High Frequency Thermoacoustic Refrigerator.

Abstract

Results are presented on the development of a high frequency thermoacoustic refrigerator and its performance. The device consists of a piezoelectric driver, operated around 5kHz, which is coupled to a cylindrical resonator containing air at 1 atmosphere as the compressible fluid. For sound levels of 155dB at the stack, a maximum T of 41 C was reached across a cotton wool stack 4mm long. A cooling power of 1.2 watt was achieved with a coefficient of performance of 3. This simple and lightweight refrigerator shows promise for cooling of small samples and electronic components. The performance of this type of refrigerator at high frequencies leads to high efficiency and power density. Research is aimed at improving its performance by optimizing some of the critical parameters such as the sound level and the thermal interface between stack and heat exchangers. (MM)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 15, 1995
Accession Number
ADA300644

Entities

People

  • Orest G. Symko

Organizations

  • University of Utah

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Impedance
  • Acoustic Resonators
  • Atmospheres
  • Audio Frequency
  • Coefficients
  • Cooling
  • Critical Temperature
  • Efficiency
  • Electronic Components
  • Frequency
  • Heat Exchangers
  • Heat Transfer
  • Lead Zirconate Titanates
  • Materials
  • Resonators
  • Students
  • Temperature Gradients

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Acoustics.
  • Combustion and Flow Dynamics.
  • Reinforced Composite Materials

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Microelectromechanical Systems