Modelling and experimental characterization of a Stirling engine-based domestic micro-CHP device

This article presents and validates a dynamic model of a natural gas-run micro-CHP boiler, whose primary mover is a Stirling engine. From a preliminary literature review on the modelling of this kind of devices, and taking into consideration the goal of performing full system simulations, a semi-emp...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: González Pino, Iker, Pérez Iribarren, Estíbaliz, Campos Celador, Álvaro, Terés Zubiaga, Jon, Las Heras Casas, Jesús
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universidad del País Vasco
Repositorio:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/64583
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/64583
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:micro-CHP
stirling engine
dynamic model
part-load
experimental characterization
validation
Descripción
Sumario:This article presents and validates a dynamic model of a natural gas-run micro-CHP boiler, whose primary mover is a Stirling engine. From a preliminary literature review on the modelling of this kind of devices, and taking into consideration the goal of performing full system simulations, a semi-empirical one is proposed. Specifically, the model consists of the direct application of general mass and energy conservation principles, supported by empirical expressions based on parametric factors that must be determined experimentally. For that purpose, an experimental test-rig was developed, and a full characterization of a Stirling unit was carried out in order to calibrate the model. Unlike other previous models, the one developed throughout this article fully takes into account both the dynamics that occur during the start-up and cool-down periods, as well as the partial load performance of the engine, providing high precision results while maintaining the simplicity required in energy simulation environments. Calculations during the validation phase show that, when operating at normal conditions, the model is able to reproduce the electricity output and the water delivery temperature with errors below 2.4% and 0.9% in any case, respectively; while during a full-length test, the mean errors for the energy exchanges due to fuel input, thermal output and electrical output were 1.4%, 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively.