Lifetime testing of a flexure based natural gas fired 1 kW thermoacoustic genset

Abstract

Etalim has developed and lifetime tested a flexure-based thermoacoustic (TAC) genset operating at high pressure and frequency. It is an efficient and practical 1 kWe genset ready for deployment as a genset or a micro-cogeneration system when integrated with a recuperated natural gas burner and stroke controlling power electronics. It is a maintenancefree, extreme reliability genset particularly suited for remote power applications. The genset is fully costed and designed for manufacturing. Fuel-to-electric efficiency of 22% has been achieved, and one remaining avenue for significant improvement identified. A test TAC has been run for a cumulative time of about 8000 hours to date without any component failures.