Experiments with the External-Combustion Fluidyne Engine, Which Has Liquid Pistons --------------------by Jearl Walker April, 1985

--------------------THE FLUIDYNE ENGINE IS A remarkable device that takes its name from the fact that it has liquid pistons. Like its close relative, the solid-piston Stirling engine invented in 1816 by the Reverend Robert Stirling of Scotland, it is useful as a laboratory or workshop aid in studying aspects of thermodynamics. Some of the engines might also serve as inexpensive pumps for irrigation. Colin D. West of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has investigated several fluidyne engines, his work provides the basis for much of my discussion. You can picture the operation of a fluidyne engine by envisioning a: pair of U tubes side by side [left]. The tube on the left is called the displacer, the tube on the right the output. Each one contains water Figure 1: The action of a or some other liquid. A smaller fluidyne engine tube across the top connects the two openings at the top of the displacer tube with the left-hand opening at the top of the output tube, so that air can move back and forth between the two U-shaped tubes. The engine delivers the energy it develops a from the right-hand opening at the top of the output tube. The engine develops energy because the upper left-hand end of the displacer is kept hot by an external source of heat whereas the companion end on the right side is kept cold, either by an external source of refrigeration or simply by the fact that the liquid there is not heated. Hence the left side of the displacer is in effect a hot cylinder and the right side is a cold cylinder. You start the engine by turning on the heat source. When the temperature gets-high enough, the water becomes a unstable and begins to oscillate slightly from side to side in the displacer. When water flows from the hot cylinder to the cold one, air is pushed through the connecting tube to the hot cylinder. As that air warms, the pressure in the entire connecting tube in creases, driving down the column of water in the left side of the output unit, so that the water in the right side rises. Here is the energy

that can be harnessed to do work. The cycle is completed as the weight of the water in the cold cylinder forces water to flow from that cylinder into the hot one. The motion of the water drives air to the cold end, where it cools, decreasing the air pressure. By then the weight of the water is forcing the level in the right side Figure 2: A fluidyne engine of the output unit down from its mounted on a mechanical highest point. The low pressure in rocker the displacer unit also helps to pull the water in the output unit toward the displacer. If the water in the displacer continues to oscillate, the variation in air pressure produces corresponding oscillations in the water in the output unit;. as a result the water level on the right side of that unit sweeps through a large volume. The water in the unit can then function as a piston to do work. In order for the system to function efficiently and yield a net output of energy, the oscillation in the output must be tuned to match the frequency of the oscillation in the displacer. The task is accomplished by adjusting the size of the output tube and the amount of water it contains. If the output tube is too narrow or contains too much water, the increase in air pressure in the displacer is insufficient to make the water on the right side of the output sweep through a large volume. If the amount of water is too small, the water is too easy to move. When air is transferred from the cold cylinder, some of it can flow into the space made available in the output tube. This air is not heated, and the air pressure does not increase much When the air pressure in the displacer unit barely changes, the inward and outward flows of the water in the output unit require almost equal amounts of energy; consequently there is little energy for the output piston.

Some means must be provided to keep the water in the displacer oscillating. One method is to mount the Figure 3: Interactions between the engine on a pivot and displacer and the output tubes connect a spring between the output tube and the floor As the water oscillates in the output unit, its shifting weight sets the spring in motion; the spring action helps to maintain the oscillation of the water in the displacer unit. Another technique relies on a feedback of energy from the water oscillating in the output [left]. That unit is connected to the displacer below the side of the tube that constitutes the hot cylinder. As a result the hot and cold cylinders contain unequal amounts of water. (In each case the volume is measured from the water level in the cylinder to the connection with the output unit. In the hot cylinder that is a short distance; therefore the volume of water it contains is easier to move than the larger volume in the cold cylinder.) The frequency of oscillation is the same in the displacer and output units but the oscillations are about 90 degrees out of phase. In the first stage the water level is at the maximum in the hot cylinder and between the midpoint and the minimum in the cold cylinder. The level in the output unit is falling through the midpoint. As the level in the hot cylinder falls, the level in the cold one rises rapidly because it is receiving water from both the hot

cylinder and the output unit. Air is displaced into the hot cylinder, where it warms, increasing the air pressure in the displacer unit. Since the water in the hot cylinder is easy to move, it is driven downward rapidly by the increasing air pressure. Some of the water pushes into the output, driving Figure 4: A series the water on the right side upward. arrangement for pumping When the water in the hot cylinder water reaches its minimum level, the water in the output continues to rise because that unit is now drawing water from the cold cylinder. The continued rise in the output unit's level promotes a drop in the cold cylinder's level. By the time the fluid level in the output unit reaches its maximum the level in the cold cylinder is falling, driving the level in the hot one upward. At the same time air is being moved to the cold cylinder of the displacer, where it cools. As a result the pressure in the displacer falls. When the level in the output unit begins to drop, it pushes water into the displacer. Again the water in the hot cylinder is easy to move, so that the water arriving from the output pushes into the hot cylinder, helping the level to rise there. The interaction between the output unit and the displacer unit helps to maintain the continued oscillation of water in the displacer even though there is a loss of energy owing to viscosity. When the level in the output unit approaches its maximum, the output tube is pulling water from the cold cylinder. When the level in the output unit is falling toward the midpoint, the water there is pushing water into the hot cylinder; causing the level to rise in that cylinder.

Figure 5: A prarllel arrangement for pumping water

Has there been a gain of power? Can one call this system an engine? Although power was supplied to the output unit during the outward push of water, power was consumed in pushing water back into the displacer. If the amounts of power involved in the two motions are equal, there is no net gain.

The answer is that the amounts of power are not equal, because the air pressure in the displacer unit changes. When the water in the hot cylinder is propelled downward and into the output tube, the air pressure is high. Hence a good deal of power is pushing the water in the output tube upward. When water is pushed back into the displacer unit, it moves against a lower air pressure. Less power is needed. The system achieves a net gain of power, and the output could be coupled to something else to do work. In some fluidyne engines the output of the heat source is sufficient to vaporize some of the water. Even though this consumes quite a bit of energy, the increased amount of water vapor in the air of the displacer leads to greater variations in air pressure. Therefore the engine generates more power. Much of the interest in fluidyne engines focuses on their potential as pumps. One technique is called a series arrangement. A vertical pumping tube is attached to one end of the output unit [Figure 4]. It contains two ball valves positioned so that water can flow only upward through them. At the bottom of the pumping tube is the supply of water that is to be pumped. When the air pressure in the displacer unit is low, water moves from the output into the displacer. Consequently water is drawn up from the supply and passes through the bottom valve. When the air pressure in the displacer is high, it pushes water from the displacer into the pumping tube, forcing a discharge through the top valve. This cycle, repeated indefinitely, constitutes the pumping action. A better design is the parallel arrangement [Figure 5]. The

Figure 6: David Herbert's fluidyne pump

vertical pumping tube is mounted between the displacer unit and another vertical tube that is a continuation of the output unit. The volume of water moving through the output is greater than the volume going through the valves. Because the output is tuned to match the frequency of oscillation in the displacer, the oscillations of the output provide a feedback that helps to maintain the oscillations in the displacer. The arrangement produces steadier pumping. A fluidyne engine can be made with A glass tubing. David Herbert of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell in England has created such a device [right]. High temperatures and large variations in temperature require that it be made with borosilicate glass. The valves in the pumping tube are glass beads or balls taken from a bearing. A 16-watt quartz halogen projector bulb provides the heat for the displacer unit. Similar engines (even larger ones) can be driven by sunlight if the beam is focused on the displacer arm by a lens. (An inexpensive Fresnel lens made of plastic will do.) The focal point should be at approximately the mean water level in the hot cylinder. A reflector mounted on the back of the cylinder intensifies the effect by sending some of the light back through the water. Blackening one side of the cylinder might also amplify heat absorption. Alternatively, you could darken the water by adding ink to it. Even a simple flame can drive this type of fluidyne engine. John Geisow 11 of the U.K. Atomic Energy Research Establishment has designed an engine heated by an alcohol lamp or a candle. A short length of thin aluminum extends upward from just above the flame to the hot cylinder. The strip is tilted against the

cylinder so that friction holds it in place. This strip funnels heat to the cylinder by convection and also delivers heat by conduction through the metal. A group in the same laboratory has designed a fluidyne engine based on a glass fruit jar (two-pound capacity). A coiled tube inside the jar serves as the output unit. It is 2.14 meters long and has an outside diameter of nine millimeters. (The tube could be as much as 14 centimeters shorter or 36 centimeters longer.) The tubing is coiled Figure 7: A fluidyne eight times in circles that have an engine based on a fruit jar outside diameter of 8.5 centimeters. One end of the coil fits loosely into the hot cylinder of the displacer, which is an inverted U tube mounted on the lid of the jar. The other end is linked to the pumping tube by means of a plastic tube that will not kink. You can make the displacer tube by blowing the glass, or you can connect two glass cylinders with a short length of plastic tubing. A hair dryer that runs at a high temperature can serve as the heat source; otherwise an industrial hot-air blower is best. Without a pumping tube the engine needs little adjustment. With a pumping tube you have to set the water levels in the cylinders carefully. The length of output tube inserted into the hot cylinder is also critical. Properly adjusted, the engine can pump about 191iters (five gallons) per hour. West has designed a plastic iluidyne engine that works on the liquid-feedback principle [Figure 8 ]. Its front and back are made of clear acrylic 1/8 inch thick. Between them are 3/8-inch acrylic strips. The heat source is a three-watt, 20-ohm, wirewound resistor. Leads from the resistor pass through the rear cover plate (surrounded by glue to prevent leakage) and are connected to a low-voltage transformer of the type employed in doorbells. It supplies alternating current to the resistor at a voltage level of nine volts and a power level of four watts. That exceeds the power rating of the resistor, but the resistor is in water and so stays sufficiently cool. The leads from the resistor

Colin D. West