Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Experimental Study of the Performance of the Air-Based Standing Wave Thermoacoustic Refrigerator Using Parallel Wave Stack

  • Published:
International Journal of Thermophysics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The novelty of this work is a new type of stack, namely, the parallel wave stack (PWS). In this paper, we study the performance of an air-based standing wave thermoacoustic refrigerator using the PWS. We use small heat pipes with a heat transfer rate of approximately 30 W as heat exchangers for the system. We investigate the effect of the ratio of stack length (Ls) to the distance between stack center and reflector (Xs) on the performance of the refrigerator parallel wave stacks with a blockage ratio (BR) of 67 %, 71 %, and 74 %, and with Ls/Xs ratios of 0.74, 0.96, and 1.20. We tested and compared these under a cooling load (Qc) of 0.5 W to 2 W and a frequency of 150 Hz. The results show that a BR of 71% with an Ls/Xs ratio of 0.96 provides a minimum cold-side temperature (Tc), and a maximum temperature difference (ΔTm), a maximum coefficient of performance, and a maximum relative coefficient of performance. This new type of stack can provide a higher performance. The structure of the stack is also stronger than others. This stack is an alternative and can be used in a thermoacoustic refrigerator. The results obtained from the present study will be very useful for improving the performance of the thermoacoustic refrigerator in the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the study. We do not wish to share our data at this moment because the next step of this research is going on and would like to keep the data until the project is finished.

Abbreviations

As :

Heat transfer area (m2)

PWS:

Parallel wave stack

BR:

Blockage ratio (%)

Qc :

Cooling load (W)

COP:

Coefficient of performance

TAR:

Thermoacoustic refrigerator

COPc:

Carnot coefficient of performance

Tc :

Cold-side temperature (°C)

COPR:

Relative coefficient of performance

Th :

Hot-side temperature (°C)

Ei :

Electrical input voltage (V)

Xs :

Distance between stack center and reflector (m)

f:

Frequency (Hz)

Ii :

Electrical input current (A)

Ls :

Stack length (m)

ρm :

Mean density (kg·m−3)

Pi :

Electrical input power (W)

ΔTm :

Temperature difference (°C)

References

  1. N. Rott, Thermoacoustics. Adv. Appl. Mech. 20, 135–175 (1980)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. T.J. Hofler, Thermoacoustic refrigerator design and performance, Ph.D. Dissertation, Physics Department, University of California at San Diego, 1986.

  3. G.W. Swift, Thermoacoustic engines. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 84, 1145–1180 (1988)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. S.L. Garrett, J.A. Adeff, T.J. Hofler, Thermoacoustic refrigerator for space applications. J. Thermophys. Heat Transf. 7, 595–599 (1993)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. G.W. Swift, Thermoacoustic engines and refrigerators. Phys. Today 48, 22–28 (1995)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. M. Wetzel, C. Herman, Design optimization of thermoacoustic refrigerators. Int. J. Refrig. 20, 3–21 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. J.R. Belcher, W.V. Slaton, R. Raspet, H.F. Bass, J. Lightfoot, Working gases in thermoacoustic engines. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105, 2677–2684 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. M.E. Poese, S.L. Garret, Performance measurements on a thermoacoustic refrigerator driven at high amplitudes. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 107, 2480–2486 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. M.E.H. Tijani, J.C.H. Zeegers, A.T.A.M. de Waele, Construction and performance of a thermoacoustic refrigerator. Cryogenics 42, 59–66 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. M.E.H. Tijani, J.C.H. Zeegers, A.T.A.M. de Waele, Design of thermoacoustic refrigerators. Cryogenics 42, 49–57 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. C. Herman, Y. Chen, A simplified model of heat transfer in heat exchangers and stack plates of the thermoacoustic refrigerators. Heat Mass Transfer 42, 901–917 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. M. Akhavanbazaz, M.H.K. Siddiqui, R.B. Bhat, The impact of gas blockage on the performance of a thermoacoustic refrigerator. Exper. Therm. Fluid Sci. 32, 231–239 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. E.C. Nsofor, A. Ali, Experimental study on the performance of the thermoacoustic refrigerating system. Appl. Therm. Eng. 29, 2672–2679 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. S.H. Tasnim, S. Mahmud, R.A. Fraser, Effects of variation in working fluids and operating conditions on the performance of a thermoacoustic refrigerator. Int. Commun. Heat Mass Transfer 39, 762–768 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. B.R. Nayak, G. Pundarika, B. Arya, Influence of stack geometry on the performance of thermoacoustic refrigerator. Indian Acad. Sci. 42, 223–230 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  16. S.G. Yahya, X. Mao, A.J. Jaworski, Experimental investigation of thermal performance of random stack materials for use in standing wave thermoacoustic refrigerators. Int. J. Refrig. 75, 52–63 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. C. Wantha, The impact of stack geometry and mean pressure on cold end temperature of stack in thermoacoustic refrigeration systems. Heat Mass Transf. 54, 2153–2161 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. P. Chaiwongsa, S. Wongwises, Experimental investigation on the performance of the air−based standing wave thermoacoustic refrigerator using heat pipe as heat exchangers. Int. J. Air Cond. Refrig. 28, 1–16 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. P. Chaiwongsa, S. Wongwises, Effect of the blockage ratios of circular stack on the performance of the air-based standing wave thermoacoustic refrigerator using heat pipe, Case Stud. Therm. Eng. 24, 1–13 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) for the Research and Researchers Funds for Industries (RRI), Mr. Thunyawat Chittiphalungsri from Saijo Denki International Co. Ltd., the NSTDA for the Research Chair Grant, and the Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI) for Fundamental Fund 2022.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fluid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering and Multiphase Flow Research Lab. (FUTURE), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangmod, Bangkok, 10140, Thailand

    Praitoon Chaiwongsa & Somchai Wongwises

  2. National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand

    Somchai Wongwises

Authors
  1. Praitoon Chaiwongsa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Somchai Wongwises
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Somchai Wongwises.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chaiwongsa, P., Wongwises, S. Experimental Study of the Performance of the Air-Based Standing Wave Thermoacoustic Refrigerator Using Parallel Wave Stack. Int J Thermophys 43, 152 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-022-03070-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-022-03070-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation