A hybrid actuation device includes an artificial muscle, a first plate coupled to a second plate, and a shape memory alloy wire. The artificial muscle includes a housing, a first electrode and a second electrode, and a dielectric fluid. The housing includes a first film layer, a second film layer, an electrode region, and an expandable fluid region. The first electrode and the second electrode are each disposed in the electrode region of the housing. The dielectric fluid is disposed within the housing. The first plate and the second plate are positioned within the housing, the first plate positioned between the first film layer and the first electrode, and the second plate positioned between the second film layer and the second electrode. The shape memory alloy wire extends from the first plate to the second plate and through the dielectric fluid.

A solar power system, a solar power method and a solar thermal hydraulic motor is provided that is simple and cost-effective, that is able to function at low temperatures and low temperature differentials. The solar power system comprises: a plurality of pressure vessels configured to receive working fluid; a solar collector, configured to heat the working fluid in at least one of the pressure vessels to thereby cause the working fluid to expand in the pressure vessel without changing phase; and a mechanical work element, configured to perform work from expansion of the working fluid in the pressure vessels. At least some of the plurality of pressure vessels are selectively couplable to each other to enable transfer residual energy from one pressure vessel after it has been used to perform work to another pressure vessel to assist in performing work.

An improved heat engine employing a dual-component working fluid and configured to generate internal heat from one component of the working fluid that heats the other component through the physical contact between them such that together with the addition of external heat, the engine advantageously yields enhanced work extraction efficiency through separate, parallel expansion of each of the working fluids.

A dual-cycle heat engine employing a first cycling working fluid and a second cycling working fluid whose cycles overlap when fused into a combined working stream so as to preserve compression heat generated during compression of the first working fluid thereby yielding enhanced work extraction when complying with additional thermodynamic requirements.

Disclosed are a thermoacoustic engine with high conversion efficiency from heat energy to acoustic energy and a designing method for the thermoacoustic engine. A stack of the thermoacoustic engine has a plurality of flow passages extending through a thermoacoustic piping section. A hot heat exchanger is coupled to one end in a longitudinal direction of the stack. A cold heat exchanger is coupled to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the stack. And a length in the longitudinal direction of the hot heat exchanger is greater than a length in the longitudinal direction of the stack, and is greater than a length in the longitudinal direction of the cold heat exchanger.

A renewable energy and waste heat harvesting system is disclosed. The system includes an accumulator unit having a high pressure accumulator and a low pressure accumulator. At least one piston is mounted for reciprocation in the high pressure accumulator. The accumulator unit is configured to receive, store, and transfer energy from the hydraulic fluid to the energy storage media. The system collects energy from a renewable energy source and transfers the collected energy using the pressurized hydraulic fluid. The system further includes one or more rotational directional control valves, in which at least one rotational directional control valve is positioned on each side of the accumulator unit. Each rotational directional control valve includes multiple ports. The system also includes one or more variable displacement hydraulic rotational units. At least one variable displacement hydraulic rotational unit is positioned adjacent each of the rotational directional control valves.

An improved heat engine employing a dual-component working fluid and configured to generate internal heat from one component of the working fluid that heats the other component through the physical contact between them such that together with the addition of external heat, the engine advantageously yields enhanced work extraction efficiency through separate, parallel expansion of each of the working fluids.

A device for converting thermal, mechanical and/or electrical energy quantities into other such energy quantities comprises at least one volume (97, 98, 127, 128, 129) comprising a liquid quantity (31, 32, 130, 131, 132, 202) and at least one partial volume (33, 34, 133, 134, 135) with a working medium. The partial volume is bounded by volume delimiting elements and a liquid surface. At least one of the volume delimiting elements or the liquid quantity can change its position relative to other volume delimiting elements or the liquid quantity in such a way as to change the size of the partial volume. The partial volume and the liquid quantity perform a rotational movement so that centrifugal forces act on the liquid quantity. Heat quantities are suppliable to or removable from at least one liquid quantity in that a part of the liquid quantity can flow into and out of the volume from outside the device through openings (49, 50, 52, 149) or in that the at least one liquid quantity is thermally coupled to another liquid quantity by heat exchangers.

A thermoelectric, thermomechanical or thermal converter with at least one of the devices is provided, with which a Stirling, Ericsson, Vuilleumier, Clausius-Rankine, Joule process or a mixed form of the processes is realized.

A system manages the reactions of fluids to their changes in their environment in order to convert these reactions into energy thereby harvesting the same while protecting the device against destruction or malfunction when the environmental conditions exceed predefined thresholds.

Disclosed are a thermoacoustic engine with high conversion efficiency from heat energy to acoustic energy and a designing method for the thermoacoustic engine. A stack of the thermoacoustic engine has a plurality of flow passages extending through a thermoacoustic piping section. A hot heat exchanger is coupled to one end in a longitudinal direction of the stack. A cold heat exchanger is coupled to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the stack. And a length in the longitudinal direction of the hot heat exchanger is greater than a length in the longitudinal direction of the stack, and is greater than a length in the longitudinal direction of the cold heat exchanger.