A thermobimetal heat driven turbine having a rotor, and a series of vanes extending from the rotor wherein the vanes comprise two or more separate materials laminated together, said two separate materials having different coefficients of expansion whereby exposure to a heat source causes the two separate materials to expand at different rates thereby re-shaping the vanes to drive the rotor. The rotating turbine is thus able to generate power using direct heat from an energy source. The heat source may be radiant, convection and/or conduction type heat.

A thermobimetal heat driven turbine having a rotor, and a series of vanes extending from the rotor wherein the vanes comprise two or more separate materials laminated together, said two separate materials having different coefficients of expansion whereby exposure to a heat source causes the two separate materials to expand at different rates thereby re-shaping the vanes to drive the rotor. The rotating turbine is thus able to generate power using direct heat from an energy source. The heat source may be radiant, convection and/or conduction type heat.

A capacity configuration method for photovoltaic/photothermal/Advanced Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (AA-CAES) of combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP). The method includes: establishing a CCHP micro integrated energy system model containing AA-CAES, and then solving the model by using a dual-level planning approach. The upper level plans capacity configuration is planned with an objective of minimizing a sum of capacity configuration costs and lower-level scheduling costs, while the lower level employs parameters obtained from the upper level to implement season-based scheduling, with an objective of minimizing a sum of energy supply costs and carbon mitigation costs, and returns a scheduling result to the upper level to assist in upper-level capacity decisions. This method takes a CCHP capability of a compressed air energy storage system into consideration, and establishes a model suitable for capacity planning and scheduling.

A pump uses solar energy to heat bimetals and other materials with high expansion coefficients to create movement that is coupled to pistons or impellers resulting in a fluid pumping action. The moving pistons or impellers are used to push salt water (or any fluid) through a membrane for filtration. Furthermore, the mechanical movement, powered by solar energy can be used for a variety of applications including pumps to move liquids or gases.

The invention relates to a solar-powered apparatus, comprising a housing (1), a shield panel (5) disposed on the housing (1), and a transmission apparatus (2) disposed inside the housing (1). The transmission apparatus (2) is provided with eight or more memory alloy sheets (3). The housing (1) is also provided with a ratchet pawl (13). The shield panel (5) is provided with a light-focusing apparatus (51) used for focusing light. The apparatus is capable of converting solar energy into mechanical energy.

A linear actuator and a method of operating is provided. The linear actuator includes a housing having at least one wall made from an electrochromatic material configured to transform from an opaque to a translucent material in response to a voltage. A plunger is slidably coupled to the housing to move between a first position and a second position. An actuator is disposed between the plunger and the housing, the actuator being made from a heat sensitive material, the actuator being configured to change a length of the actuator in response to a change in temperature.