Annals of the Assembly for International Heat Transfer Conference 13

ISBN 1-56700-225-0 / CD 1-56700-226-9

Year 2006

Y. Lin
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

B. Farouk
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Heat transfer and flow characteristics in a two-dimensional resonator due to acoustic excitations induced by the vibration of a vertical side wall are numerically investigated. The resonator contains internal thin parallel plates (a stack) as found in thermoacoustic refrigerators or engines. A fully compressible form of the Navier-Stokes equations is considered for the numerical model and an explicit time-marching algorithm is used to track the acoustic waves and energy fluxes. Numerical solutions are obtained by employing a highly accurate flux corrected transport (FCT) algorithm. In the present model, no simplifying assumptions are made regarding the existence of the acoustic field. Simulations were first carried out for a resonator without any internal stack. Along with the oscillatory primary flow field, second-order acoustic streaming structures in the resonator are predicted by direct numerical simulations. The model developed is then applied to a resonator with an internal stack. The interaction of acoustic standing waves with the stack produces a temperature difference between the two ends of the stack - which can be used for refrigeration or for producing work (heat engine). The model developed can be used for the analysis of flow and temperature fields produced by acoustic transducers, and in the design of high performance resonators for thermoacoustic refrigerators or engines.

THP-01 pages DOI: 10.1615/IHTC13.p2.10 Download article

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