Construction and Trial Experiment of A Small Size Thermo-Acoustic Refrigeration System

International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Engineering (IJETE)
Volume 1 Issue 3, April 2014, ISSN 2348 8050

70
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Construction and Trial Experiment of a Small Size Thermo-Acoustic
Refrigeration System
Ankush Mehta
1
, Mandeep Singh
1
, Kautuk Dixit
1
, Sajid Qureshi
2
, Dr. S R Madan
3
, Dr. S C Solanki
4
1
Research Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mahakal Institute of Technology and Management, Ujjain, M.P, India
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mahakal Institute of Technology and Management, Ujjain, M.P, India
3
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mahakal Institute of Technology and Management, Ujjain, M.P, India
4
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ujjain Engineering College, Ujjain, M.P, India
Abstract - This paper envisages with the
construction and working of a thermoacoustic
refrigerator cum heat engine. The arrangement consists
of three major parts, i.e. a resonance tube, stack and a
loud speaker. Thermoacoustics is a joint venture of
thermodynamics, fluid dynamics and acoustics. The
motive of this work is to construct a standing wave
thermoacoustic system in order to avoid the harmful
effects of CFCs and to develop a model which
encourages the use of non conventional energy source in
order to set aside the use of conventional energy.
Moreover, with the use of an inert gas the more control
on temperature could be achieved. The simple
construction with no moving part is one of the most
apposite factor of the setup.
Keywords: Thermoacoustic, Stack, Sound Wave,
Frequency
I. INTRODUCTION
Just by using the power of sound or the power
hidden in sound energy the thermoacoustic refrigeration
system can be able to reduce the cost of refrigeration as
well as to reduce the environmental hazard. In the recent
years the induction of thermoacoustic technology has
been used for the development in the field of non
conventional energy. Such use can eliminate the need for
harmful refrigerants such as CFCs. Modern
thermoacoustic systems are majorly based on linear
thermoacoustics models. This system involves no
adverse chemicals or environmentally unsafe elements
and is also capable to utilize waste heat coming out from
the gas in any heat pump or other heat engine to produce
acoustic power. Thermoacoustics deals with the
conversion of heat energy to sound energy and vice
versa. Another major advantage of this system is that it
doesnt require any large number of relatively moving
parts as compare to conventional system. Yet the
acoustic stimulation of heat flux and the initiation of
acoustic work redirects to some timely phasing of
thermodynamic process. This time wise phasing in
almost any type of thermoacoustic engines is due to the
presence of two thermal media, first one is fluid and
other one is stack.
The Thermo Acoustic phenomenon further can be
explained as, Acoustic or Soundwaves produce
displacement and temperature oscillations in associating
with the variation of pressures. In order to produce
thermoacoustic effect, these oscillations should occur
parallel to a preferably metallic or any other solid
surface, so that heat can be transferred to or from the
surface. A detailed explanation of the way
thermoacoustic coolers work is given by Swift [1] and
Wheatly et al. [2]. In this paper the design and
development procedure of a thermoacoustic refrigerator
is reported with beneficial trial. In order to produce
thermo acoustic effect, these oscillations in a gas should
occur perpendicular to a solid surface, so that heat can be
transferred to or from the surface. A stack of closely
spaced parallel plates is placed inside the thermo
acoustic device in order to provide such a solid surface.
The thermo acoustic phenomenon occurs by the
interaction of the gas particles and the stack plate. When
large temperature gradients are created across the stack,
sound waves are generated i.e. energy is produced in the
form of acoustic power (forming a thermo acoustic
engine). In the reverse system, the acoustic energy is
used just to create temperature gradients across the stack,
which is used to transfer heat from a lower temperature
medium to a high temperature medium (as the case of a
thermo acoustic refrigerator) [3].
II. DESIGN APPROACH
It is a trial for design designing and optimization of
the stack which becomes the most important part of the
cooling system. The coefficient of performance of the
stack, defined as the ratio of the heat pumped by the
stack to the acoustic power used by the stack, is to be
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maximized. The exact theoretical expressions of the
acoustic power and cooling power in the stack are
complicated, so it tried to use the simplified expressions
deduced from the short stack, and boundary-layer
approximations [4]. These expressions still look
complicated and they contain a large number of
parameters of the working gas, material and geometrical
parameters of the stack. It is difficult to deal in
engineering with so many parameters. However, one can
reduce the number of parameters by choosing a group of
dimensionless independent variables. Olson and Swift
[5] wrote a paper about similitude and dimensionless
parameters for thermoacoustic devices. Some
dimensionless parameters can be deduced directly.
Others can be defined from the boundary-layer and
short-stack assumptions.
Fig.1:Line Diagram of the Object
Average pressure
Since the power density in a thermoacoustic
device is proportional to the average pressure [p
m
] it is
favorable to choose p
m
as large as possible. This is
determined by the mechanical strength of the resonator.
On the other hand,
k
is inversely proportional to square
root of p
m
, [6]
=
1
So a high pressure results in a small
k
and a small stack
plate spacing. This makes the construction difficult.
Taking into account these effects and also making the
preliminary choice for helium as the working gas, the
maximal pressure is 12 bar. We choose to use 10 bar. To
minimize the heat conduction from the hot side of the
stack to the cold side, we used a holder made of a
material with low thermal conductivity.
Frequency
As the power density in the thermoacoustic
devices is a linear function of the acoustic resonance
frequency. An obvious choice is thus a high resonance
frequency. On the other hand
k
is inversely proportional
to the square root of the frequency which again implies a
stack with very small plate spacing. Making a
compromising relation between these two effects and the
fact that the driver resonance has to be matched to the
resonator resonance for high efficiency of the driver, and
we choose to use the frequency between 250Hz to
450Hz
Fig.2:Wave travelling in the tube
Dynamic pressure
The dynamic pressure amplitude p
0
is limited by
two factors namely, the maximum force of the driver and
non-linearities. The acoustic Mach number, defined as
=
ma
And it has to be limited to M0.1 for gases in order to
avoid nonlinear effects[1]. From many experimental
studies on the structure of turbulent oscillatory flows, it
has unanimously been observed that transition to
turbulence in the boundary layer took place at a
Reynolds number (Ry) based on Stokes boundary-layer
thickness, of about 500550, independent of the
particular flow geometry (pipe, channel, oscillating
plate) [69]. Since we intend to design a refrigerator
with moderate cooling power we will use driving ratios
D < 3%, so that M < 0:1 and Ry < 500.
Working gas
Helium is used as working gas. The reason for
this choice is that helium has the highest sound velocity
and thermal conductivity of all inert gases. Furthermore,
helium is cheaper in comparison with the other noble
gases. A high thermal conductivity is also a wise
selection since
k
is proportional to the square root of the
thermal conductivity coefficient K. The effect of using
other gases is discussed elsewhere [7].
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Stack material
The heat conduction through the stack material
and gas in the stack region has a negative effect on the
performance of the refrigerator [1,3]. The stack material
must have a low thermal conductivity K
s
and heat
capacity c
s
larger than the heat capacity of the working
gas, in order that the temperature of the stack plates is
steady. The material Mylar is chosen, as it has a low heat
conductivity (0.16 W/m K) and is produced in many
thicknesses between 10 and 500 m.
Fig.3:Stack with Ear Buds
Resonance tube
The resonance tube is one of the key
components of a thermoacoustic engine. A smooth,
linear cylindrical resonator pipe without steps is used to
avoid misalignments and abrupt transitions eddying or
non-linear pressure variations which may greatly
complicate the analysis. Resonance frequencies are
mainly determined by the length of the resonator.
Prolongation of resonance tube may leads to decrease of
working frequency and increase of stacks hot end
temperature with the same heating power. The velocity
amplitude increases from the heater to the water cooler
in accordance with a certain length of the resonance
tube, because the heater is closer to the velocity node.
On the other hand, when the resonance tube is
prolonged, the relative location of the thermoacoustic
core shifts nearer to the velocity node so the velocity
amplitude in the thermoacoustic core decreases [13].
Fig.4:Resonance Tube
Penetration Depth
An essential variable in building a
thermoacoustic refrigerator is the spacing between the
walls of the stack. If the walls of the stack are too close,
the sound cannot pass through the stack efficiently since
the viscous properties of air prevent the air from
vibrating. If the walls are too far apart, the process
described above cannot occur, since gas packets are too
far away from the wall to effectively transfer of heat.
According to G.W. Swift, the ideal spacing in a stack is
for thermal penetration depths[8]. The thermal
penetration depth is the distance in which heat can
diffuse in a gas over a certain amount of time. For
example, if a block of aluminum is at a constant low
temperature and suddenly one side is exposed to a high
temperature, the distance that the heat penetrates the
metal in 1 second is the heat penetration. As time passes,
the heat penetrates farther into the material, increasing
the temperature of the interior sections. However, since
sound waves are constantly oscillating between the roles
of heat source and heat sink, the thermal penetration
depth is roughly constant. The thermal penetration depth
for an oscillating heat source is a function of the
frequency of the standing wave, f , the thermal
conductivity, k , and density, r , of the gas, as well as the
isobaric specific heat per unit mass of the gas c
p
,
=
A simple wavelength standing wave thermoacoustic
heat-pump, in which the fluid inside the tube is excited
by an acoustic source such as a loudspeaker or heat-
engine. An important component termed a stack is
located in the tube between a hot heat exchanger (HHX)
and a cold heat exchanger (CHX), and its purpose is to
provide thermal capacity and maintain imperfect thermal
contact with the oscillating fluid. This imperfect thermal
contact between the gas and the solid stack introduces a
shift in phase between the temperature and pressure
oscillations of each gas parcel. It will be shown that
this phase shift is a key mechanism to effective heat-
pumping within the stack region. The distances over
which each gas parcel moves in one period of oscillation
are much less than the length of the stack plate. One may
compare the process of heat transfer across the stack to a
bucket brigade, where many small pumping actions
along the stack combine together in series to create
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effective heat transfer from one end of the stack to the
other.
The stacks in thermoacoustic devices vary in
geometry and construction but all provide a series of
narrow gaps through which the fluid oscillates. Stacks
are often constructed by assembling a stack of thin
plates, rolling up a sheet into a spiral or drilling holes
through solid billets. Recent analytical studies [9]
indicated that thermoacoustic heat-pumps can operate
without a stack. The design, construction and execution
of a stackless device of appreciable comparable
efficiency in comparison to devices with stacks are
workable, although they have geometry constraints
requiring the enclosure to have a large ratio of exchanger
area to sidewall area.
Critical Temperature
The critical temperature is the temperature at
which no heat will be transferred through the stack. If
the temperature difference induced by the sound wave is
greater than this critical temperature, the stack will
function as a refrigerator, transferring heat from the cold
end of the tube to the warm end. If the temperature is
less than the critical temperature then the stack will
function as an acoustic engine, moving heat from the
warm region to the colder region and creating sound
waves.
III. CONSTRUCTION
To construct the stack, a roll of 35-mm film was
unrolled. Lengths of the middle portion of ear buds were
glued across the width of the film at equal intervals
using a adhesive. To keep lines straight the line was first
wound onto a loom, a cardboard frame with slits cut
every 5 mm length. After spraying the glue onto the
lines, the frame was placed over the film and a Teflon
weight was placed on top, to press the lines against the
film. Once the glue was set, the earbuds was cut flush
with the edges of the film. This process was repeated for
approximately 1 meter of film. The film was then rolled
around a small diameter acrylic rod and layers were
gradually peeled off until the film roll made fit snugly
into the tube. The stack was positioned in the tube
approximately 4 cm. from the closed end so as to be
close to the pressure maximum, but away from the
particle displacement minimum. Two thermocouples
were made by soldering copper and constantan wires
together. One thermocouple was inserted through the
outermost winding of the stack to detect the temperature
below the stack, while the other was allowed to dangle
just above the stack. Leads for both thermocouples
passed through a small hole drilled in the aluminum plug
at the end of the tube. Digital multimeters were used to
display the temperature above and below the stack. The
loudspeaker was driven by a sine wave generator
installed in an Android Mobile device through a 100 W
audio amplifier. The pressure amplitude inside the
resonator tube was not measured, but the power to the
speaker was increased until a second harmonic became
barely audible, indicating that the system was becoming
nonlinear. As contrary to conventional thermoacoustic
systems, no-stack setups do not include porous material
as a medium for storing and transferring heat. In such
systems, heat is transported by gas parcels directly
between heat exchangers. A simplified Lagrangian
model has been developed in this trial to approximately
analyze no-stack standing-wave thermoacoustic
configurations. More accurate simulations of favorable
configurations are investigated with the help of
computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The dependence
of system performance is reported for a range of system
parameters. A good agreement between the simplified
model and CFD results was achieved in most cases. Heat
exchangers with finite-thickness plates were additionally
investigated in high-performance setups. For porosities
below 25%, the thickness effect appeared to be
insignificant. [10]
Fig.5:Photo of Thermoacoustic Refrigeration System
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Fig.6:Photo of Testing with Helium
IV. INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY
This simple and inexpensive thermoacoustic
refrigerator effectively demonstrates the basic physical
principles involved in its operation. As shown, however,
it is rather inefficient as a heat transfer device. If both
ends of the stack were connected to heat exchangers,
thus coupling the stack to a heat source or heat sink, the
transfer of heat would be more efficient. Other
improvements could be made by modifying the shape of
the resonator4 or increasing the stack layer separation to
an optimal four thermal penetration depths[11]. One
could also study the performance as a function of sound
level inside the resonator. Such studies might make for
an interesting senior research project.
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Following diagram presents the relation between
frequency of sound and downfall in temperature. Due to
the variation of frequency, the convective heat transfer
inside and below the stack is weakened and a
considerable downfall in temperature is felt and
measured. The strength and efficiency of waves varies
with the sound alternative and thus the normal
thermoacoustic power is calculated with help of a
thermocouple.
The temperature difference calculated is
associated with the frequency of sound waves. The room
temperature recorded as 31.1C to 31.7C. The
maximum pressure difference observed at frequency of
392 Hz. i.e. -7.6C below the room temperature. The
competence of thermoacoustic waves are studied in
terms of pressure amplitude. The process is mainly
transient in nature and cooling of heat exchanger comes
into effect slowly. In order to explicate the consequence
of the streaming profile, we would scrutinize the
processes in the pulse tube as proposed by Radebaugh
[12].
The temperature difference calculated is
associated with the frequency of sound waves. The room
temperature recorded as 31.6 C. The maximum pressure
difference observed at frequency of 392 Hz. i.e. -7.6C
below the room temperature.
Observation Table-1
Sr.No. Frequency Room Temp. in C Change in Temp. C Final Temp. in C
1 250 31.4 -3.7 27.7
2 300 31.6 -4.1 27.5
3 350 31.6 -6.1 25.5
4 380 31.2 -6.9 24.3
5 392 31.1 -7.6 23.5
6 400 31.1 -6.9 24.2
7 450 31.7 -5.3 26.4
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Fig7: Frequency-Temperature Relationship
The competence of thermoacoustic waves are studied in
[12].
VI. CONCLUSIONS
In this work, experimental and theoretical
investigations have been worked out just to check the
effects of sound waves and thereafter the effect of
helium gas onto the system. The experiments are made
to observe that the performance of thermoacoustic
system, whether it may work as a heat engine or
refrigerator system varies with respect to frequency as
well as with the effect of gas. Further there are more
opportunities that can be taken for future experiments of
such performance in terms of onset temperature as well
as difference in frequency. Moreover, there is one more
big trial is still anticipated and that is the use of different
types of inert gases, which would surely be made able to
induct a lot of verities in the field of thermoacoustics.
REFERENCES
[1] Swift GW. Thermoacoustic engines. J Acoust Soc
Am 1988;84:11461980.
[2] Wheatley JC, Hofler T, Swift GW, Migliori A.
Understanding some simple phenomena in
thermoacoustics with applications to acoustical heat
engines. Am J Phys 1985;53:14762.
[3] Garrett S.L., Adeff J.A., and Hofler T.J.
Thermoacoustic refrigerator for space applications.
Journal of Thermoacoustic and Heat Transfer, 7(4):595-
599, 1993.
[4] Tijani MEH. Loudspeaker-driven thermo-acoustic
refrigeration. Ph.D. thesis, unpublished, Eindhoven
University of Technology, 2001.
[5] Olson JR, Swift GW. Similitude in thermoacoustic. J
Acoust Soc Am 1994;95:14051412.
[6] Tijani MEH, Zeegars JCH, de Waele ATAM
Design of thermoacoustic refrigerators. Elsevier
Science Ltd., 2001 42:49-57
[7] Tijani MEH, Zeegers JCH, de Waele ATAM. The
Prandtl number and thermoacoustic refrigerators. J
Acoust Soc Am 2001
[8] Swift GW, Thermoacoustic engines and
refrigerators, Phys. Today 48, 1995, p-22-2
[9] Wakeland R S, Keolin R M, Thermoacoustics with
idealized heat exchangers and no stack, J.Acoust. Soc.
Am. 111 2654-2664, 2002
[10] Behran Asgharian, Numerical modeling of
thermoacoustic heat pumps and prime movers with no
stacks and intermittent stacks, A dissertation submitted
for the degree of Ph.D., Washington State University,
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, May
2013
[11] Swift GW, Thermoacoustic engines, J. Acoust.
Soc. Am. 84, 11451180 ~1988
[12] R. Radebaugh. Pulse tube cryocoolers for cooling
infrared sensors. Vol. 4130 San Diego, CA, USA:
Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers,
2000, pp. 363-379.
[13] Tang K, Chen GB, Jin T, Bao R, Kong B, Qiu LM.
Influence of resonance tubelength on performance
thermoacoustically driven pulse tube refrigerator.
Cryogenics 2005;45:185
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
-8 -6 -4 -2 0
F
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
y

(
H
z
)
Down fall in Temperature (C)
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[12].
VI. CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES
Am 1988;84:11461980.
599, 1993.
Acoust Soc Am 1994;95:14051412.
Science Ltd., 2001 42:49-57
Acoust Soc Am 2001
Am. 111 2654-2664, 2002
2013
Soc. Am. 84, 11451180 ~1988
2000, pp. 363-379.
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
0
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[12].
VI. CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES
Am 1988;84:11461980.
599, 1993.
Acoust Soc Am 1994;95:14051412.
Science Ltd., 2001 42:49-57
Acoust Soc Am 2001
Am. 111 2654-2664, 2002
2013
Soc. Am. 84, 11451180 ~1988
2000, pp. 363-379.

Construction and Trial Experiment of A Small Size Thermo-Acoustic Refrigeration System

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International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Engineering (IJETE)

Volume 1 Issue 3, April 2014, ISSN 2348 8050

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