Demonstrator of a combustion driven thermoacoustic electricity generator for remote and rural areas of developing countries

This paper reports the design, construction and testing of a demonstrator combustion driven thermoacoustic electricity generator for rural communities in developing countries, based on the thermoacoustic energy conversion technology. It employs a looped-tube travelling-wave thermoacoustic engine to convert thermal energy to high intensity acoustic power and uses air at atmospheric pressure as working gas. It utilizes a commercially available audio loudspeaker as a model linear alternator. The alternator is installed within the feedback pipe of the thermoacoustic engine. The operating frequency is around 70 Hz. At present, to simulate the flue gases from the biomass driven stove, a propane gas burner is utilized. A shell-and-tube type heat exchanger was built to take the heat from the high temperature flue gas from the burner. The minimal temperature differences between two ends of the regenerator, required to excite the engine, are around 107°C and 134°C for the engine with and without the installation of the alternator, respectively. So far, around 8 Watts electricity has been extracted. Detailed comparisons between the design simulations (DELTAEC) and experimental results are provided.