Study of element interaction in thermoacoustic engines. Annual report, 1 October 1992-30 September 1993
The physical understanding of thermoacoustic engines has progressed rapidly in the past five years. The general performance of prime movers and refrigerators is now reasonably well understood and documented. There are, however, notable discrepancies between theory and experiment, especially at large acoustic amplitudes. The discrepancies are typically attributed to non-linear terms not included in the theory. Acoustic streaming is often mentioned as the culprit and this may well be the case. There is evidence, however, that interactions between elements in the engine are at least partially responsible for the differences. This is illustrated, for example, by Swift's observation that the heat exchanger appears to be effective over larger acoustic displacements than simple geometric arguments predict. Additional element interactions will arise when a thermoacoustic prime mover and a refrigerator are placed in the same acoustic cavity. This three year project centers on studies of different thermoacoustic element geometries.
- Research Organization:
- Mississippi Univ., University, MS (United States). Physical Acoustics Research Lab.
- OSTI ID:
- 5514071
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-273228/7/XAB; PARGUM-93-04; CNN: N00014-93-1-0077
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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