Thermoacoustics

Thermoacoustic heat engines offer mechanically simple energy conversion that can utilize a wide variety of heat sources – including solar energy, biomass, and even the “waste” heat from internal combustion engines and industrial processes. This chapter will address the gas thermodynamics that enable such machines and discuss the practical elements that comprise thermoacoustic machines that act either as a converter of heat energy to another form of energy (such as electrical or mechanical energy) or as a heat pump that “moves” heat from a cold region to a warmer one. The distinction between the two topologies of thermoacoustic machines, stack-based and regenerator-based, will also be clarified and the differences between the two made clear. Finally, the latter portion of the chapter will discuss existing and potential applications for thermoacoustic machines.