Suspension design, modeling, and testing of a Thermo-acoustic driven linear Alternator

The Score-Stove™ generates electricity from a wood-burning cooking stove using a thermo-acoustic engine that converts heat to sound through a Linear Alternator (LA). This paper introduces a prototype hemi-toroidal suspension that was refined into a segmented trapezoidal shape that gave a higher cyclic life for the linear alternator and includes a critical evaluation that compares a theoretical analysis with experimental results. The results show an improvement from the 40% efficiency of a standard loudspeaker used in reverse as an LA to 70 to 80% efficiency with the new suspension and a double Halbach array magnetic topology.