II TEST OBJECTIVES, DEVELOP A PRELIMINARY DESIGN FOR THE TESTBED DEMONSTRATOR, AND FABRICATE A THREE-DIMENSIONAL CUTAWAY MODEL OF THE PSHH.THE OBJECTIVES OF PHASE II ARE TO DETAIL DESIGN, FABRICATE, AND TEST THE TESTBED DEMONSTRATOR IN ORDER TO EVALUATE THE PERFORMANCE AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THE CONCEPT. THE RESULTS OF THE DEMONSTRATION ARE EXPECTED TO SHOW THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PSHH IN VIRTUALLY ANY MULTIKILOWATT STIRLING ENGINE IS SOUND AND THAT THE PSHH CONCEPT CAN PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIALIZATION OF STIRLING ENGINES.