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The Development of a Control System for a 5 Kilowatt Free Piston Stirling Space ConvertorThe new NASA Vision for Exploration, announced by President Bush in January 2004, proposes an ambitious program that plans to return astronauts to the moon by the 2018 time frame. A recent NASA study entitled "Affordable Fission Surface Power Study" recommended a 40 kWe, 900 K, NaK-cooled, Stirling conversion for 2020 launch. Use of two of the nominal 5 kW converters allows the system to be dynamically balanced. A group of four dual-converter combinations that would yield 40 kWe can be tested to validate the viability of Stirling technology for space fission surface power systems. The work described in this paper deals specifically with the control system for the 5 kW convertor described in the preceding paragraph. This control system is responsible for maintaining piston stroke to a setpoint in the presence of various disturbances including electrical load variations. Pulse starting of the FSPE convertor is also an inherent part of such a control system. Finally, the ability to throttle the engine to match the required output power is discussed in terms of setpoint control. Several novel ideas have been incorporated into the piston stroke control strategy that will engender a stable response to disturbances in the presence of midpoint drift while providing useful data regarding the position of both the power piston and displacer.
Document ID
20080005583
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Kirby, Raymond L.
(Auburn Univ. AL, United States)
Vitale, Nicholas
(Foster-Miller Technologies, Inc. Albany, NY, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2008
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Space Technology Applications International Forum (STAIF)-2008
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Country: United States
Start Date: February 10, 2008
End Date: February 14, 2008
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNC06CB81C
WBS: WBS 463169.04.03.04.01.03
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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