Controller design for a stirling micro-cogenerator emulator

The simultaneous production of heat and power at a small-scale is already a well known technique. Cogeneration is one of the main ways to bring about decentralized, embedded, localized and/or autonomous power production. This paper specifically introduces an autonomous cogeneration system composed of a Stirling engine and a linear induction generator. First of all, the system is described, then, a state-space model of the co-generator under steady-state oscillatory conditions is presented in order to synthesize an H∞ controller that ensures robust stability and desired performances through the resistant effort created by the generator on the piston. Finally, an emulator of the cogenerator and its control are designed, and then both performance and stability robustness are studied and compared to the theory.