Theoretical and experimental analysis of the thermoacoustic refrigeration
Abstract
The thermoacoustic theory is studied in detail and its application to refrigeration is analyzed. This new refrigerator which uses resonant high amplitude sound in inert gases to pump heat will be described. It will be seen that without any moving parts, except the driver (speaker diaphragm), this refrigerator is as efficient as other refrigeration systems. An experiment is designed with all the major parts manufactured and fabricated in the lab. The results of the experiments are seriously effected due to the leakage of helium. Detailed recommendations are made which will help prevent similar design problems. In addition, numerical simulation was performed using a FORTRAN program to examine the variation of various parameters with frequency and acoustic pressure.