Thermoacoustic Refrigeration

Jonathan Newman, Bob Cariste, Alejandro Queiruga, Isaac Davis, Ben Plotnick, ichael !ordon, and "idne#
"an art$n
%e e&'lored the basic 'rinci'les o( thermoacoustic re(rigeration, re'licating the work o( )ussell and %eibull to
'roduce a small thermoacoustic re(rigerator out o( readil# available 'arts* Combined with an understanding o(
the underl#ing thermod#namics, the model enables us to s'read awareness o( the viabilit# o( thermoacoustic
devices as re(rigerators and heat 'um's*
Introduction
+rom creating com(ortable home environments
to manu(acturing (ast and e((icient electronic devices,
air conditioning and re(rigeration remain e&'ensive,
#et essential, services (or both homes and industries*
,owever, in an age o( im'ending energ# and
environmental crises, current cooling technologies
continue to generate greenhouse gases with high-
energ# costs*
.hermoacoustic re(rigeration is an innovative
alternative (or cooling that is both clean and
ine&'ensive* .hrough the construction o( a (unctional
model, we will demonstrate the e((ectiveness o(
thermoacoustics (or modern cooling*
)e(rigeration relies on two major
thermod#namic 'rinci'les* +irst, a (luid/s
tem'erature rises when com'ressed and (alls when
e&'anded* "econd, when two substances are 'laced in
direct contact, heat will (low (rom the hotter
substance to the cooler one* %hile conventional
re(rigerators use 'um's to trans(er heat on a
macrosco'ic scale, thermoacoustic re(rigerators rel#
on sound to generate waves o( 'ressure that
alternatel# com'ress and rela& the gas 'articles
within the tube*
.he model constructed (or this research 'roject
em'lo#ed ine&'ensive, household materials*
Although the model did not achieve the original goal
o( re(rigeration, the e&'eriment suggests that
thermoacoustic re(rigerators could one da# be viable
re'lacements (or conventional re(rigerators*
Sound Waves and Pressure
.hermoacoustics is based on the 'rinci'le that
sound waves are 'ressure waves* .hese sound waves
'ro'agate through the air via molecular collisions*
.he molecular collisions cause a disturbance in the
air, which in turn creates constructive and destructive
inter(erence* .he constructive inter(erence makes the
molecules com'ress, and the destructive inter(erence
makes the molecules e&'and* .his 'rinci'le is the
basis behind the thermoacoustic re(rigerator*
0ne method to control these 'ressure
disturbances is with standing waves* "tanding waves
are natural 'henomena e&hibited b# an# wave, such
as light, sound, or water waves* In a closed tube,
columns o( air demonstrate these 'atterns as sound
waves re(lect back on themselves a(ter colliding with
the end o( the tube* %hen the incident and re(lected
waves overla', the# inter(ere constructivel#,
'roducing a single wave(orm* .his wave a''ears to
cause the medium to vibrate in isolated sections as
the traveling waves are masked b# the inter(erence*
1
.here(ore, these 2standing waves3 seem to vibrate in
constant 'osition and orientation around stationar#
nodes* .hese nodes are located where the two
com'onent sound waves inter(ere to create areas o(
4ero net dis'lacement* .he areas o( ma&imum
dis'lacement are located hal(wa# between two nodes
and are called antinodes* .he ma&imum com'ression
o( the air also occurs at the antinodes* Due to these
node and antinode 'ro'erties, standing waves are
use(ul because onl# a small in'ut o( 'ower is needed
to create a large am'litude wave* .his large
am'litude wave then has enough energ# to cause
visible thermoacoustic e((ects*
All sound waves oscillate a s'eci(ic amount o(
times 'er second, called the wave/s (re5uenc#, and is
measured in ,ert4* +or our thermoacoustic
re(rigerator we had to calculate the o'timal resonant
(re5uenc# in order to get the ma&imum heat trans(er
rate* .he e5uation (or the (re5uenc# o( a wave
traveling through a closed tube is given b#6
L
v
f
7
=
where ( is (re5uenc#, v is velocit# o( the wave, and 8
is the length o( the tube*
!"9. )esearch Journal :;;< 1
Figure 1: "hows the relationshi' between the 'hase o( the wave, the
'ressure, and the actual arrangement o( the molecules* .he black line
shows the 'hase o( the sound wave, the red shows the 'ressure and the
dots below re'resent the actual molecules* +rom )e(erence :
Thermodynamics, Heat Cycles,
and Heat Pumps
.he second (undamental science behind
thermoacoustics is thermod#namics, the stud# o( heat
trans(er* .he Ideal !as 8aw states that the 'ressure
on a gas is directl# 'ro'ortional to absolute
tem'erature, or, as the 'ressure on a gas increases,
the tem'erature increases* 0n a microsco'ic scale,
the gas 'articles in a s#stem will collide more
(re5uentl# i( the tem'erature is increases or i( the
volume is reduced* .he basic thermod#namic c#cles
rel# on this relationshi' between tem'erature and
'ressure* In an# heat c#cle, gases will e&'and and
contract, circulating heat throughout the s#stem*
.hese movements o( kinetic energ# can be used to do
work* De'ending on how the heat oscillations are
controlled, di((erent heat c#cles become more
e((icient, involving less loss o( heat (rom the s#stem*
.hermoacoustic re(rigerators use variations o( these
c#cles to 'um' heat*
The Carnot Cycle
.he most e((icient c#cle o( thermod#namics, the
Carnot c#cle, takes advantage o( this 'rinci'le o( gas
e&'ansion* .he Carnot c#cle uses gas in a closed
chamber to e&tract work (rom the s#stem* In engines,
'istons are used to out'ut work* .he c#cle begins
with the 'iston in its rest 'osition* ,eat (rom an
outside source is trans(erred to the gas via an
isothermal 'rocess where the tem'erature does not
change* B# the ideal gas law, the gas e&'ands,
'ushing the 'iston to its e&tended 'osition* .his is an
adiabatic 'rocess where no heat is trans(erred into or
out o( the c#linder* .he heated gas then trans(ers the
heat to a low tem'erature container doing work on
the surroundings* .his is also an isothermal 'rocess*
.he surroundings now do work on the s#stem,
adiabaticall# com'ressing the gas and allowing the
'iston to (all back to its rest 'osition* ,owever,
because it is easier to com'ress the cooler gas than to
add heat to the warm gas, net work is done on the
surroundings*
.o determine the e((icienc# o( the c#cle, the total
use(ul work done is com'ared to the total heat
trans(erred* In +igure =, the total heat trans(erred
e5uals the red area 'lus the white area* .he work
e&tracted (rom the s#stem is re'resented b# the white
area* 9ven the Carnot c#cle, the ideal thermod#namic
'rocess where each ste' is reversible and involves no
change in entro'#,
:
trans(ers more heat than it does
work* ,owever, the Carnot c#cle has the best work
out'ut with the given tem'erature di((erence and
entro'# di((erence, so it is de(ined to be 1;;>
e((icient*
The Stirling Cycle
.he "tirling c#cle is a variation o( the Carnot
c#cle, but unlike the Carnot c#cle, an engine can
actuall# be constructed that e((ectivel# utili4es the
"tirling method o( heat trans(er* In a "tirling engine,
an e&ternal heat source ?o(ten e&ternal combustion@
trans(ers heat into the gas in the chamber* As in the
Carnot c#cle, the gas e&'ands, 'ushing the 'iston to
its e&tended 'osition* .he chamber into which the gas
e&'ands, however, has a heat sink, usuall# consisting
o( metal (ins, through which the heat in the e&'anded
gas can dissi'ate into a cooler chamber* .he gas then
com'resses, and the 'iston returns to its rest 'osition*
A "tirling engine is use(ul because it can be 'owered
b# almost an# e&ternal heat source, such as solar
'ower, nuclear 'ower, or conventional combustion*
=7
Both the "tirling c#cle and Carnot c#cle involve
the (ollowing basic thermod#namic c#cle6 heat enters
(rom a hot container, work comes out o( the engine
?i*e* moving a 'iston@, and, as a result, the heat is
dissi'ated into a cooler container*
!"9. )esearch Journal :;;< :
Figure 2: P-A diagram o( the Carnot c#cle* +rom )e(erence =*
Figure 3: .-" diagram showing the (our stages in the Carnot
c#cle* +rom re(erence 7*
A heat 'um', or re(rigerator, o'erates on the
same basic c#cle as a heat engine, onl# in reverse* A
heat 'um' re5uires an in'ut o( work to trans(er heat
(rom a cooler container to a hotter one* .his heat-
'um' c#cle is the basic mechanism b# which our
re(rigerators will work*
Thermoacoustics
.hermoacoustics combines the branches o(
acoustics and thermod#namics together to move heat
b# using sound* %hile acoustics is 'rimaril#
concerned with the macrosco'ic e((ects o( sound
trans(er like cou'led 'ressure and motion
oscillations, thermoacoustics (ocuses on the
microsco'ic tem'erature oscillations that accom'an#
these 'ressure changes* .hermoacoustics takes
advantage o( these 'ressure oscillations to move heat
on a macrosco'ic level* .his results in a large
tem'erature di((erence between the hot and cold sides
o( the device and causes re(rigeration*
.he most im'ortant 'iece o( a thermoacoustic
device is the stack* .he stack consists o( a large
number o( closel# s'aced sur(aces that are aligned
'arallel to the to the resonator tube* .he 'ur'ose o(
the stack is to 'rovide a medium (or heat trans(er as
the sound wave oscillates through the resonator tube*
A (unctional cross section o( the stack we used is
shown in (igure <* In t#'ical standing wave devices,
the tem'erature di((erences occur over too small o(
an area to be noticeable* In a usual resonator tube,
heat trans(er occurs between the walls o( c#linder and
the gas* ,owever, since the vast majorit# o( the
molecules are (ar (rom the walls o( the chamber, the
gas 'articles cannot e&change heat with the wall and
just oscillate in 'lace, causing no net tem'erature
di((erence* In a t#'ical column, BB> o( the air
molecules are not near enough to the wall (or the
tem'erature e((ects to be noticeable* .he 'ur'ose o(
the stack is to 'rovide a medium where the walls are
close enough so that each time a 'acket o( gas moves,
the tem'erature di((erential is trans(erred to the wall
o( the stack*
ost stacks consist o( hone#combed 'lastic
s'acers that do not conduct heat throughout the stack
but rather absorb heat locall#* %ith this 'ro'ert#, the
stack can tem'oraril# absorb the heat trans(erred b#
the sound waves* .he s'acing o( these designs is
crucial6 i( the holes are too narrow, the stack will be
di((icult to (abricate, and the viscous 'ro'erties o( the
air will make it di((icult to transmit sound through the
stack* I( the walls are too (ar a'art, then less air will
be able to trans(er heat to the walls o( the stack,
resulting in lower e((icienc#*
Thermoacoustic Cycle
.he c#cle b# which heat trans(er occurs is
similar to the "tirling c#cle* +igure C
C
traces the basic
thermoacoustic c#cle (or a 'acket o( gas, a collection
o( gas molecules that act and move together* "tarting
(rom 'oint 1, the 'acket o( gas is com'ressed and
moves to the le(t* As the 'acket is com'ressed, the
sound wave does work on the 'acket o( gas,
'roviding the 'ower (or the re(rigerator* %hen the
gas 'acket is at ma&imum com'ression, the gas ejects
the heat back into the stack since the tem'erature o(
the gas is now higher than the tem'erature o( the
stack* .his 'hase is the re(rigeration 'art o( the c#cle,
moving the heat (arther (rom the bottom o( the tube*
In the second 'hase o( the c#cle, the gas is
returned to the initial state* As the gas 'acket moves
!"9. )esearch Journal :;;< =
Figure 4: "hows the c#linder 'ositions o( the (our ste's o( the
Carnot c#cle* +rom re(erence =*
thermoacoustic re(rigerator c#cle* .he le(t end is towards the
closed end o( the resonator tube* +rom )e(erence C*
back towards the right, the sound wave e&'ands the
gas* Although some work is e&'ended to return the
gas to the initial state, the heat released on the to' o(
the stack is greater than the work e&'ended to return
the gas to the initial state* .his 'rocess results in a net
trans(er o( heat to the le(t side o( the stack* +inall#, in
ste' 7, the 'ackets o( gas reabsorb heat (rom the cold
reservoir to re'eat the heat trans(er 'rocess*
Penetration Depth
An essential variable in building a
thermoacoustic re(rigerator is the s'acing between
the walls o( the stack* I( the walls o( the stack are too
close, the sound cannot 'ass through the stack
e((icientl# since the viscous 'ro'erties o( air 'revent
the air (rom vibrating* I( the walls are too (ar a'art,
the 'rocess described above cannot occur, since gas
'ackets are too (ar awa# (rom the wall to e((ectivel#
trans(er heat* According to !*%* "wi(t, the ideal
s'acing in a stack is 7 thermal 'enetration de'ths*
<
.he thermal 'enetration de'th is the distance heat can
di((use in a gas over a certain amount o( time* +or
e&am'le, i( a block o( aluminum is at a constant low
tem'erature and suddenl# one side is e&'osed to a
high tem'erature, the distance that the heat 'enetrates
the metal in 1 second is the heat 'enetration* As time
'asses, the heat 'enetrates (arther into the material,
increasing the tem'erature o( the interior sections*
,owever, since sound waves are constantl#
oscillating between the roles o( heat source and heat
sink, the thermal 'enetration de'th is roughl#
constant* .he thermal 'enetration de'th (or an
oscillating heat source is a (unction o( the (re5uenc#
o( the standing wave,
f
, the thermal conductivit#,
, and densit#,

, o( the gas, as well as the isobaric

s'eci(ic heat 'er unit mass o( the gas,
p
c
, according
to the e5uation6 C
p
k
c f

=
Critical Temperature
.he critical tem'erature is the tem'erature at
which no heat will be trans(erred through the stack* I(
the tem'erature di((erence induced b# the sound
wave is greater than this critical tem'erature, the
stack will (unction as a re(rigerator, trans(erring heat
(rom the cold end o( the tube to the warm end* I( the
tem'erature is less than the critical tem'erature then
the stack will (unction as an acoustic engine, moving
heat (rom the warm region to the colder region and
creating sound waves* .he (unction (or the critical
longitudinal tem'erature gradient isC
p
c
p
T

=
crit
where
p
is the acoustic 'ressure and is the
acoustic dis'lacement am'litude* .he variation in
local wall tem'erature is re'resented b#
crit
: T
over the ma&imum dis'lacement o( the gas
molecules* .he ma&imum tem'erature variation
caused b# the sound waves is
p
c p D :
* I( these two
5uantities are e5ual, the critical tem'erature is
reached and no heat is trans(erred* .his tem'erature
is im'ortant in determining the 'ro'erties o( a
thermoacoustic device, since e((icienc# de'ends on a
tem'erature di((erential caused b# the sound waves
that is larger than the critical tem'erature so that a
large cooling e((ect is created*
Procedure
.o create the thermoacoustic re(rigerator we
(ollowed a 'lan similar to one designed b# )ussell et
al*C %e began b# creating the stack, which we
constructed with (ilm and (ishing wire* .he design
s'eci(ied an o'timal thermal 'enetration de'th o( 7E
however, we were restricted b# material constraints
and achieved an acce'table 'enetration de'th o( :*C*
.his was achieved with 1C-lb n#lon (ishing wire with
a diameter o( ;*=7 millimeters* .he design called (or
the (ishing line to be 'laced in C mm se'arations, so
we each created looms as tem'lates (or stack* .he
looms were created (rom C cm wide cardboard
roughl# == cm in length with slits 'laced ever# C mm
on each side* .his allowed (or a straight a''lication
o( the (ishing line to the (ilm* .he (ilm was then cut
to a meter in length and ta'ed to a (lat sur(ace* .he
!"9. )esearch Journal :;;< 7
Figure 6: .he basic design o( our thermoacoustic re(rigerator* .he
design o( the stack is shown on the le(t, which consists o( closel#
s'aced (ilm walls* .he design on the right shows the entire setu',
with the louds'eaker, stack, and 'lug* .he thermocou'les ?not
shown@ were inserted one above the stack and one below the stack*
loom wound with (ishing wire and the (ilm were both
s'ra#ed with s'ra# adhesive* .he line was then
a''lied to (ilm with an even distribution o( weight in
order to insure o'timal strength* A(ter 1; minutes the
glue was cured enough to cut the line (rom loom*
,owever, while removing the line (rom the loom, we
had to take care not to remove it (rom the (ilm* .his
'rocess was re'eated a''ro&imatel# = times until the
entire meter o( (ilm was covered with (ishing line*
%e allowed the stack to cure (or several more da#s in
order to ensure the best 5ualit#*
%e then machined F b# F inch s5uares o(
Ple&iglas with a :*C cm whole in the center* .his
would later serve as the base* %e then cut : cm
diameter Ple&iglas tube into lengths o( roughl# :C
cm* .he edges o( the tubes where then beveled to
allow (or 'ro'er sealing* .he tube was then inserted
and glued into the hole in the center o( the Ple&iglas
s5uares* A(ter the glue dried we then attached the
Ple&iglas s5uare to a <-inch, low-range s'eaker* .he
hole in the s5uare was centered over the s'eaker and
silicon caulk was used to 'ro'erl# seal the
connection*
A(ter the glue dried we took the com'leted stack
and coiled the (ilm tightl# enough to (it into the :*C
cm diameter tube* %e then 'ushed the stack down 7
cm as s'eci(ied (rom the to' o( tube using a
machined :*C cm tool designed not to destro# the
stack* %e then created the two thermocou'les
re5uired (or determining the tem'erature gradient* .o
accom'lish this, we took a length o( ;*;1C cm
chromel and a length o( ;*;1C cm alumel and welded
them together to create each thermocou'le* %e then
drilled holes 1 cm below and 1 cm above the stack
where the thermocou'les were inserted into the
center o( the tube* %e then used the thermocou'le
calibration device to ensure that the thermocou'les
were working* %e then sealed the tube b# 'lugging
the end with an aluminum ca'*
Ne&t, we connected a (re5uenc# generator to a
7;w am'li(ier and connected this to the s'eaker via a
BNC to )CA connector* %e then determined the
im'edance o( the s'eakers and used this knowledge
to 'ro'erl# connect the s'eaker to the am'li(ier with
F-gauge wire* A(ter, we inserted the machined
aluminum sto''ers, roughl# :*C cm in diameter,
which were needed to create the closed tube
necessar# (or standing waves*
Ne&t, we determined the 'ro'er (re5uenc#
needed to achieve a standing wave* .his is su''osed
to be at the (irst harmonic, or, when the wavelength is
7 times the length o( the tube* %e measured the
length o( the tube to the bottom o( the aluminum ca'
and multi'lied b# 7 and divided the s'eed o( sound at
room tem'eratures, or roughl# =7B mDs, b# the length
o( tube* %e determined the (re5uenc# to be around
=7; ,4*
0nce we (ound the o'timal resonant (re5uenc#
(or our re(rigerator, we used a tone generator, which
out'uts a sound at a s'eci(ic (re5uenc#* Basicall#, the
generator vibrates the s'eaker cone at that (re5uenc#,
which subse5uentl# vibrates the air and causes the
heat trans(er to occur* %e listened to veri(# (or the
sound o( the harmonic, and when veri(ied, we
increased the intensit# o( the (re5uenc# and then
recorded the tem'eratures o( the two thermocou'les*
!"9. )esearch Journal :;;< C
Figure 7: .he (inal modi(ied thermoacoustic device with heat sink*
Possible odifications
0ne o( the major 'roblems that we had was the
heat build u' at the to' o( the tube* ost o( the
'ossible modi(ications we thought o( involved o(
dissi'ating the heat (rom the to' o( the tube* In the
original design the aluminum 'lug was res'onsible
(or conducting heat (rom o( the to' end o( the tube
into the surrounding air* ,owever, the aluminum
'roved to be unable to dissi'ate enough heat, because
as we ran the e&'eriment the tem'erature o( the
bottom section soon reached room tem'erature* .his
is because heat will onl# be trans(erred (rom the cold
region o( the bottom end to the hot region o( the to'
when the tem'erature gradient created b# the sound
waves is greater than the tem'erature di((erence
between these two regions* %hen too much heat is in
the s#stem the bottom tem'erature sta#s at the
surrounding tem'erature, while the area on the to' o(
the tube becomes ver# hot*
0ne 'ossible wa# to dissi'ate more heat is to
increase the sur(ace area o( the ca' b# cutting
grooves into each end o( the aluminum 'lug* .he
increased sur(ace area gives air 'articles a larger area
to collide into the aluminum 'lug and trans(er heat,
allowing (or there to be more collisions at a single
time, thus increasing the rate o( heat conduction o(
the aluminum 'lug (rom the to' end o( the tube into
the surrounding air* .he grooved aluminum 'lug will
decrease the tem'erature in the to' end o( the tube b#
dissi'ating heat (aster than the (lat aluminum 'lug
could* .his will decrease the tem'erature di((erence
between the to' end and the bottom end, allowing the
bottom end to become colder than with the (lat 'lug
be(ore the tem'erature di((erence reaches the 'oint
that it e&ceeds the tem'erature gradient created b#
the sound waves and heat can no longer be
trans(erred* Gn(ortunatel#, we were unable to test this
modi(ication since we did not have the a''ro'riate
machine tools*
Another 'ossible method o( dissi'ating the heat
(rom the re(rigerator would involve heat absor'tion
b# water* .hin 'i'es could be run across the to' end
o( the stack* 8i5uid could (low through the stack,
e((ectivel# trans(erring the e&cess heat (rom the
s#stem* %ater, with a relativel# high heat ca'acit#,
would absorb the heat 5uickl#* .he hot water could
then be used (or other a''lications, such as s'inning
a turbine in a generator or an engine* .his would be
using the device as a heat 'um' to 'ower a device*
Gn(ortunatel# we did not have the tools to tr# this
modi(ication as well*
Instead, in our e&'eriment we tried to create a
heat sink around the to' end o( the tube, to tr# and
create e((ective re(rigeration on the bottom o( the
tube* %e wra''ed co''er around the to' o( the 'i'e
to increase the sur(ace area o( the 'i'e and dissi'ate
more heat* ,owever, as described in the results
below, this was largel# ine((ective, 'robabl# because
the acr#lic 'i'e was unable to e((ectivel# trans(er
heat*
Another method (or im'roving the heat trans(er
within the tube would be to use helium as the sound
medium* 0( all gases, helium behaves the most like
an ideal gas in that diatomic helium molecules
e&hibit weak electrostatic attractions u'on each other*
Due to low dis'ersion (orces and a low atomic mass,
helium molecules have a greater thermal conductivit#
than an# other gas e&ce't (or h#drogen* ,#drogen
gas, however, is reactive, whereas helium is
relativel# inert* Gsing helium as a sound medium,
though be#ond the reach o( this stud#, would onl#
re5uire an evacuated airtight tube that would then be
'ressuri4ed with the helium gas* .his 'rocess is used
in man# 'ro(essional-grade thermoacoustic
re(rigerators where helium gas has led to increased
e((icienc# and heat trans(er across the stack*
H
Gn(ortunatel# we could not tr# this modi(ication
because o( a lack o( materials*
Results
%e success(ull# created a thermoacoustic heat
'um'* .he 'roblem with this, however, is that we
were attem'ting to create a thermoacoustic
re(rigerator* 0ur results showed that we were able to
create a high tem'erature gradient above room
tem'erature, but were unable to signi(icantl# cool the
air* %e tested three thermoacoustic re(rigerators that
we built* .wo o( these devices were created (rom the
instructions in the 'rocedure section without an#
modi(ications* .he third had the heat sink
modi(ication that was described in the modi(ications
section*
%e collected the data (or these results b#
sam'ling the tem'eratures at the to' and bottom
thermocou'les o( the re(rigerators as the# ran ever#
ten seconds, sto''ing when it became a''arent that
there would be no more signi(icant change*
In the three tests 'er(ormed on the devices, the
tem'erature di((erence between the hot end and cold
end o( the stack increased ra'idl# (or the (irst thirt#
seconds and reached the (inal value a(ter around
ninet# seconds o( o'eration* .he unmodi(ied models
e&hibited tem'erature di((erences o( 11IC and 17IC
a(ter thirt# seconds with (inal tem'erature di((erences
o( 1BIC and :;IC* .he model with the heat sink
created a larger tem'erature di((erence, reaching a
tem'erature gradient o( ::IC a(ter thirt# seconds with
a (inal tem'erature di((erence o( :FIC*
.he three tests also showed similar trends in the
absolute tem'eratures o( the to' and bottom o( the
!"9. )esearch Journal :;;< <
stack* .he bottom o( the stack, the cold end, became
colder during the initial ra'id rate o( tem'erature
change* %hen the rate o( change o( the tem'erature
di((erence began to decrease, and the hotter end
started trans(erring heat back to the cooler one, the
tem'erature o( the bottom end o( the stack began to
increase* +or the unmodi(ied models, the ma&imum
tem'erature gradient was 1CIC* +or the modi(ied
model with the heat sink, the tem'erature di((erence
was ::IC* +or the two unmodi(ied models, the
tem'erature o( the bottom o( the stack graduall#
increased until it reached room tem'erature* .he
model with the heat sink actuall# e&ceeded room
tem'erature b# =IC*
Based on this data, the re(rigerator was able to
generate a large tem'erature gradient* ,owever, as
time went on, the re(rigerator returned to room
tem'erature, or even slightl# above it* .his can be
attributed 'rimaril# to unwanted heat di((usion o( the
to' end o( the stack to the outside o( the tube and to
the cooler end o( the tube* ,eat ma# have also
di((used through the acr#lic which would have
brought the cool section back u' to room
tem'erature* Additionall#, the vibration o( the
s'eakers could have added heat to the cool 'art o( the
device, thus adding enough heat to result in no long
term cooling e((ect* .here(ore, over the long term, we
were unable to cool the air signi(icantl#, and instead
created a :; degree centigrade heat 'um'*
Conclusion
0ur device worked as a 'roo( o( conce't device
showing that a thermoacoustic device is 'ossible and
is able to cool air, abet (or onl# a short 'eriod o(
time* I( we were able to build the device with better
materials, such has a more insulating tube, we might
have been able to get better results* In order to create
a working re(rigerator we 'robabl# would have to
attach a heat sink to the to' o( the device, thus,
allowing the e&cess heat to dissi'ate to the
surroundings* ,owever, our device did demonstrate
that thermoacoustic device have the abilit# to create
and maintain a large tem'erature gradient, more than
:; degrees Centigrade, which would be use(ul as a
heat 'um'*
!pplications
.hermal management has alwa#s been a concern
(or com'uter s#stems and other electronics*
Com'utational s'eeds will alwa#s be limited b# the
amount o( noise 'roduced b# com'uter chi's* "ince
most noise is generated b# waster heat, com'uter
com'onents and other semiconductor devices o'erate
(aster and more e((icientl# at lower tem'eratures*
F
I(
thermoacoustic cooling devices could be scaled (or
com'uter a''lications, the electronic industr# would
reali4e longer li(etimes (or microchi's, increased
s'eed and ca'acit# (or telecommunications, as well
as reduced energ# costs*
B
!"9. )esearch Journal :;;< H
Temperature of unmodified model
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0
2
0
4
0
6
0
8
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1
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1
2
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2
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0
Time (s)
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(

C
)
Figure 8: .he unmodi(ied model data* .he to' red bar shows the
readings o( the warm thermocou'le* .he bottom blue bar shows
the readings (or the cooler thermocou'le*
Temperature of Second Unmodified Model
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0
2
0
4
0
6
0
8
0
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0
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2
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0
Time (s)
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(

C
)
Figure 9: .he unmodi(ied model data (or the second re(rigerator*
.he to' red bar shows the readings o( the warm thermocou'le* .he
bottom blue bar shows the readings (or the cooler thermocou'le*
Modified Model Temperature
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0
2
0
4
0
6
0
8
0
1
0
0
1
2
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1
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0
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6
0
1
8
0
2
0
0
Time (s)
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(

C
)
Figure 10: .he modi(ied model data* .he to' red bar shows the
readings o( the warm thermocou'le* .he bottom blue bar shows
the readings (or the cooler thermocou'le* As shown in the diagram,
the actual tem'erature di((erence was slightl# greater in this
design, but not signi(icantl# di((erent*
Although this 'roject was s'eci(icall#
designed to test the e((ectiveness o( thermoacoustic
re(rigeration (or electronic devices, low-cost, high-
e((icienc# cooling devices have broad a''lications in
commercial industries and households* )esearch
conducted b# Pro(essor "teven !arrett at
Penns#lvania "tate Gniversit# has #ielded reliable air
conditioning devices used in submarines and s'ace
shuttles*1; ,owever, (uture a''lications o(
thermoacoustic air conditioners would not be
restricted to industrial uses but could o((er
ine&'ensive heating and cooling (or homes*
Additionall#, since current air conditioners use ,+Cs
and other 'otentiall# harm(ul chemicals,
thermoacoustic cooling s#stems that em'lo# inert
gases would have long-term bene(its on the
environment*
1;
0ne thermoacoustic device could
'otentiall# o'erate an entire household/s air
conditioner, water heater, and (urnace, eliminating
the need (or natural gases and oils*
Ben and Jerr#/s Ice Cream, in collaboration with
Pro(essor !arrett/s research team, has begun
'roduction o( thermoacoustic (ree4ers to kee' its ice
cream cold* Investing over J<;;,;;; in !arrett/s
'rogram, Ben and Jerr#/s has alread# 'laced the
(ree4ers in man# o( its New Kork stores*
11
.he ice
cream com'an#/s e&'eriment has success(ull#
demonstrated the viabilit# o( thermoacoustic
re(rigeration*
!c"no#ledgments
.he !overnor/s "chool o( 9ngineering and
.echnolog# (or 'roviding this o''ortunit# to be
e&'osed to conducting small scale research
Pro(essor "te'hen .se, Advisor
Dr !aliang "un, !raduate student
egan "mith, !raduate student
"te'hanie Chen, !"9. counselor
r* Anthon# %elch, Program director !"9.
All the !overnor/s "chool counselors and sta((
!"9. )esearch Journal :;;< F
1
2"tanding %aves*3 )od Nave, !eorgia "tate Gniversit#* Available6 htt'6DDh#'er'h#sics*'h#-
astr*gsu*eduDhbaseDwavesDstandw*html* 1H Jul# :;;<*
:
htt'6DDh#'er'h#sics*'h#-astr*gsu*eduDhbaseDthermoDcarnot*html
=
htt'6DDwww*howstu((works*comDstirling-engine*htm
7
htt'6DDen*wiki'edia*orgDwikiDCarnotLc#cle
C
Daniel A* )ussell and Pontus %eibull, 2.ableto' thermoacoustic re(rigerator (or demonstrations,3 Am* J* Ph#s* 70 ?1:@,
December :;;:*
<
!* %* "wi(t, 2.hermoacoustic engines and re(rigerators,3 Ph#s* .oda# 48, ::-:F ?1BBC@
H
htt'6DDwww*role&awards*comDlaureatesDlaureate-=<-lurieLgarrett*html
F
2.hermal anagement o( Com'uter "#stems Gsing Active Cooling o( Pulse .ube )e(rigerators*3 ,*,* Jung and "*%*M
Kuan* Available6 htt'6DDwww*#uto'ian*netDKuanD'a'ersDIntel*PD+* 1H Jul# :;;<*
B
2.hermoacoustic )e(rigeration (or 9lectronic Devices6 Project 0utline*3 "te'hen .se, :;;< !overnor/s "chool o(
9ngineering and .echnolog#*
1;
2+re5uentl# Asked Questions about .hermoacoustics*3 Penn "tate !raduate Program in Acoustics* Available6
htt'6DDwww*acs*'su*eduDusersDsinclairDthermalDta(a5*html* 1H Jul# :;;<*
11
2Chilling at Ben N Jerr#/s6 Cleaner, !reener*3 Men Brown* Available6
htt'6DDwww*thermoacousticscor'*comDnewsDinde&*c(mDIDD7*htm* 1H Jul# :;;<*