The Boeing Company

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc.

United Technologies Corporation

Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation

Sunpower Corporation

Aerojet Rocketdyne of De, Inc.

Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc.

Joseph P Carroll

Patrick Edward Frye

Andrew J Zillmer

James M Shoji

James A McClanahan

James Gary Wood

William D Otting

Cheng-Yi Lu

William Determan

Kenneth John Metcalf

Terrence H Murphy

Rick L Howerton

Charles Thomas Kudija

A heat rejection system includes a plurality of panel subassemblies and a solid state heat pipe flex joint. Each panel subassembly includes a fin, a solid state heat pipe manifold, a first solid state heat pipe tube operatively connected to the solid state heat pipe manifold and secured to the fin, a second solid state heat pipe tube operatively connected to the solid state heat pipe manifold adjacent to the first solid state heat pipe and secured to the fin. The solid state heat pipe flex joint operably connects the solid state heat pipe manifolds of two of the plurality of panel subassemblies in a hermetically sealed configuration, and is configured to permit repositioning of the two panel subassemblies relative to each other.

Solid state heat pipe heat rejection system for space power systems

An air quality instrumentation system for a concentrated solar power generation system using a fluid heat transfer medium includes a pipe, a window and a spectroscope. The pipe extends from the concentrated solar power generation system and contains system air from within the concentrated solar power generation system. The window is positioned within the pipe to permit light to pass through the pipe and the system air. The spectroscope is positioned adjacent the window to assess concentration of a constituent within the system air, the concentration of the constituent providing an indication of an operating condition of the concentrated solar power generation system.

Air instrumentation system for concentrated solar power generation systems

A solar concentrator includes a plurality of separate panels positioned between opposed support rods. Tension elements extend between the support rods and mount the plurality of panels.

Planar solar concentrator

An instrumentation system utilizes a single light source collimated through windows through a gas line in communication with a fuel cell. As each beam passes through each window, the gas stream will attenuate each beam. A diffraction grating disperses each attenuated beam and transmits particular wavelength bands through a focusing system to a detector. The measured concentration in the gas stream may then be utilized by a controller to determine the amount of power produced by the cell, determine potential leaks, or determine incomplete reaction.

Fuel cell instrumentation system

A clamping apparatus for allowing pre-close-out access to the head of a Stirling machine and facilitating subsequent close-out welding of the head. The head is axially separable into removable and fixed portions that engage each other. Each portion has an annular flange extending radially outwardly at its engaging end, and each flange has an annular groove. O-rings are seated in the grooves. A temporary sealing ring surrounds and engages the O-rings. Clamping rings seat against axially opposite sides of the abutting annular flanges. Fasteners draw the rings together, thereby drawing the fixed and removable portions of the head together and securing them against relative axial movement. For close-out of the machine, the clamping rings, temporary sealing ring, and O-rings are removed and the grooved annular flanges serve as weld reliefs for final hermetic close-out welding.

Jointed head with temporary clamp for stirling machine

A heliostat includes a pedestal, a transmission system, a heliostat frame assembly, and a mirror assembly. The heliostat frame assembly generally includes a first heliostat frame set and a second heliostat frame set mounted to the transmission system which is mounted upon the pedestal. Each heliostat frame set includes a stackable heliostat inner frame assembly and a stackable heliostat outer frame assembly. Each stackable heliostat inner frame assembly is identical and each stackable heliostat outer frame assembly is identical such that a multiple of heliostat inner frames and a multiple of heliostat outer frames are readily stackable in a nested arrangement for storage and transport.

Stackable heliostat frame structure

A method and apparatus for producing electrical energy from a thermal dynamic cycle. The apparatus can include a heat exchange apparatus portion that allows for a large surface area for thermal energy collection while maintaining an efficiency of the thermal dynamic cycle engine. For example, a Stirling engine can include a large heater head portion that can be contained within the pressure vessel of the thermal dynamic engine yet maintain the selected size of the various pistons of the thermal dynamic cycle engine.

Thermal cycle engine with augmented thermal energy input area

A dual-function system comprising a heat source and a Stirling engine movably secured to a motorized machine, where the Stirling engine is positionable to operate in a refrigeration mode and in a power generation mode. The Stirling engine is configured to transfer heat from an exhaust pipe of the motorized machine in the refrigeration mode, and to transfer heat from the heat source to generate electrical power in the power generation mode.

Dual-function stirling engine system

A deployable electromagnetic concentrator comprises a facet stem hub assembly having at least one rotatable segment and a plurality of facets stems coupled thereto. At least one of the facet stems is coupled to at least one of the rotatable segments. The concentrator further comprises a plurality of facet stems, each being coupled to a different one of the rotatable segments for rotating the plurality of facets from a substantially overlapping configuration to a substantially non-overlapping configuration.

Deployable electromagnetic concentrator

A thruster device and associated methods are provided. The thruster device comprises a frustoconical inner layer and a frustoconical outer layer that surrounds the inner layer such that the inner and outer layers cooperate to define a spiral flow passage therebetween. An outlet, such as a nozzle, is attached to an exit end of the thruster device such that the outlet is in fluid communication with the spiral flow passage. In one embodiment, the thruster device includes an end flow cap that is also attached to the exit end and establishes the fluid communication between the spiral flow passage and the outlet. The end flow cap includes at least one channel for directing the propellant from the spiral flow passage to the outlet. The design of the thruster device allows the frustoconical inner and outer layers to be assembled without galling or damaging the spiral flow passage.

Thruster device responsive to solar radiation and associated methods

A solar power collection system capable of operating with a positioning system that provides movement of the system about only a single axis of rotation. The solar power collection system includes a concentrator having at least one parabolic-trough-shaped mirror that focuses sun light reflected therefrom along a longitudinal focus line defined by a focus of the parabolic-trough shaped mirror. An absorber having a heat absorbing tube and a heat absorbing shoe is supported from the mirror such that the tube is positioned coaxially along the focus line to receive reflected sun light. The tube absorbs thermal from the sun light and conductively heats the shoe. The shoe supplies this thermal energy to an energy conversion engine. The engine, in one preferred form, is a Stirling engine that converts the thermal energy into electrical energy. A pointing system moves the concentrator about a single axis of rotation to track the sun across the horizon.

Trough-stirling concentrated solar power system

A non-imaging solar concentrator having a primary concentrator and a turntable. The primary concentrator is mounted to the turntable such that it is rotatable about a turntable axis and a secondary axis that is orthogonal to the turntable axis. Rotation of the primary concentrator about the turntable and secondary axes permits the primary concentrator to be positioned anywhere within the visible sky, even when a solar offset angle of 90 degrees is not used.

Growing community of inventors

Moorpark, CA, United States of America

Joseph P Carroll