AN OVERVIEW OF STACK DESIGN FOR A THERMOACOUSTIC REFRIGERATOR

Bhansali P. S, Patunkar P. P, Gorade S. V, Adhav S. S, Botre S. S

Abstract: A thermoacoustic refrigerator utilizes the thermal interactions of the sound waves with the medium while they travel to produce refrigeration. Sound energy propagates in longitudinal fashion through the medium, thus resulting in compressions and rarefactions in the medium and hence heating and cooling the medium subsequently. The stack acts as a medium to transfer the heat from one point in the system to another. The stack is thus the heart of any thermoacoustic refrigeration system. This paper provides a brief overview of the construction and working of the thermoacoustic refrigerator and focusses on the stack of a thermoacoustic refrigeration system. The desired thermal properties of the stack material like the thermal conductivity and specific heat have been discussed. An optimum spacing obtained from previous works based on the thermal and viscous penetration depths has been briefly discussed. Various stack geometries like the parallel plate type, the spiral type, pin type and porous stacks made of reticulated vitreous carbon have been elaborated.

Keywords: Thermoacoustic refrigerator, Stack, Thermal penetration depth, Stack geometry, Stack spacing

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2015.0406010