DEVELOPMENT OF A LIGHTWEIGHT QUIET POWER SOURCE

STIRLING TECHNOLOGY COMPANY (STC) WILL DEVELOP AND TEST A LONG LIFE, HIGH EFFICIENCY, LOW VIBRATION, HIGH POWER DENSITY STIRLING CYCLE ENGINE SYSTEM TO SERVE AS A POWER SOURCE FOR A MICROCLIMATE COOLING BACKPACK. THE KEY OBJECTIVES FOR THE SYSTEM ARE HIGH EFFICIENCY, HIGH POWER DENSITY OF THE MACHINE, SUITABILITY AS A PERSONAL BACKPACK UNIT AND LONG LIFE. HIGH EFFICIENCY WILL RESULT FROM A STIRLING CYCLE ENGINE FEARURING 1) MINIMAL DEAD VOLUME, 2) ADVANCE REGENERATOR TECHNOLOGY AND IMPLEMENTATION AND RELATIVELY DIRECT COUPLING BETWEEN THE POWER PISTON AND THE FREON COMPRESSOR. HIGH POWER DENSITY WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY A COMPACT LAYOUT, HIGH-SPEED OPERATION, AND HIGH PRESSURE. COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMANS IS ACHIEVED BY ENSURING LOW VIBRATION BY KEEPING THE OSCILLATING MASSES CO-LINEAR AND BALANCED. LONG LIFE WILL BE ENSURED THROUGH THE USE OF FLEXURAL BEARINGS OR BY PROVIDING HYDRAULIC LUBRICATION. SPECIFIC TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES FOR PHASE I ARE 1) DEVELOP SEVERAL CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS, 2) DEVELOP ENOUGH DATA SO THAT THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS CAN BE RANKED, AND 3) ASSESS THE PROBABLE SUCCESS OF THE FAVORED CONECPT. STC WILL UTILIZE IN HOUSE EXPERTISE AND ONGOING RESEARCH EFFORTS, CURRENT LITERATURE, AND ANALYSIS SOFTWARE TO ACCOMPLISH PHASE I TASKS. PHASE II OBJECTIVES ARE TO REFINE THE PHASE I BASELINE SYSTEM, AND THEN TO DETAIL, FABRICATE, ASSEMBLE, AND TEST THE SYSTEM.