Study of Stack Length on Efficiency of Thermoacoustic Engine

Thermoacoustics discusses the thermal interactions between heat and sound, where the temperature gradient can generate sound waves and vice versa. The thermoacoustic device consists of two: heat pumps and heat engines. An engine is a thermoacoustic device that transfers heat from high to low temperature, while the heat pump does vice versa. It converts heat into work. In this study, we focus on the thermoacoustic engine. It converts waste heat into useful energy such as acoustic energy, which is potential for refrigeration and power generation. The efficiency of the thermoacoustic energy conversion is influenced by several parameters. One of them is the length of the stack which is part of the engine geometry. The purpose of this investigation is to reveal the impact of the stack length on the efficiency of the thermoacoustic engine numerically. The best efficiency is 27% when the stack length is 6 cm. Based on the investigation, there is an effect of stack length on the efficiency of the thermoacoustic engine.