Copper water heat pipe applied for Stirling engine

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15392/2319-0612.2022.1876

Keywords:

Heat Pipe, Free Piston Stirling Engine, Microrreactor

Abstract

Power generation in remote locations requires the advancement of efficient and long-lasting power generation technologies. One possible solution is a microreactor, which uses heat pipes to transport fission heat from a nuclear source to Stirling engines producing energy. In this context, TERRA (Advanced Fast Reactor Technology) project conducted by the Institute for Advanced Studies (IEAv) developed a Stirling engine and copper-water heat pipes for an initial study of both coupled devices. However, before using a nuclear source, it is necessary to understand the thermal behavior of the devices using an electrical heating source. Thus, the objective of this work is to test experimentally if a copper heat pipe can carry the necessary heat to activate the Free Piston Stirling engine. For this, it was necessary to develop a copper adapter to connect the pipe to the engine. The pipe was connected to the engine and temperatures were collected using T-thermocouples. The results of the experiments showed that the heat pipe was able to transport 28 W to the Stirling engine, which ran continuously. The maximum heat pipe temperatures were 253°C and the Stirling engine ran at 212°C in the hot source. Therefore, it was demonstrated that the IEAv´s copper-water heat pipe is capable of conducting the necessary heat to activate the IEAv´s Stirling engine and produce electricity. The results will form the basis for the future application of a nuclear source.  

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Lamartine Nogueira Frutuoso Guimarães , Institute for Advanced Studies

Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA), 12228-900, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEAv)/Divisão de Energia Nuclear, 12228-001, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

 

Valéria Serrano Faillace Oliveira Leite, Institute for Advanced Studies

 Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA), 12228-900, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEAv)/Divisão de Suporte Tecnológico, 12228-001, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

References

GUIMARAES L. N. F.; RIBEIRO G. B.; FILHO F. A. B.; NASCIMENTO J. A.; PLACCO G. M.; FARIA S. M. Technology Development For Nuclear Power Generation For Space Application. In: INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR ATLANTIC CONFERENCE, 2015, São Paulo. Proceedings Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Physics and Thermal hydraulics (ENFIR), Rio de Janeiro: Associação Brasileira de Energia Nuclear (ABEN), 2015. p. 1-11.

REAY, D. A.; KEW, P. A. Heat pipes: theory, design and applications, 5th ed. Oxford: Else-vier's Science & Technology, 2006.

ZOHURI, B. Heat Pipe Design and Technology: Modern Applications for practical thermal management, 2nd ed. New York: Springer Publishing company, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29841-2

GIBSON, M et al. Heat Pipe Powered Stirling Conversion for The Demonstration Using Flattop Fissions (DUFF) test. NASA/TM Report 216542, Washington, DC: NASA, 2013. 18 p.

GIBSON M.; POSTON D. I; MCCLURE P.R. The Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technol-ogy (KRUSTY) nuclear ground test results and lessons learned. In: AIAA PROPULSION AND ENERGY FORUM, 2018, Cincinnati. Proceedings […]. Reston: AIAA, 2018. p. 1-12 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2018-4973

GIBSON M.; OLESON S.R.; POSTON D.I; MCCLURE P.R. NASA's Kilopower Reactor Development and the Path to Higher Power Missions. In: IEEE AEROSPACE CONFERENCE, 2016, Big Sky. Proceedings […]. Big Sky: IEEE Aerospace, 2016. p. 1-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/AERO.2017.7943946

SANTOS A C.; GUIMARÃES L. N. F.; LEITE V. S. F. O.; THEODORO R. Development of a free piston Stirling engine, In: INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR ATLANTIC CONFERENCE, 2019, Santos. Proceedings Nuclear New Horizons: Fueling our future. Rio de Janeiro: Associação Brasileira De Energia Nuclear, 2019. p. 5123-5133.

THEODORO R.; SANTOS, A. C.; LEITE V. S. F. O.; GUIMARÃES L. N. F. Stirling engine as a thermo electric converter for space systems. In: INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR ATLANTIC CONFERENCE, 2019, Santos. Proceedings Nuclear New Horizons: Fueling our future. Rio de Janeiro: Associação Brasileira De Energia Nuclear, 2019. p. 5135-5145.

EUPHRÁSIO F. P. A.; GUIMARÃES L. N. F. Procedures for analysis and construction of heat pipes in application to the TERRA project”, In: INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR ATLANTIC CONFERENCE, 2019, Santos. Proceedings Nuclear New Horizons: Fueling our future. Rio de Janeiro: Associação Brasileira De Energia Nuclear, 2019. p. 5202-5214.

SANTOS A.C.; GUIMARÃES L. N. F.; LEITE V. S. F. O.; THEODORO R. Characterization of a coupled copper-water heat pipe with a Free Piston Stirling Engine. In: BRAZILIAN CONGRESS OF THERMAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING, 2020, Online conference. Proceedings […]. Rio de Janeiro: Associação Brasileira de Engenharia e Ciências Mecânicas, 2020. p. 1-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26678/ABCM.ENCIT2020.CIT20-0433

SANTOS A.C.; GUIMARÃES L. N. F.; LEITE V. S. F. O.; THEODORO R. Effect of the inclination angle on the performance of 100 and 30 mesh screen copper water heat pipes for application in a Stirling engine. In: INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, 2021, online conference. Proceedings […]. Rio de Janeiro: Associação Brasileira de Engenharia e Ciências Mecânicas, 2021. p. 1-10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2021.COB2021-0857

Downloads

Published

2022-10-29

How to Cite

Santos, A. C., Guimarães , L. N. F., & Leite, V. S. F. O. . (2022). Copper water heat pipe applied for Stirling engine. Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences, 10(3A (Suppl.). https://doi.org/10.15392/2319-0612.2022.1876

Issue

Section

INAC 2021_XXII ENFIR_VII_ENIN

Most read articles by the same author(s)