Experimental Study on Power Generation Using Fluidyne Engine

The Fluidyne engine is a Stirling engine that uses the oscillation of a liquid column in a U-tube, induced thermally, as a replacement for mechanical pistons. This engine is generally used as a water pump but has the potential to generate electricity. This research aims to develop and test a method for generating electrical energy from a Fluidyne engine using the principle of electromagnetic induction. The electromagnetic induction system consists of a permanent magnet and a float within the liquid column and a solenoid coil. Experimental findings revealed the production of induced voltage of 0.32 V during the reciprocal movement of the permanent magnet and the liquid column within the solenoid coil along its central axis. When the solenoid coil attached with 6 Ohm resistor, the alternator generated 0.75 mW of electricity corresponding to 9×10<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-3</sup> % of overall efficiency. Due to its simplicity and ability to utilize heat waste, we consider a Fluidyne engine-based power generator to be an affordable and reliable device suitable for small-scale electricity generation.