The cooler temperature (TC) and heater temperature (TH) are measured by T-type and K-type thermocouples, respectively. The accuracy of temperature measurement is ±0.1 C. Four 1000 W tungsten halogen lamps (Osram Haloline 64740 L J R7s) are used as a solar simulator. A data logger (DataTaker model DT 50) is used to collect data from thermocouples and pyranometer.
The engine torque is measured by a rope-brake dynamometer. A displacer crank disc, which is 8.95 cm in radius, is used as a brake drum. The braking load is measured by the loading weight and spring balance reading. A photo tachometer with ±0.1 rpm accuracy is used to measure the engine speed. The engine tests are performed using four distances from the lamp to the absorber. The average simulated intensities (I) on the absorber plate are 5380, 5772, 6495, and 7094 W/m2. The actual heat input to the engine (qin), at the above mentioned intensities, is experimentally determined by using water to absorb this heat. The concentrated heat (q) on the absorber plate, actual heat input into the engine (qin), absorber temperature, and the engine performance (Pmax) resulting from
these simulated intensities are shown in Table 2.