Thermodynamic Analysis And Experimental Study On Traveling Wave Thermoacoustic Prime Movers

Thermoacoustic prime mover is absolutely a new type of compressor, which is based on the thermoacoustic effect. Due to its no pollution, no moving part, simple structure and high reliability, the thermoacoustic machines are becoming more and more attractive in recent years. The pulse-tube refrigeration driven by the thermoacoustic prime has good application in natural gas liquefaction field. In addition, as the substitute for room temperature refrigeration technology, it has been a great development in thermoacoustic refrigeration. Therefore, the study of thermoacoustics is one of the most attractive fields in refrigeration engineering.In this paper, the author has studied some thermodynamic and technical problems in the field, such as the following investigations:1 Thermodynamic Analysis on Traveling-wave Thermoacoustic Engine with Distributed-parameter Network Model Method This paper analyzed a traveling wave thermoacoustic engine based on thermoacoustic distributed-parameter network method. A complete distributed-parameter network model is proposed and the result of the distributed-parameter model is given. The conclusions obtained here may provide some theoretical guidance for an optimal design of thermoacoustic devices.2 Optimization Design for a Traveling Wave Thermoacoustic Engine An optimization model for designing an efficient traveling-wave thermoacoustic engine is proposed. Both the viscous friction and axial heat conduction are included in this model. The analysis presented the optimal regenerator structure parameters of a coaxial traveling-wave thermoacoustic prime mover.3 Experimental Study on a Coaxial Traveling Wave Thermoacoustic Engine(1) In order to miniaturize the thermoacoustic devices, we designed the first coaxial traveling wave thermoacoustic engine and successfully operated it. It achieved pressure ratios of 1.047 with nitrogen as the working fluid. The oscillating frequency is 91 Hz. Experimental investigation has been made on the influence of the operating parameters and structure parameters on the performance of the system.(2) The fascinating thing is that the on-set temperature of the engine is 105癈, which is the lowest one in the field. It means that a lot of waste heat with low quality can be used to run a thermoacoustic prime mover.(3) The frequency may transit from the second harmonic oscillating frequency to the third one when the hot temperature is higher than the specific temperature and the pressure is higher than the specific pressure. The frequency discontinuity is a complicated problem. The further work is ongoing.