Heat transfer enhancement through thermoacoustically-driven streaming

We recently reported on a simple standing-wave thermoacoustic engine that was intended for use as a self-powered monitor of temperature within a resonator that was similar to a nuclear fuel rod [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 132(3), Pt. 2, 1993–1994 (2012)]. An additional potential benefit of such a device is the enhanced heat transfer between the heat source and the surrounding coolant produced by the acoustic streaming generated by the high-amplitude acoustic standing wave within the resonator. By adding a remotely operated linear actuator that can depress a valve at the ambient-temperature end of the resonator, we are able to squelch the acoustic resonance by modification of that boundary condition without changing any other operating parameters (e.g., heater power). We will report heat transfer measurements made in a calorimeter at several input thermal power levels, with and without the presence of the thermoacoustic oscillations. [Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.]