THERMOACOUSTIC

REFRIGERATION

CONTENTS

Introduction
Basics of Refrigeration
Basics of Thermoacoustic Refrigeration
Thermoacoustics
Main Parts
Case Study
Advantages, Disadvantages and Applications of TAR
Conclusion

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.
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.

STEVEN L. GARRETT
Leading Researcher
United Technologies
Corporation Professor of
Acoustics
The Pennsylvania State
University.
He invented the
thermoacoustic
refrigerator in the year
1992 and that TAR was
used in the space shuttle
Discovery(STS-42).

BASICS OF REFRIGERATION
A refrigerant is a compound used
in a heat cycle that undergoes a
phase change from a gas to a
liquid and back.
For example, let us assume that
the refrigerant being used is pure
ammonia, which boils at
-27
degrees F. And this is what
happens to keep the refrigerator
cool:

1. The
compressor
compresses
the
ammonia gas. The compressed gas
heats up as it is pressurized (orange).
2. The coils on the back of the
refrigerator let the hot ammonia gas
dissipate its heat. The ammonia gas
condenses into ammonia liquid (dark
blue) at high pressure.
3. The high-pressure ammonia liquid
flows through the expansion valve. The
expansion valve is a small hole. On one
side of it, is high-pressure ammonia
liquid. On the other side of the hole is
a low-pressure area.
4. The liquid ammonia immediately boils
and
vaporizes
(light
blue),
its
temperature dropping to
-27 F. This
makes the inside of the refrigerator
cold.
5. The cold ammonia gas is sucked up by
the compressor, and the cycle repeats.

D I S A D VA N TA G E S O F
CONVENTIONAL
R E F R I G E R AT O R
Uses harmful refrigerants like ammonia, CFCs and HFCs
Refrigerants if leaked causes the depletion in the ozone

layers.
Refrigerants are costly.
The moving parts like the compressors require lubrication.
Leakage of refrigerant 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.

BASICS OF
THERMOACOUSTIC REFRIGERATION
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.

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.

10

 As expansion and compression in an acoustic

wave

is

inherently

associated

with

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.

11

THERMOACOUSTICS
Thermoacoustics combines the branches of acoustics and
thermodynamics together to move heat by using sound.
While acoustics is primarily concerned with the macroscopic
effects of sound transfer like coupled pressure and motion
oscillations, thermoacoustics focuses on the microscopic
temperature oscillations that accompany these pressure
changes.
Thermoacoustics
takes
advantage
of
these
pressure
oscillations to move heat on a macroscopic level.
This results in a large temperature difference between the hot
and cold sides of the device and causes refrigeration.

12

CARNOT CYCLE
The most efficient cycle of
thermodynamics.
The Carnot cycle uses gas
in a closed chamber to
extract

work

from

the

system.

13

THERMOACOUSTIC CYCLE
The figure traces the basic
thermoacoustic cycle for a
packet of gas, a collection
of gas molecules that act
and move together.
Starting from point 1, the
packet
of
gas
is
compressed and moves to
the left.
As
the
packet
is
compressed,
the
sound
wave does work onFigure
the
4.3 THERMOACOUSTIC REFRIGERATION CYCLE (From
Reference 2)
packet of gas, providing
the
power
for
the
refrigerator.

14

 As the packet is compressed, the sound wave

does work on the packet of gas, providing the
powerthe
forgas
the packet
refrigerator.
When
is at
maximum
the

gas

compression,
ejects

the

heat

back into the stack since

the temperature of the gas
is

now

higher

than

the

temperature of the stack.

This

phase

is

the

refrigeration part of the

cycle,

moving

the

Figure 4.3 THERMOACOUSTIC

REFRIGERATION
CYCLE (From Reference 2)

heat

farther from the bottom of

the tube.

15

 In the second phase of the cycle, the gas is

returned to the initial state. As the gas packet
moves back towards the right, the sound wave
Although
expandssome
the gas.
work is
expended to return the gas
to the initial state, the heat
released on the top of the
stack is greater than the
work expended to return
the gas to the initial state.
This process results in a

Figure 4.3 THERMOACOUSTIC

REFRIGERATION
CYCLE (From Reference 2)

net transfer of heat to the

left side of the stack.
16

 Finally,

in

step

4,

the

packets of gas reabsorb

heat

from

the

cold

reservoir.
Ant

the

repeats

heat
and

transfer

hence

the

thermoacoustic
refrigeration cycle.
Figure 4.3 THERMOACOUSTIC
REFRIGERATION
CYCLE (From Reference 2)

17

THERMOACOUSTIC REFRIGERATOR

18

MAIN PARTS
Two main parts are in the TAR
1. Driver
Houses the Loudspeaker
2. Resonator
Houses the gas
The hot and cold heat
exchangers
Houses the Stack

19

LOUDSPEAKERS

20

loudspeaker

(or

"speaker")

is

an

electroacoustic transducer that produces sound

in response to an electrical audio signal input.
It was invented in the mid 1820s by the
scientist Johann Philipp Reis.
It is powered by electricity.
The magnet or the coil in the speaker vibrates
to produce the waves of required frequency.

21

STACK
It is also called as regenerator.
The most important piece of a thermoacoustic
device is the stack.
The stack consists of a large number of closely
spaced surfaces that are aligned parallel to the
to the resonator tube.
In a usual resonator tube, heat transfer occurs
between the walls of cylinder and the gas.

22

 However, since the vast majority of the molecules

are far from the walls of the chamber, the gas
particles cannot exchange heat with the wall and
just oscillate in place, causing no net temperature
difference.
The purpose of the stack is to provide a medium
where the walls are close enough so that each time
a packet of gas moves, the temperature differential
is transferred to the wall of the stack.
Most

stacks

consist

of

honeycombed

plastic

spacers that do not conduct heat throughout the

stack but rather absorb heat locally. With this
property, the stack can temporarily absorb the heat
transferred by the sound waves.

23

 The spacing of these designs is crucial.

If the holes are too narrow, the stack will be
difficult to fabricate, and the viscous properties
of the air will make it difficult to transmit sound
through the stack.
If the walls are too far apart, then less air will be
able to transfer heat to the walls of the stack,
resulting in lower efficiency.
The different materials used in the Stack are
Paper
Alluminium
Lexan
Foam
24

HEAT EXCHANGER
Heat exchangers
are devices used
to transfer heat
energy from one
fluid to another.

25

 A heat exchanger is a piece of

equipment

built

for

efficient

heat transfer from one medium

to another.
The media may be separated by
a solid wall, so that they never
mix, or they may be in direct
contact.
They are widely used in space
heating,

refrigeration,

conditioning,

power

air
plants,

chemical plants, petrochemical

plants,

petroleum

natural

gas

refineries,

processing,

and

26

CASE STUDY

SPACE
THERMOACOUS
TIC
REFRIGERATOR
(STAR)

27

 The Space Thermo acoustic Refrigerator (STAR)

was designed and built by a team at the Naval
Postgraduate School led by Steve Garrett. It has
the ability to move about 50 Watts of heat.
The Space Thermo Acoustic Refrigerator was the
first electrically-driven thermo acoustic chiller
designed

to

operate

autonomously

outside

laboratory. It was launched on the Space Shuttle

Discovery (STS-42) on January 22, 1992.
It

was

not

very

efficient

thermoacoustic

refrigerator. And hence did not refrigerate for

many years.
28

 The refrigerator is driven by a modified

compression driver that is coupled to a
quarter-wavelength resonator using a singleconvolution 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 bars.

29

SPECIFICATIONS
Length of the tube is 35 cm.
Diameter of the tube is 3.9 cm
Length of the stack is 7.9 cm
Diameter of the stack is 3.8 cm
Gas used is 97.2% Helium and 2.7%
Xenon
Heat pumping capacity is 50 Watts.
Refrigeration Temperature is 12C
Commercial Loudspeaker is used.
Speaker operates at 135 Hz and 100
W.
30

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

31

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

32

DISADVANTAGES OF TAR
Efficiency:
currently

Thermo
less

acoustic

efficient

than

refrigeration
the

is

traditional

refrigerators.
Lack

of

suppliers

producing

customized

components.
Lack of interest and funding from the industry due
to their concentration on developing alternative
gases to CFCs.
Talent Bottleneck: There are not enough people
who have expertise on the combination of relevant
disciplines such as acoustic, heat exchanger design

33

IMPROVEMENTS MADE
In

order

to

overcome

the

drawbacks,

some

improvements were 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.

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

34

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

35

 Electronic equipment cooling on naval ships:

In this application, a speaker generates sound
waves. Again a thermo acoustic pump is used to
Electricity
from
sunlight:
provide the
cooling.
Concentrated thermal solar energy generates an
acoustic

wave

in

heated

thermo

acoustic

engine. A linear motor generates electricity from

this.
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.
36

CONCLUSION
Thermo acoustic engines and refrigerators were already
being

considered

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.
In future let us hope these thermo acoustic devices which
promise to improve everyones 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.

37

REFERENCES
http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/carnot.html.
Daniel A. Russell and Pontus Weibull, Tabletop
thermoacoustic refrigerator for demonstrations, Am.
J. Phys. 70 (12), December 2002.
G. W. Swift, Thermoacoustic engines and
refrigerators, Phys. Today 48, 22-28 (1995).
http://www.howstuffworks.com/stirling-engine.htm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnot_cycle.
Chilling at Ben & Jerrys: Cleaner, Greener. Ken
Brown. Available:
http://www.thermoacousticscorp.com/news/index.cfm/
ID/4.htm. 17 July 2006.
S. L. Garrett and S. Backhaus, The power of sound,
Am. Sci. 88, 516
525 (2000).

38

THANK YOU
PRESENTED
BY
NIMALAN I

39