Publications Details

Performance of the CPG 7. 5-kW[sub e] Dish-Stirling system

Bean, J.R.; Diver, R.B.

Through the Dish-Stirling Joint Venture Program (JVP) sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Cummins Power Generation, Inc., (CPG) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) have entered into a joint venture to develop and commercialize economically competitive dish-Stirling systems for remote power applications. The $14 million JVP is being conducted in three phases over a 3 1/2-year period in accordance with the Cummins Total Quality System (TQS) for new product development. The JVP is being funded equally by CPG, including its industrial partners, and the DOE. In June 1992, a concept validation'' (prototype) 5-kW[sub e], dish-Stirling system became operational at the CPG test site m Abilene, TX. And on January 1, 1993, the program advanced to phase 2. On the basis of the performance of the 5-kW[sub e] system, a decision was made to increase the rated system output to 7.5-kW[sub e]. The CPG system uses advanced components that have the potential for low cost and reliable operation, but which also have technical risks. In this paper, the status of the advanced components and results from system integration testing are presented and discussed. Performance results from system testing of the 5-kW[sub e] prototype along with phase 2 goals for the 7.5-kW[sub e] system are also discussed.