Development of High -Efficien cy Linear Alternator s for Stirling and Thermoacoustic Engines

Because a free piston Stirling engine (FPSE) has no mechanisms such as cranks and cams, high system efficiency can be expected when compared with conventional engines. The output power of the working gas is directly used as the linear alternator input and then converted into electrical power. Therefore, the linear alternator is one of the most important devices in the FPSE. On the other hand, thermoacoustic engine (TAE) is a technology that uses high-amplitude sound waves induced by a temperature difference. The work of the sound waves can be converted to electricity by a highly efficient linear alternator. Therefore, the linear alternator is also a key component for the TEA. To realize efficient linear alternators that are suitable for the FPSE and TAE, several types of linear alternators have been designed and developed. In this study, the performance evaluations of the linear alternators were conducted.