Study of a gas-liquid-coupled heat-driven room-temperature thermoacoustic refrigerator with different working gases

Chi, Jiaxin; Xu, Jingyuan; Zhang, Limin; Wu, Zhanghua; Hu, Jianying; Luo, Ercang

doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2021.114657

Cited by 36 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…This method has been applied and validated in previous research such as in ref. [12,13,14]. In the analysis, Eqs.…”

Section: Onset Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

A thermoacoustic refrigerator with a compact thermal buffer tube

Tze¹,

Cho²,

Xu³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The development of thermoacoustic refrigeration technology has been held back by low power density and high required temperatures. The present work proposes and simulates a compact, multi-stage loop thermoacoustic refrigeration system with integrated stages connected by a short thermal buffer tube at the heating-cooling section interface. This arrangement improves power density and reduces friction losses. Designed to operate at a cooling temperature between 200 and 290 K, and powered by low-grade heat input at around 450 to 600 K at 2.0 MPa mean pressure and 293 K ambient temperature, the system can achieve relatively high power density and low onset temperature. Simulation results show a four-stage system can produce a maximum cooling power output of around 5 to 10 kW with an overall axial length of less than 12 m. The system also requires a low onset temperature difference at approximately 35 K between heat input and ambient for the system to sustain limit cycle oscillations.

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“…This method has been applied and validated in previous research such as in ref. [12,13,14]. In the analysis, Eqs.…”

Section: Onset Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

A thermoacoustic refrigerator with a compact thermal buffer tube

Tze¹,

Cho²,

Xu³

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With its straightforward design and minimal components (such as a stack/regenerator, heat exchanger, and resonator), this engine can help reduce maintenance costs. It also boasts high reliability and environmental friendliness, with its working gas classified as a non-greenhouse gas (Li et al, 2014;Setiawan et al, 2019;Chi et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of a standing wave thermoacoustic engine with multiple unit stages

Murti,

Setiawan,

Rosafira

et al. 2024

Int. J. Renew. Energy Dev.

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The thermoacoustic engine is an eco-friendly technology capable of harnessing solar and waste energy for electricity generation, in conjunction with a linear alternator, and can function as a heat pump. This engine type holds significant appeal due to its simplistic design, devoid of any mechanical moving components, comprising only a stack sandwiched between heat exchangers within a resonator. When the temperature gradient across the stack reaches the critical threshold (onset temperature), the working gas undergoes spontaneous oscillation. Typically, a high onset temperature is necessary to induce gas oscillation in a thermoacoustic engine due to viscous losses within the system. A method to lower the onset temperature by increasing the number of unit stages consisting of stacks and heat exchangers so that the engine can utilize low-grade thermal sources has been developed to overcome this challenge. However, this method has only been applied to traveling-wave thermoacoustic engines. Its application in standing-wave engines, which offer a more compact and straightforward structure, remains unexplored. This research aims to examine how the number of unit stages in a standing-wave thermoacoustic engine influences the onset temperature and acoustic field. The onset temperature is estimated using a fundamental hydrodynamics equation and the investigation of the acoustic field throughout the engine using DeltaEC software. Results showed that the strategic positioning of multiple unit stages is essential to achieve a low onset temperature. The minimum onset temperature, approximately 92°C, is obtained when three- or four-unit stages are installed. Additionally, increasing the number of unit stages does not affect the acoustic impedance and phase difference between pressure and velocity in the stack, while simultaneously enhancing both acoustic power output and thermal efficiency.

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“…These factors are crucial for reducing overall costs and making the system commercially viable [3,4]. Researchers have explored various configurations to attain these goals, such as utilising higher mean pressure and more compact core components [5,6,7,8], incorporating liquid resonators to increase the momentum [9,10], and introducing phasechanging materials to utilise their latent heat [11,12]. Despite active research, the evolution of designs remains slow, and there is a large research gap to close before it is economically competitive with conventional cooling technology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical modelling of a looped travelling wave thermoacoustic engine

Cho,

Xu,

Hochgreb

2024

Preprint

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This article presents a two-dimensional axissymmetric computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of a three-stage travelling wave thermoacoustic engine using ANSYS FLUENT. The model incorporates porous media submodels to represent heat exchangers and regenerators, operating at a heating temperature of 600 K and an ambient temperature of 293 K, with helium as the working fluid stabilised around 3 MPa mean pressure. In comparison to traditional network models (NM), CFD yields accurate results in solving the flow field and captures higher-order details in the fluid domain.

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Study of a gas-liquid-coupled heat-driven room-temperature thermoacoustic refrigerator with different working gases

Cited by 36 publications

References 28 publications

A thermoacoustic refrigerator with a compact thermal buffer tube

A thermoacoustic refrigerator with a compact thermal buffer tube

Analysis of a standing wave thermoacoustic engine with multiple unit stages

Numerical modelling of a looped travelling wave thermoacoustic engine

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