IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v185y2017ip2p2134-2141.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Theoretical analysis of two coupling modes of a 300-Hz three-stage thermoacoustically driven cryocooler system at liquid nitrogen temperature range

Author

Listed:
  • Xu, Jingyuan
  • Yu, Guoyao
  • Zhang, Limin
  • Dai, Wei
  • Luo, Ercang

Abstract

Highly reliable, compact, and efficient cryocoolers with a cooling power of several watts to several hundred watts at liquid nitrogen temperatures around 77K are indispensable for cooling superconducting devices and infrared detectors, especially in aerospace applications. This paper introduces three-stage traveling-wave thermoacoustically driven cryocooler systems operating around 300Hz that meet the demand. In addition to the potential reliability due to the lack of moving components in a thermoacoustically driven cryocooler, this configuration has the potential for both compact size and high efficiency owing to the slim resonance tube and acoustic power recovery. Numerical simulations are performed to investigate two coupling modes: coupling the cooler at the branch of the engine (BR-coupling) or coupling the cooler parallel to the engine (PA-coupling). First, the two topologies are carefully designed to obtain high total exergy efficiency and the optimal dimensions are presented. Then, the axial distributions of the phase difference and the acoustic power are further provided to better illustrate the coupling characteristics. Furthermore, a theoretical analysis is performed on the influence of the two acoustic tubes in the PA-coupling mode and the result shows the importance of the tube dimensions. With a heating temperature of 850K, total exergy efficiencies of 11.4% and 14.8% have been achieved in the BR-coupling and PA-coupling modes, respectively. The PA-coupling mode’s higher efficiency is due to recycling the acoustic power entering the pulse tube cryocooler, whereas BR-coupling fails to recycle any acoustic power. However, the energy feedback in PA-coupling may cause structural complexity. Generally speaking, both coupling mode systems show encouraging prospects for aerospace applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Xu, Jingyuan & Yu, Guoyao & Zhang, Limin & Dai, Wei & Luo, Ercang, 2017. "Theoretical analysis of two coupling modes of a 300-Hz three-stage thermoacoustically driven cryocooler system at liquid nitrogen temperature range," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 2134-2141.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:185:y:2017:i:p2:p:2134-2141
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.04.055
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261916305165
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.04.055?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Longyi & Wu, Mei & Sun, Xiao & Gan, Zhihua, 2016. "A cascade pulse tube cooler capable of energy recovery," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 572-578.
    2. Wu, Zhanghua & Yu, Guoyao & Zhang, Limin & Dai, Wei & Luo, Ercang, 2014. "Development of a 3kW double-acting thermoacoustic Stirling electric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 866-872.
    3. Hu, J.Y. & Chen, S. & Zhu, J. & Zhang, L.M. & Luo, E.C. & Dai, W. & Li, H.B., 2016. "An efficient pulse tube cryocooler for boil-off gas reliquefaction in liquid natural gas tanks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1012-1018.
    4. Xu, Jingyuan & Zhang, Limin & Hu, Jianying & Wu, Zhanghua & Bi, Tianjiao & Dai, Wei & Luo, Ercang, 2016. "An efficient looped multiple-stage thermoacoustically-driven cryocooler for liquefaction and recondensation of natural gas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 427-433.
    5. Yu, Guoyao & Wang, Xiaotao & Dai, Wei & Luo, Ercang, 2013. "Study on energy conversion characteristics of a high frequency standing-wave thermoacoustic heat engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 1147-1151.
    6. Féniès, Gwyddyon & Formosa, Fabien & Ramousse, Julien & Badel, Adrien, 2015. "Double acting Stirling engine: Modeling, experiments and optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 350-361.
    7. Hu, J.Y. & Luo, E.C. & Zhang, L.M. & Wang, X.T. & Dai, W., 2013. "A double-acting thermoacoustic cryocooler for high temperature superconducting electric power grids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1166-1170.
    8. Jin, Tao & Huang, Jiale & Feng, Ye & Yang, Rui & Tang, Ke & Radebaugh, Ray, 2015. "Thermoacoustic prime movers and refrigerators: Thermally powered engines without moving components," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 828-853.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Geng & Tang, Lihua & Mace, Brian & Yu, Zhibin, 2021. "Multi-physics coupling in thermoacoustic devices: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    2. Xu, Jingyuan & Hu, Jianying & Luo, Ercang & Hu, Jiangfeng & Zhang, Limin & Hochgreb, Simone, 2022. "Numerical study on a heat-driven piston-coupled multi-stage thermoacoustic-Stirling cooler," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    3. Xu, Jingyuan & Luo, Ercang & Hochgreb, Simone, 2021. "A thermoacoustic combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system for waste heat and LNG cold energy recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    4. Xu, Jingyuan & Luo, Ercang & Hochgreb, Simone, 2020. "Study on a heat-driven thermoacoustic refrigerator for low-grade heat recovery," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hu, J.Y. & Luo, E.C. & Zhang, L.M. & Chen, Y.Y. & Wu, Z.H. & Gao, B., 2018. "Analysis of a displacer-coupled multi-stage thermoacoustic-Stirling engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 507-514.
    2. Xu, Jingyuan & Luo, Ercang & Hochgreb, Simone, 2021. "A thermoacoustic combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system for waste heat and LNG cold energy recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    3. Chen, Geng & Tang, Lihua & Mace, Brian & Yu, Zhibin, 2021. "Multi-physics coupling in thermoacoustic devices: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    4. Xu, Jingyuan & Hu, Jianying & Luo, Ercang & Hu, Jiangfeng & Zhang, Limin & Hochgreb, Simone, 2022. "Numerical study on a heat-driven piston-coupled multi-stage thermoacoustic-Stirling cooler," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    5. Cao, Qiang, 2018. "Attainability of the Carnot efficiency with real gases in the regenerator of the refrigeration cycle," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 705-712.
    6. Cao, Qiang & Sun, Zheng & Li, Zimu & Luan, Mingkai & Tang, Xiao & Li, Peng & Jiang, Zhenhua & Wei, Li, 2019. "Reduction of real gas losses with a DC flow in the regenerator of the refrigeration cycle," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 139-146.
    7. Chang, Depeng & Hu, Jianying & Sun, Yanlei & Zhang, Limin & Chen, Yanyan & Luo, Ercang, 2023. "Numerical investigation on key parameters of a double-acting free piston Stirling generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(PB).
    8. Kisha, Wigdan & Riley, Paul & McKechnie, Jon & Hann, David, 2021. "Asymmetrically heated multi-stage travelling-wave thermoacoustic electricity generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    9. Guo, Lixian & Zhao, Dan & Cheng, Li & Dong, Xu & Xu, Jingyuan, 2024. "Enhancing energy conversion performances in standing-wave thermoacoustic engine with externally forcing periodic oscillations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    10. Wang, Bo & Chao, Yijun & Zhao, Qinyu & Wang, Haoren & Wang, Yabin & Gan, Zhihua, 2021. "A high efficiency stirling-type pulse tube refrigerator for cooling above 200 K," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PB).
    11. Xiao, Lei & Luo, Kaiqi & Zhao, Dan & Chen, Geng & Bi, Tianjiao & Xu, Jingyuan & Luo, Ercang, 2023. "Time-domain acoustic-electrical analogy investigation on a high-power traveling-wave thermoacoustic electric generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).
    12. Zare, Shahryar & Tavakolpour-saleh, A.R. & Aghahosseini, A. & Sangdani, M.H. & Mirshekari, Reza, 2021. "Design and optimization of Stirling engines using soft computing methods: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    13. Al-Kayiem, Ali & Yu, Zhibin, 2016. "Numerical investigation of a looped-tube travelling-wave thermoacoustic engine with a bypass pipe," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 111-120.
    14. Hu, Yiwei & Luo, Kaiqi & Zhao, Dan & Chi, Jiaxin & Chen, Geng & Chen, Yuanhang & Luo, Ercang & Xu, Jingyuan, 2024. "Thermoacoustic micro-CHP system for low-grade thermal energy utilization in residential buildings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    15. Wang, Kai & Dubey, Swapnil & Choo, Fook Hoong & Duan, Fei, 2017. "Thermoacoustic Stirling power generation from LNG cold energy and low-temperature waste heat," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 280-290.
    16. Bi, Tianjiao & Wu, Zhanghua & Chen, Wei & Zhang, Limin & Luo, Ercang & Zhang, Bin, 2022. "Numerical and experimental research on a high-power 4-stage looped travelling-wave thermoacoustic electric generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).
    17. Napolitano, Marialuisa & Romano, Rosario & Dragonetti, Raffaele, 2017. "Open-cell foams for thermoacoustic applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 147-156.
    18. Hu, J.Y. & Luo, E.C. & Dai, W. & Zhang, L.M., 2017. "Parameter sensitivity analysis of duplex Stirling coolers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 1039-1046.
    19. Cheng, Chin-Hsiang & Yang, Hang-Suin & Tan, Yi-Han, 2022. "Theoretical model of a α-type four-cylinder double-acting stirling engine based on energy method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    20. Wang, Xin & Xu, Jingyuan & Wu, Zhanghua & Luo, Ercang, 2022. "A thermoacoustic refrigerator with multiple-bypass expansion cooling configuration for natural gas liquefaction," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:185:y:2017:i:p2:p:2134-2141. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.