Acoustic power recovery system for thermoacoustic cooling
Cooling represents a significant portion of global energy use. Conventional vapor-compression cooling uses significant quantities of refrigerant fluids with extremely high global warming potentials. Traveling-wave thermoacoustic coolers do not use refrigerants and have the potential for high efficiency. We present a thermoacoustic cooler design that utilizes acoustic power recovery to make a coefficient of performance (COP) comparable to that of conventional systems possible. The approach is validated through experiment.
Schwartz, D. E.; Garner, S.; Johnson, J.; Tuganov, A. V. Acoustic power recovery system for thermoacoustic cooling. TechConnect World 2012; 2012 June 18; Santa Clara, CA, USA.