A highly efficient heat-driven thermoacoustic cooling system: Detailed study

Lei Xiao, Kaiqi Luo, Dong Zhao, Zhanghua Wu, Jingyuan Xu and Ercang Luo

Energy, 2024, vol. 293, issue C

Abstract: Developing sustainable cooling technologies is crucial for modern life. The heat-driven thermoacoustic refrigerator (HDTR) is an emerging cooling technology with superiorities of eco-friendly working substances and no mechanical moving components, albeit with a relatively low efficiency currently. We propose a novel HDTR with a bypass design, which realizes good matching in acoustic power between the engine and cooler units, thus significantly enhancing the efficiency. The principle of acoustic power matching is initially unveiled, revealing the efficiency bottleneck in traditional HDTRs, and elucidating the critical role of bypass for efficiency improvement. A comprehensive numerical exploration on system's transient characteristics and steady-state performance is then performed. Subsequently, a preliminary experimental investigation is conducted. Under the standard air-conditioning cooling conditions, an experimental COP of 1.12 with a cooling power of 2.53 kW are achieved. Under similar refrigeration conditions, this COP is 2.7 times that of the reported highest value for existing HDTRs, surpassing single-effect absorption refrigerators, even comparable to double-effect absorption refrigerators, indicating substantial potential of the proposed system in commercial heat-driven refrigeration. This study introduces an effective approach to improve the COP of HDTRs, providing a deeper insight into the efficient energy conversion mechanism within these systems.

Keywords: Heat-driven thermoacoustic refrigerator; Highly efficient; Bypass tube; Acoustic power matching; Time-domain acoustic-electrical analogy method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:293:y:2024:i:c:s0360544224003827

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2024.130610

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