Design of a Wind-Powered Helmholtz Resonance-Driven Thermoacoustic Refrigerator

Abstract

This report investigates the design parameters for a thermoacoustic refrigerator that receives power input from a Helmholtz resonator driven by air flow, in lieu of a speaker. Although the actual construction of such a device was unsuccessful largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, experiments with both thermoacoustic refrigerators and Helmholtz resonators were designed for future work, such that the two systems may eventually be combined into a single device. In addition, two separate systems are simulated using the computer program DeltaEC: a modified Helmholtz resonator by Chen that resonates when placed at the outlet of a wind tunnel, and a thermoacoustic refrigerator built for demonstration purposes by Russell and Weibull. Real-world experimental results from Chen and Russell and Weibull are successfully simulated, and heat stack geometry is optimized using thermoacoustic theory developed by Swift and Rott, producing a 17% increase in temperature difference. A comprehensive guide for optimizing pin array heat stack geometry is developed, and findings from past studies of thermoacoustic theory are compiled and organized for practical research and design purposes.