High frequency thermoacoustic refrigerator
AssigneeUniversity of Utah
InventorsOrest G. Symko, Ehab Abdel-Rahman, DeJuan Zhang, Thierry Klein
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Abstract
A thermoacoustic refrigerator having a relatively small size which utilizes one or more piezoelectric drivers to generate high frequency sound within a resonator at a frequency of between about 4000 Hz and ultrasonic frequencies. The interaction of the high frequency sound with one or more stacks create a temperature gradient across the stack which is conducted through a pair of heat exchangers located on opposite sides of each stack. The stack is comprised of an open-celled material that allows axial, radial, and azimuthal resonance modes of the resonator within the stack resulting in enhanced cooling power of the thermoacoustic refrigerator.
Claims30
A thermoacoustic refrigerator, comprising:
- a first resonator defining an interior chamber;
- a first high frequency driver disposed in communication with said first resonator for generating at least a portion of a first standing wave within said interior chamber;
- a first stack disposed within said interior chamber having a first side and a second side, said first stack formed from a fibrous material;
- and
- first and second heat exchangers, said first heat exchanger positioned adjacent said first side of said first stack and said second heat exchanger positioned adjacent said second side of said stack.
A thermoacoustic refrigerator, comprising:
- a resonator defining an interior chamber;
- a high frequency driver disposed in communication with said first resonator for generating at least a portion of a standing wave within said interior chamber;
- a stack disposed within said interior chamber having a first side and a second side, said stack having a filling factor of less than three percent of a volume of said stack;
- and
- first and second heat exchangers, said first heat exchanger positioned adjacent said first side of said first stack and said second heat exchanger positioned adjacent said second side of said stack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.