Performance of solar dish Stirling engine systems under Egyptian operating conditions

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Heliopolis University for sustainable development (HU), Faculty of Engineering, Cairo

2 Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), Faculty of Engineering, Cairo

Abstract

Egypt's demand for electricity is rapidly growing, and it is becoming more urgent to develop alternative power resources to meet its own energy needs. Over recent years, development of renewable energy has become a priority for Egypt. Due to its geographical location and climate, Egypt has an average level of solar radiation between 2,000 to 3,200 kWh/m2 per year. As a result, Egypt has a significant potential for the development of solar energy application. The solar dish Stirling (DS) system performance is dependent on the solar data of the location. Several studies investigated the performance of the system in different locations around the world. The objective of this study is to develop a comprehensive simulation model for the solar dish Stirling engine system. The model is used to investigate the system performance under Egyptian operating conditions. The results of 21 different zones that cover most of the Egyptian regions are calculated and compared to determine the overall performance of the system and to determine the suitable locations for project development. Results showed a yearly average power output from the simulated 6.6 m aperture diameter system that ranges from 5800W in El-Natroon area to 7100W in Aswan. A comparison between the simulated DS system model and an equivalent PV system shows that the DS system requires 37.6% less land to generate the same amount of power. Moreover, the DS system gives higher overall system efficiency than the equivalent PV system considering the shading that affects the area of land needed for the system. The results show that using the dish Stirling engine (DS) systems in Egypt will result in acceptable performance in terms of power output and efficiency.

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