Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

ABSTRACT

Thermo acoustic have been known for over years but the use of this phenomenon to
develop engines and pumps is fairly recent. Thermo acoustic refrigeration is one such
phenomenon that uses high intensity sound waves in a pressurized gas tube to pump heat
from one place to other to produce refrigeration effect. In this type of refrigeration all sorts
of conventional refrigerants are eliminated and sound waves take their place. All we need
is a loud speaker and an acoustically insulated tube. Also this system completely eliminates
the need for lubricants and results in 40% less energy consumption. Thermo acoustic heat
engines have the advantage of operating with inert gases and with little or no moving parts,
making them highly efficient ideal candidate for environmentally-safe refrigeration with
almost zero maintenance cost. Now we will look into a thermo acoustic refrigerator, its
principle and functions.

INTRODUCTION
Over the past two decades, physicists and engineers have been working on a class of heat
engines and compression-driven refrigerators that use no oscillating pistons, oil seals or
lubricants. These so called thermo acoustic devices take advantage of sound waves
reverberating within them to convert a temperature differential into mechanical energy or
mechanical energy into a temperature differential. Such materials thus can be used, for
example, to generate electricity or to provide refrigeration and air conditioning. Because
thermo acoustic devices perform best with inert gases as the working fluid, they do not
produce the harmful environmental effects such as global warming or stratospheric ozone
depletion that have been associated with the engineered refrigerants such as CFCs and
HFCs. Recent advances have boosted efficiencies to levels that rival what can be obtained
from internal combustion engines, suggesting that commercial thermo acoustic devices
may soon be a common place.

The entire features mentioned above is possible only because sound waves in
thermo acoustic engines and refrigerators can replace the piston and cranks that are
typically built into any machinery. These thermo acoustic devices produce or absorb sound
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power, rather than the shaft power characteristic of rotating machinery making it
mechanically simple.

BASIC FUNCTIONING

In a nut shell, a thermo acoustic engine converts heat from a high-temperature

source into acoustic power while rejecting waste heat to a low temperature sink. A thermo
acoustic refrigerator does the opposite, using acoustic power to pump heat from a cool
source to a hot sink. These devices perform best when they employ noble gases as their
thermodynamic working fluids. Unlike the chemicals used in refrigeration over the years,
such gases are both nontoxic and environmentally benign. Another appealing feature of
thermo acoustics is that one can easily flange an engine onto a refrigerator, creating a heat
powered cooler with no moving parts at all.

The principle can be imagined as a loud speaker creating high amplitude sound
waves that can compress refrigerant allowing heat absorption. The researches have
exploited the fact that sound waves travel by compressing and expanding the gas they are
generated in.

Suppose that the above said wave is traveling through a tube. Now, a temperature
gradient can be generated by putting a stack of plates in the right place in the tube, in which
sound waves are bouncing around. Some plates in the stack will get hotter while the others
get colder. All it takes to make a refrigerator out of this is to attach heat exchangers to the
end of these stacks.

It is interesting to note that humans feel pain when they hear sound above 120
decibels, while in this system sound may reach amplitudes of 173 decibels. But even if the
fridge is to crack open, the sound will not be escaping to outside environment, since this
intense noise can only be generated inside the pressurized gas locked inside the cooling
system. It is worth noting that, prototypes of the technology has been built and one has
even flown inside a space shuttle.

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

THERMO ACOUSTIC EFFECT

Acoustic or sound waves can be utilized to produce cooling. The pressure variations
in the acoustic wave are accompanied by temperature variations due to compressions and
expansions of the gas. For a single medium, the average temperature at a certain location
does not change. When a second medium is present in the form of a solid wall, heat is
exchanged with the wall. An expanded gas parcel will take heat from the wall, while a
compressed parcel will reject heat to the wall.

As expansion and compression in an acoustic wave are inherently associated with a

displacement, a net transport of heat results. To fix the direction of heat flow, a standing
wave pattern is generated in an acoustic resonator. The reverse effect also exists: when a
large enough temperature gradient is imposed to the wall, net heat is absorbed and an
acoustic wave is generated, so that heat is converted to work.

The principle may find applications in practical refrigerators, providing cooling,

heat engines providing heat or power generators providing work. A great advantage of the
technique is that there are no or only one moving part, in the cold area, which results in
high reliability and low vibration levels. Also the use of inert gases make them
environmentally safe and hence more in demand.

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FUNCTIONING IN DETAIL

Thermo acoustic refrigerators now under development use sound waves strong
enough to make your hair catch fire, says inventor Steven L Garrett. But this noise is safely
contained in a pressurized tube. If the tube gets shattered, the noise would instantly
dissipate to harmless levels. Because it conducts heat, such intense acoustic power is a
clean, dependable replacement for cooling systems that use ozone destroying
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Now a scientist Hofler is also developing super cold
cryocoolers capable of temperatures as low as -135˚F (180˚K). he hopes to achieve -243˚F
(120˚K) because such cryogenic temperatures would keep electronic components cool in
space or speed the function of new microprocessors.

The interaction between heat and sound has been underestimated even by Sir Isaac
Newton. This became clear, when Laplace corrected Newton’s earlier calculation of the
speed of sound in air. Newton had assumed the expansions and compressions of a sound
wave in a gas happen without affecting the temperature. Laplace accounted for slight
variations in temperature that in fact take place, and by doing so he derived the correct
speed of sound in air, a value that is 18% faster than Newton’s estimate.

A thermo acoustic refrigerator functions as follows. First, customized loudspeakers

are attached to cylindrical chambers filled with inert, pressurized gases such as xenon and
helium. At the opposite end of the tubes are tightly wound "jelly rolls" made of plastic film
glued to ordinary fishing line. When the loudspeakers blast sound at 180 decibels, an
acoustic wave resonates in the chambers. As gas molecules begin dancing frantically in
response to the sound, they are compressed and heated, with temperatures reaching a peak
at the thickest point of the acoustic wave. That's where the super hot gas molecules crash
into the plastic rolls. After transferring their heat to the stack, the sound wave causes the
molecules to expand and cool. "Each one of these oscillating molecules acts as a member
of a 'bucket brigade,' carrying heat toward the source of the sound," says Garrett. Cold
temperatures can then be tapped for chilling refrigerators, bedrooms, cars, or electronic

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

components on satellites and inside computers, according to Garrett. Someday, he says,

turning up the air-conditioner could be accomplished by adjusting a volume-control knob.

Fig 1 Functioning of a TA Refrigerator

The Space Thermo Acoustic Refrigerator was the first electrically-driven thermo
acoustic chiller designed to operate autonomously outside a laboratory. It was launched on
the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-42) on January 22, 1992. The design was an extension of
the first thermo acoustic refrigerator built at Los Alamos National Laboratory as the Ph.D.
thesis project of Thomas J. Hofler. Dr. Hofler is currently a member of the physics faculty
at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

Fig 2 A Space Thermo Acoustic Refrigerator

The refrigerator is driven by a modified compression driver that is coupled to a

quarter-wavelength resonator using a single-convolution electroformed metal bellow. The
resonator contains the heat exchangers and the stack. The stack is 3.8 cm in diameter and
7.9 cm in length. It was constructed by rolling up polyester film (Mylar™) using fishing
line as spaces placed every 5 mm. The device was filled with a 97.2% Helium and 2.7%
Xenon gas mixture at a pressure of 10.

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

The major parts of a thermo acoustic refrigerator are loud speakers and resonators.
Pictorical representations of both are given below.

Fig 4 A LOUD SPEAKER

Fig 5 A RESONATOR

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

In contrast, inside conventional refrigerators and air conditioners, CFC gas is

compressed and heated by an electrically driven pump, then cooled and condensed by a
heat exchanger in a process known as a "Rankine cycle." When the liquefied gas is
depressurized, it evaporates and drops to a much cooler temperature. Moving through the
freezer coils of a food compartment, the cold fluid picks up heat, starting the cycle all over
again.

Before World War II, ammonia and sulfur dioxide were commonly used in
refrigerators, explains Gregory W. Swift, a thermo acoustics expert at Los Alamos National
Laboratory in New Mexico. But these substances were soon replaced with CFCs, which are
noncorrosive, nonflammable, and relatively nontoxic, Swift says. Unfortunately, he adds,
CFCs leak from cooling systems, destroying the atmospheric ozone that protects the earth's
surface from ultraviolet radiation. Damage to the ozone shield may result in adverse human
health effects including cancers, cataracts, immune system deficits, and respiratory effects,
as well as diminish food supplies and promote increases in vector borne diseases.

Fig 3 Graphs of temperature ratio and coefficient of performance against heat load

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

In a thermo acoustic refrigerator there are two major factors for heat transfer. They
are mentioned below:

1. Temp gradient(∆ T/∆ x)

The temperature gradient is measured as

∆T/∆ x = P / ρξCp
Where p is the acoustic pressure,
ξ is the displacement amplitude,
ρ is the density and
Cp is the specific heat/unit mass.
2. Thermal penetration length (ζ )
The thermal penetration length is the distance heat can diffuse
through a gas in a time t seconds.
ζ = k t / ρ Cp.
Where k is the thermal conductivity,
ρ is the density and
Cp is the specific heat/unit mass.

Depending on the thermal penetration depth the distance between the stack plates is
varied. If the distance is very large heat transfer will be minimum or if the distance is too
small the gas will be unable to pass through the stack plates and moreover transfer of heat
to plates will be difficult. So the stack of plates should be kept at proper distances apart.
Moreover the acoustic pressure determines the temperature gradient setup. So a resonator is
a must in a thermo acoustic refrigerator.

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

CHALLENGES BEFORE THE PROJECT

Even though thermo acoustic devices uses low cost components and require only
one moving part, making them inexpensive and maintenance free systems they have certain
challenges before them. But with time researches must overcome them.

One of the main challenges faced is regarding the efficiency. The efficiency of
thermo acoustic refrigerators and engines is very low. Thermo acoustic refrigerators gives
only one-fourth the efficiency compared to conventional refrigerators. The coefficient of
performance of the most advanced thermo acoustic refrigerator is only around 1 compared
to 3 to 4 of conventional refrigerators.

Since, they use electricity to drive a pump that moves working gas, conventional
refrigerants represent 6% of the nation’s annual electricity consumption. Similarly, the loud
speakers inside a thermo acoustic refrigerator also must be activated by electric power. The
best thermo acoustic coolers built thus far use twice as much electricity as conventional
refrigerants. Though much greater efficiency is theoretically possible, the claim that the
thermo acoustic refrigerators will ever catch up with traditional Rankine cycle designs is in
doubt.

Complex physical factors such as the friction generated by gas molecules churning
back and forth inside a chamber place fundamental limits on the efficiency of thermo
acoustic refrigerators. Losses also occur because of acoustic distortions generated at levels
above 155 decibels.

Another major problem is that a thermo acoustic refrigerator is “either fully on or

off”. That is it gets too cold when thermostat is turned on and too hot when it is off.

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

IMPROVEMENTS MADE

In order to improve the efficiency, regenerators are used. The function of a

regenerator is to store thermal energy during part of the cycle and return it later. This
component can increase the thermodynamic efficiency to impressive levels, but its
mechanical complexity is greater. In a regenerator used some thermal energy was
converted to acoustic energy, though not enough to make up for the accompanying losses.

The extra stress given in using standing waves also paved to be fruitful.
Amplification became much easier while using standing waves. This increased the level of
temperature gradient setup thereby providing more refrigeration effect.

An increased voltage and reduced current gave better performances than usual.
Moreover intense working is going on in developing sound by piezoelectric effect which
would considerably reduce electricity hazards.

With these workings it was found that the efficiency of the engine improved
markedly. At best it ran at 42% of the maximum theoretical efficiency, which is about 40%
better than earlier thermo acoustic devices had achieved and rivals what modern engines
have.

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

MERITS OF THE TECHNOLOGY

Although the working principle of thermo acoustic technology is quite complex, the
practical implementation is relatively simple. This offers great advantages with respect to
the economic feasibility of this technology. Other advantages are

1. No moving parts for the process, so very reliable and a long life span.
2. Environmentally friendly working medium (air, noble gas)
3. The use of air or noble gas as working medium offers a large window of
applications because there are no phase transitions.
4. Use of simple materials with no special requirements, which are commercially
available in large quantities and therefore relatively cheap.
5. On the same technology base a large variety of applications can be covered.

Out of these, the two distinct advantages of thermo acoustic refrigeration are that
the harmful refrigerant gases are removed. The second advantage is that the number of
moving parts is decreased dramatically by removing the compressor. It also has fewer
moving parts than its competitors, and so is less likely to break down.

Also sonic compression or ‘sound wave refrigeration’ uses sound to compress

refrigerants which replace the traditional compressor and need for lubricants. The
technology could represent a major breakthrough using a variety of refrigerants, and
save up to 40% in energy. The system is also an energy saving drop in current
compressors, and projected mass production cost is very low.

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

The planned system uses sound waves to compress inert Helium gas and extract
heat. The system is potentially much more energy efficient in all applications, as well as
non-ozone depleting and having no global warming potential.

Thermo acoustic refrigeration works best with inert gases such as helium and argon,
which are harmless, non flammable, non toxic, non ozone depleting or global warming and
is judged inexpensive to manufacture.

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APPLICATIONS

Speaking of its practical applicability, prototype of thermo acoustic refrigerators

have operated on the Space Shuttle and abroad a Navy warship. And a powerful thermo
acoustic engine has recently demonstrated its ability to liquefy natural gas on a commercial
scale.

In practice there is a large variety of applications possible for both thermo acoustic
engines and refrigerators and combination of these. Below, some concrete examples are
given of possible applications:

a. Liquefaction of natural gas:

Burning natural gas in a thermo acoustic engine generates acoustic
energy. This acoustic energy is used in a thermo acoustic heat pump
to liquefy natural gas.

b. Chip cooling:
In this case a piezoelectric element generates the sound wave. A
thermo acoustic heat pump cools the chip.

c. Electronic equipment cooling on naval ships:

In this application, a speaker generates sound waves. Again a thermo
acoustic pump is used to provide the cooling.

d. Electricity from sunlight:

Concentrated thermal solar energy generates an acoustic wave in a
heated thermo acoustic engine. A linear motor generates electricity
from this.

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Thermo Acoustic Refrigeration

e. Cogeneration (combined heat and power):

A burner heats a thermo acoustic engine, therewith generating
acoustic energy. A linear motor converts this energy to electricity.
Waste heat of burner (flue gases) can be used to supply heat.

f. Upgrading industrial waste heat:

Acoustic energy is created by means of industrial waste heat in a
thermo acoustic engine. In a thermo acoustic heat pump this acoustic
energy is used to upgrade the same waste heat to a useful
temperature level.

Though it probably won’t be useful for car air conditioning systems any time soon
since they are too bulky and heavy, it may prove useful for “niche applications”, such as
cooling satellite sensors or super fast computers. In addition to being useful on shipboard,
this technology could be adapted for soft drink machines, medicine storage, computer chips
and food transport companies.

Chilled water from the refrigerator circulated through racks of radar electronics on
the USS Deyo, a Navy destroyer. Although we can improve the performance substantially
with some modest changes, thermo acoustic refrigerators of this type will always have an
intrinsic limit to their efficiency.

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CONCLUSION

Thermo acoustic engines and refrigerators were already being considered a few
years ago for specialized applications, where their simplicity, lack of lubrication and
sliding seals, and their use of environmentally harmless working fluids were adequate
compensation for their lower efficiencies. This latest breakthrough, coupled with other
developments in the design of high power, single frequency loud speakers and
reciprocating electric generators suggests that thermo acoustics may soon emerge as an
environmentally attractive way to power hybrid electric vehicles, capture solar energy,
refrigerate food, air condition buildings, liquefy industrial gases and serve in other
capacities that are yet to be imagined.

In future let us hope these thermo acoustic devices which promise to improve
everyone’s standard of living while helping to protect the planet might soon take over other
costly, less durable and polluting engines and pumps. The latest achievements of the
former are certainly encouraging, but there are still much left to be done.

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REFERENCES

WEB SITES
www.stormingmedia.us
www.rclsgi.eng.ohio-state.edu
www.compukiss.com/populartopics/entertainmenthtm/article1155
www.sigmaxi.org
www.radio.weblogs.com
www.lanl.gov/mst/engine/news
www.americanscientist.org
www.pennstate.org
www.arl.psu.edu/capabilities/uss_acou_tre.html
www.ehp.neihsnih.gov/docs/1994/102-9/innovations

SEARCH ENGINES

www.google.com
www.howstuffworks.com

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CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION 1

• BASIC FUNCTIONING 2

• THE THERMO ACOUSTIC EFFECT 3

• FUNCTIONING IN DETAIL 4

• CHALLENGES BEFORE THE PROJECT 10

• IMPROVEMENTS MADE 11

• MERITS OF THE TECHNOLOGY 12

• APPLICATIONS 14

• CONCLUSION 16

• REFERENCES 17

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