Abstract:
Up to 25 thermoacoustic cooler design parameters were optimized to provide high COP predictions in selected air conditioning applications. Capacities ranging between 300 and 1500 W were considered. Two different configurations were investigated: (1) a single stack with a Helmholtz resonator termination, and (2) two drivers and two stacks. The optimization scheme utilized the Simplex algorithm, and the analysis was performed by DELTAE coupled with an original heat exchanger modeling tool which incorporated conventional straight fin analysis and semiempirical flow correlations. Various requirements were imposed for the external cooling and heat rejection temperatures, ranging between 270 and 287 K on the cold side and between 310 and 320 K on the hot side. Finned tube heat exchangers with water as the secondary fluid were considered. The predicted values of COP were greater than 3.8 (0.36, relative to the Carnot value) for an application analogous to a small window air conditioner. The performance and characteristics of the two different configurations were compared, and the loss distribution in each case was calculated. Furthermore, the impact of various constraints was examined. The performance predictions are encouraging and suggest that thermoacoustic air conditioning may be a viable proposition.