Cyclic operation of a MEMS-based resonant micro heat engine: Experiment and model

The operation of a MEMS-based micro heat engine at resonant and off-resonant conditions is presented. Both model and experiment are used to investigate resonant and off-resonant operation of the engine. In this work, we look at the pressure-volume (PV) diagrams of an engine operated at resonance and off-resonance. Model predictions of the PV diagram are in favorable agreement with measured data. The results show that resonant operation is beneficial. At resonance, the pressure and volume in the engine cavity are decoupled and more mechanical work is observed. The PV diagram describes an elliptical shape. However, for an off-resonant operation the pressure and volume become more coupled and less mechanical work is observed. The PV diagram is described by a sigmoidal shape.