DIRECT CURRENT POWER PLANT

• Main Authors: Finseth, Bryan A, Adams, Douglas R, Barber, Christopher L, Prescott, Shannon, Lowell, James R, Kite, Jeffrey W, Fekete, Andras K, Schnellinger, Andrew A, Lucas, Donald J, Sachs, Jason M
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 21.03.2024
• Subjects: BLASTING; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTINGELECTRIC POWER; COMBUSTION ENGINES; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER; DOMESTIC HOT-WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; DOMESTIC- OR SPACE-HEATING SYSTEMS, e.g. CENTRAL HEATINGSYSTEMS; ELECTRICITY; ELEMENTS OR COMPONENTS THEREFOR; GENERATION; HEATING; HOT GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT ENGINEPLANTS; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; RANGES; STARTING AIDS FOR SUCH ENGINES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; STARTING OF COMBUSTION ENGINES; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY; USE OF WASTE HEAT OF COMBUSTION ENGINES; VENTILATING; WEAPONS

A DC power plant generating DC power from a variety of engines including a Stirling cycle engine. The DC power plant includes a relatively small start-up power source that is discontinued after the engine is running. A method for producing DC power for a load including starting up an engine using power supplied by a relatively small power supply supplemented by a capacitor bank, providing output from the engine to a generator, producing alternating current (AC) power by the generator, converting the AC power to direct current (DC) power, disabling output of the DC power during a first set of pre-selected conditions, limiting a rate of change of current of the DC power during a second set of pre-selected conditions, reducing conducted and radiated emissions of the DC power, disconnecting the DC power from the load under a third set of pre-selected conditions, and providing the DC power to the load.