Solar-Based Project: Making a Steam Engine to Generate Power

[jack001]

hello folks,
as a last year student i have told to submit a project and so I decided to work on a solar based project.

Finally i came up with an idea of making solar steam engine.

I will be using two different solar collector to gain high temperature of working fluid. It will be a parabolic trough collector and a compound parabolic concentrator(700cm dia) placed in series through a pipe carrying water.

This steam will rotate the turbine that inturn generates electricity.

I just want to know will it create a high power steam that will be capable of generating?

The answer was NO when i asked to one of my professor.

I want to make it as possible as cheap, mobile(if possible), and small in size.

My main aim to do this is one can have this at their home to generate their own electricity and gets rid of bills, low use of fuels good for eco. Please suggest a good design and of-course a feasible one.

Thank you.

 

[Enthalpy]

The answer is YES of course. It is done routinely at Solar thermal power plants.

The BUT is: you need Sunlight.

My suggestion: use a parabolic antenna from TV receivers. Coat it with a reflective layer, like: remove the paint, let deposit chromium.

With a simple boiler, you'll get saturated vapour, up to +374°C and 218b. Approximately bar = (°C/100)^4. This vapour will partially condense within the turbine, which is no big drawback. It happens at the high-pressure turbine of any pressurized water reactor.

 

[jack001]

hey enthalpy,
thank you for your reply.

I mean to say i am working on a miniature of that kinda plant. So it might won't be possible to generate that energy to rotate the turbine giving high rotation.

And one more thing i am confused about it is solar tracking device. What kindof mechanism should i use?

:)

 

[jack001]

hey and maybe i am not using boiler. I am just taking that steam to turbine directly which leads to high pressure(passing it through venturi). Please guide me if i am wrong.

 

[edgepflow]

I would work some numbers and see if you can optimize the efficiency and power output.

 

[jack001]

thank you edgepflow.