HOTS to WATTS: The FPSE Linear Alternator System Re-Invented

Functional cost analyses of recent free-piston Stirling engines with linear alternators (FPSE/LA's) show that the majority of the manufacturing cost is in the mechanical to electrical conversion, not in the Stirling cycle. This paper introduces the first fruits of a systems-based redesign; the STAR™ alternator and Commuter™ suspension, which replace conventional linear alternator and bearings for less than half the mass and cost. Descriptions are given of the mechanisms, analyses, prototypes and initial test results, including those from a NASA-Lewis Phase I SBIR into this promising new technology.