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Physics Procedia 00 (2009) 000000
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
International Congress on Ultrasonics, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, January 2009
Ecological Performance Optimization of a Thermoacoustic cooler
Xuxian Kan*, Feng Wu
a
, Xiaoqing Zhang
b
, Anqing Shu
a
Postgraduate School, Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan 430033, P. R. China
a
School of Science, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, 430073, P. R. China
b
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
Elsevier use only: Received date here; revised date here; accepted date here
Abstract
The ecological performance optimization of a generalized irreversible thermoacoustic cooler with heat resistance, heat leakage,
thermal relaxation and internal dissipation, in which heat transfer between the working fluid and heat reservoirs obeys a complex
generalized heat transfer law , where n is a complex, is investigated in this paper . Both the real part and the imaginary
part of the complex heat transfer exponent change the optimal ecological function versus the coefficient of performance (COP)
relationship quantitatively of the thermoacoustic cooler. The analytical formulas about the ecological function and the coefficient
of performance of the thermoacoustic cooler are derived. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of the influences of various
factors on optimal performance of the generalized irreversible thermoacoustic cooler is carried out by detailed numerical
examples. The optimal zone on the performance of the thermoacoustic cooler is obtained by numerical analysis. The results
obtained herein can provide some theoretical guidance for the design of practical thermoacoustic coolers.
Q v '

n
T
PACS: 03.65.-w; 05.30-d; 05.70.-a; 05.60.Gg
Keywords: Thermoacoustic cooler; Complex heat transfer exponent; Ecological optimization; Optimization zone
1. Introduction
A thermoacoustic engine (prime mover and refrigerator) [1, 2] has many advantages of high reliability, non-
pollution, simple construction, low noise, non-parts of motion, ability to self-start etc with the comparison to the
traditional engines. With this great potential, more and more engineers in the power and cryogenic engineering have
been investigating the thermoacoustic engines.
Recently, Wu et al. [3, 4] have studied the generalized irreversible thermoacoustic engine cycle model and the
performance using the finite-time thermodynamics. Most of the previous works in the FTT have concentrated on
power optimization, or the minimization of fixed cost for a heat engine. Another criterion for heat engines is the
thermal-efficiency optimization that can be considered the variable-cost minimization. Ecological optimization has
been carried out for endoreversible and irreversible Carnot, Braysson, Brayton, Stirling and Ericsson heat engines. A
similar idea can be also applied to investigate the performance of refrigeration and heat pump cycles. Based on
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 27 87195617; fax: +86 27 87195635.
E-mail address: xuxiankan@hotmail.com.
Physics Procedia 3 (2010) 987994
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
doi:10.1016/j.phpro.2010.01.127
XX. Kan et al./ Physics Procedia 00 (2010) 000000
exergy analysis, Refs.[5-8] provided a unified ecological optimization objective function for all of the
thermodynamic cycles, that is
0 0
/ / / E A T S A T t t t - A - o
A
S A
)
H
-
Q
(1)
where is the exergy output of the cycle,
0
T is the environment temperature of the cycle, is the entropy
generation of the cycle, t is the cycle period, and o is the entropy generation rate of the cycle. Equation (1)
represents the best compromise between the exergy output rate and the exergy loss rate (entropy production rate) of
the thermodynamic cycles.
For refrigeration cycles, the exergy output rate of the cycle is
(2)
2 0 1 0
( / 1) ( / 1
L
A Q T T Q T T - -
Where
2
is the quantity of heat transfer supplied by the cold reservoir,
1
Q is the quantity of heat transfer
released to the hot reservoir.
H
T and
L
T are the temperatures of the heat sink and heat source, respectively.
The coefficient of performance (COP) and cooling load of the refrigeration cycle are, respectively:
(3)
2 1 2
/ ( ) Q Q Q r -
(4)
2
/ R Q t
Substituting (2)-(4) into (1) yields the ecological function of a constant-temperature heat reservoir refrigeration
cycle
1
0 0
[( 1) (1 )( 1)]
L H
E R T T T T T r
-
- - - - -
0
o
c
)
n
T

(5)
From previous work [5-8], the optimal ecological performance of a generalized irreversible Carnot refrigerator
with the losses of heat resistance, heat leak, and internal irreversibility, is derived by taking an ecological
optimization criterion as the objective, in these work, the heat transfer exponent is assumed to be real. But for
thermoacoustic heat engines (or coolers), the principle parts are the stack and two adjacent heat exchangers, the
acoustic wave carries the working gas back and forth within these components, A longitudinal pressure oscillating in
the sound channel induces a temperature oscillation in time with angular frequency . In this circumstance the gas
temperature can be taken as complex [3, 4, 9]. It results in a time-averaged heat exchange with complex exponent
between the gas and the environment by hot and cold heat exchangers. In this paper, the optimal ecological
performance of a generalized irreversible thermoacoustic cooler with the losses of heat resistance, heat leak and
internal irreversibility, in which the heat transfer between the working fluid and the heat reservoirs obeys a
generalized heat transfer law , where n is a complex, is derived by taking an ecological optimization
criterion as the objective. Numerical examples are given to show the effects of heat transfer exponent, heat leakage
and internal irreversibility on the optimal performance of the generalized irreversible thermoacoustic cooler.
( QA

2. The model of thermoacoustic cooler

The energy flow in a thermoacoustic cooler is schematically illustrated in Fig.1, where
in
and
out
W are the flow
of power inside the acoustic channel. To simulate the performance of a real thermoacoustic cooler more realistically,
the following assumptions are made for this model in this paper.
W

Fig.1 Energy flows in a thermoacoustic cooler

988 X. Kan et al. / Physics Procedia 3 (2010) 987994
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(1). External irreversibilities are caused by heat-transfers in the hot and cold heat exchangers between the cooler
and its surrounding heat reservoirs. Because of the heat-transfers, the time average temperature (
0 H
T and
0 L
T ) of the
working fluid are different from the heat-reservoir temperature (
H
T and
L
T ). The second law of thermodynamics
requires
0 0 H H L L
. As a result of thermoacoustic oscillation, the temperatures ( T T > >T T >
HC
T and
LC
T ) of the working
fluid can be expressed as complexes:
,
0 1
i t
HC H
T T T e
c
-
0 2
i t
LC L
T T T e
c
-
Where
1
T and
2
T are the first-order acoustic quantities, 1 i - . Here the reservoir temperatures (
H
T and
L
T ) are
assumed as real constants.
(2). Consider that the heat transfer between the cooler and its surroundings follow a generalized law ,
then
( )
n
T QA

( )
( )
1 0 n >
n i
k F
(6)
1 1 1
( ) sgn
n n
HC HC H
Q k F T T n -

(7)
2 2 1
( ) sgn
n n
LC L LC
Q k F T T n -

with sign function

1
1
1
sgn( )
1 0
n
n

- <

Where
1 2
is a complex heat transfer exponent,
1
is the overall heat transfer coefficient and
1
F is the total
heat transfer surface area of the hot-side heat exchanger,
2
is the overall heat transfer coefficient and
2
is the total
heat transfer surface area of the cold-side heat exchanger. Here the imaginary part
2
n of n indicates the relaxation of
a heat transfer process. Defining
n n - k
HC t
Q and
HC
> Q <

LC LC
Q Q < >

t
as the time average of
HC
Q

and
LC
Q

, respectively,
equations (6) and (7) can be rewritten as
2
0
( ) sgn
1
n n T
LC L L
k fF
Q T T
f
-
-

1
( ) n
(8)
2
0
( ) sgn
1
n n T
LC L L
k fF
Q T T
f
-
-

1
( ) n
/ F F F

(9)
Where
2 1
and
1 2 T
. Here, the total heat transfer surface area
T
of the two heat exchangers is
assumed to be a constant, the units of quantities Q, F and T are W, and K, respectively.
f F F F -
2
m
(3). There is a constant rate of heat leakage ( ) from the heat source at the temperature
q H
T to heat sink at
L
T such
that
,
H HC
Q Q q -

L LC
Q Q q -

where
H
Q

and
L
Q are the rates of total heat-transfer released to the heat sink and absorbed from the heat source,
and the cooling load of the cooler is

L
Q

.
(4). Other than irreversibilies due to heat resistance between the working substance and the heat reservoirs, as
well as the heat leakage between the heat reservoirs, there are more irreversibilities such as friction, turbulence, and
non-equilibrium activities inside the engine. Thus the power input to the thermoacoustic cooler is larger than that of
the endoreversible thermoacoustic cooler with the same cooling load. In other words, the rate of heat flow (
HC
)
from the warm working fluid to the heat sink for the real thermoacoustic cooler is larger than that (
Q

'
HC
Q ) of the
endoreversible thermoacoustic cooler with the same cooling load. A constant coefficient (

) is introduced in the
following expression to characterize the additional miscellaneous irreversible effects:
'
1
HC HC
Q Q

(8)
X. Kan et al. / Physics Procedia 3 (2010) 987994 989
XX. Kan et al./ Physics Procedia 00 (2010) 000000
The cooler being satisfied with above assumptions is called the generalized irreversible thermoacoustic cooler
with a complex heat transfer exponent.
3. Optimal characteristics
For an endoreversible thermoacoustic cooler, the second law of thermodynamics requires
'
0 0 HC H LC L
Q T Q T

(9)
Combining (8) and (9) gives
HC
Q xQ

LC

(10)
Where
0 0 H L
T (
H
x T
L
x T T ) is the temperature ratio of the working fluid.
Combining (6)-(10) yields
2
1
2 1
( )
sgn( )
(1 )( )
n n n
T L H
LC n
k fF x T T
Q
f x xfk k
-

- -

n
(11)
2
1
2 1
( )
sgn( )
(1 )( )
n n n
T L H
HC n
k fF x T T
Q x
f x xfk k

- -

n
(12)
The first law of thermodynamics gives that the coefficient of performance (COP) and the entropy generation rate
of the thermoacoustic cooler are, respectively
( ) ( )
( )
L H L LC HC LC
Q Q Q Q q Q Q r - - -

(13)
/ / / ( ) / ( ) /
H H L L HC H LC
S Q T Q T Q q T Q q o t A - - - -

L
T (14)
Combining (11)-(14) gives the complex cooling load ( R ), the complex COP ( r
) and the complex entropy
generation rate ( ) of the thermoacoustic cooler o
( )
2
1 1
sgn( )
(1 )(1 )
n
n
T L H
LC n
k fF T T x
R Q q n
f x f o
-
(
-

- -
- -

q (15)
( )
1
1
1
2
(1 )(1 )
1 1 sgn( )
[ ( ) ]
n
n n
T L H
q f fx
x n
k fF T T x
o
r
-
-

- -
- -

-
)

`
(16)
( )
( )
(
2
1 1
1 sgn( )
(1 )(1 )
n
n
T L H
H L L n
k fF T T x
) 1 1
H
x T T n q T T
f x f
o
o
-
(
-

- - -
- -
(17)
where
2 1
k k o
Substituting (15)-(17) into (5) yields the complex ecological function:
( ) ( )
( )
( )
0 0
2
1 0 0 1
1 2 1 2
sgn( ) 2 2
(1 )(1 )
H L
n
n
T L H
H L n
E x T T T T
k fF T T x
n q T T T T
f x f

o
-
- - - (

(
-

- -
- -
(18)
990 X. Kan et al. / Physics Procedia 3 (2010) 987994
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From (16) and (18), we can obtain the real parts of COP and the ecological function, respectively
( )
1
1
1
1 2
1
2 2
2 2
2 1 2
1 cos( ln
sin( ln )] 1 (1 )
R ( ) 1
1
n
n
e
T
A f x n x
A f x n x q f
x k fF A A
o
o
r r

-
-
( -


- -
-

- -


)
)

`
(19)
( ) ( ) ( )
1 1
1
1 1
1 2 2
2
1 2( 2 2 2
2
0 0 0 0
1 cos( ln ) sin( ln
R ( )
(1 ) 1 2 cos( ln )
1 2 1 2 2 2
n n
T
e n
H L H L
A f x n x A f x n x
k fF
E E
f fx n x f x
x T T T T q T T T T
o o
o o

- -
-
( - -


- - -
- - - - - (

1
2
1 )
)]
n -
(20)
where ( )
1 1
sgn( )
n
n
e L H
A R T T x n
(
-

( )
2 1
sgn( )
n
n
m L H
A I T T x n
(
-


here and indicate the real part and
imaginary part of complex number.
( )
e
R I ( )
m
Maximizing , or r E with respect to f by setting 0 d df r , or 0 dE df in (19) and (20), yields the same optimal
ratio of heat-exchanger area (
opt
f )
2 2
0.5
2
1 1 1
( 8 4 ) [ ( 8 4
4 2 4
4( )]
8 4
opt
2
) f f b y b c b y b c
by d
y
y b c
- - - - - - -
-
- -
- -
(21)
Where
1/3 1/3
2 2
2 3 0.5 2 3 0.5
[( ) ( ) ] [( ) ( ) ]
2 2 36 2 2 36 6
e e c e e c
y

- - - - - - - -
`
)
c
`
)
1
1
1
1 2 2 2
2
cos( ln ) sin( ln )
n
Ax
b
A n x A n x
-

-
[ ]
( )
1 1 1 1
2 2 1 1 2 1
1 2 1 2
2
1 2 2 2
2 cos( ln ) 2 cos( ln )
cos( ln ) sin( ln )
n n n n
Ax n x A x x n x x
c
A n x A n x
o
o o
o
- - - -
-
- -
-
1
2 2 2
( ) 2
n
d x o
-
-
( ) [ ]
,
1
3 3
1
1 2
1 2 2 2
cos( ln ) sin( ln )
n
Ax
e
A n x A n x o
-

-
Substituting (21) into (19) and (18), respectively, gives the optimal coefficient of performance and the ecological
function in the following forms:
( )
1
1
1
1 2
1
2 2
2 2
2 1 2
1 cos( l
(1 ) sin( ln )]
1
1
1
n
opt
n
opt opt
opt T
A f x n x
q f A f x n x
x k f F A A
o
o
r

-
-
( -


- -

- -



)
n )

`
(22)
( ) ( ) ( )
1 1
1
1 1
1 2 2 2
1 2 2 2
2
0 0 0 0
1 cos( ln ) sin( ln )]
(1 ) 1 2 cos( ln )
1 2 1 2 2 2
n n
opt opt opt T
n
opt opt opt
H L H L
1
2
2(1 ) n
A f x n x A f x n x k f F
E
f f x n x f x
x T T T T q T T T T
o o
o o

- -
-
( - -

- - -
- - - - - (

-
(23)
X. Kan et al. / Physics Procedia 3 (2010) 987994 991
XX. Kan et al./ Physics Procedia 00 (2010) 000000
The parameter equation defined by (22) and (23) gives the fundamental relationship between the optimal
ecological function versus COP consisting of the interim variable x .
4. Numerical example
To illustrate the preceding analysis, a numerical example is provided. In the calculations, it is set
that
0 H L
;
1 2
; 300 , 260 , 290 T K T K T 1.0,1.01,1.0 K k k 2 (
n n
i H L
q C T T -
i

i
C
; ) (same as Ref.[10]) and let ;
is the thermal conductance inside the cooler.
0.0, 0.0125 / C kW K
Figs.2, 3 show the effects of the heat leakage, the internal irreversibility losses and the heat transfer exponent on
the relationship between the ecological function and COP. We can see that for all heat transfer law, the influences of
the internal irreversibility losses and the heat leakage on the relationship between the ecological function and COP
are different obviously: the ecological function E decreases along with increasing of the internal irreversibility

, but
the curves of E- e not changeable; the heat leakage affects strongly the relationship between the ecological
function and COP, the curves of E are parabolic-like ones in the case of q , while the curves are loop-shaped
ones in the case of q . From Figs.2, 3, we can also see that both the real part
1
and the imaginary part
2
n of the
complex heat transfer exponent n dont change the shape of the curves of .
r ar
r -
0 n
0.1
0
E r -
Fig.2 performance characteristic for the thermoacoustic
cooler with
E r -
2
n
1. 1 , C 2. 0
i
1.01 , C 3. 0 02
i
1. 0
i
C
4. 1 0
i
C > 1.01 5. 0
i
C > , 6. 1.02 0
i
C >
Fig.3 performance characteristic for the thermoacoustic
cooler with
E r -
1
1 n
1. 1 , C 2. 0
i
1.01 , 3. 0
i
C 1.02 0
i
C
4. 1 0
i
C > 1.01 5. 0
i
> 1.02
i
C > , C 6. 0
992 X. Kan et al. / Physics Procedia 3 (2010) 987994
XX. Kan et al./ Physics Procedia 00 (2010) 000000
2
T K
L

0
290 o 0.5 q kW
The effects of complex exponent on the optimal ecological function versus the COP characteristics with
, , , , , and
1
n n in -
300
H
260 T K T K 1 1.01 o are shown in Figs. 4 and 5. They show that E versus
characteristics of a generalized irreversible thermoacoustic cooler with a complex heat transfer exponent is a loop-
shaped curve. When the real part
1
n is fixed, the maximum ecological function decreases with the increase of the
imaginary part
2
n of the complex heat transfer exponent n , it shows that the imaginary part
2
n of the complex heat
transfer exponent n indicates energy dissipation. When the imaginary part
2
n is fixed, it is worth notice that the
real part of
1
n affects strongly the optimal performance between the ecological function and the COP. From Figs.4, 5,
we can also see that the influence of heat transfer exponent on the corresponding coefficient of performance
r
1

0.1
E
r at
the maximum ecological function is weak, the reason is that the difference between the heat source and heat sink is
small, the sensitivity of the heat transfer exponent to the temperature difference is not obvious. For all
1
n and
2
, n
max
E E when , and
max
when
0 0
r r r r E E . For example, when , the
1
1 n E bound (
max
E )corresponding
to
2 2 2
are 0.93359 ,0.7569 ,0.48205 respectively, and the maximum COP
corresponding to n are respectively.
0. .10, 0.15 n n n ) )
max
r 15
15
ma
05, 0 (kw (kw ( ) kw
2
0.05, 0.10, 0. 4.8105,4.9047,5.0736
Fig.4 Optimal ecological function versus COP with
1 2 2 2
1, 0.05, 0.1, 0. n n n n
Fig.5 Optimal ecological function versus COP with
2 1 1 1 1
0.1, 1, 1, 2, 4 n n n n n -
The optimization criteria of the thermoacoustic cooler can been obtained from parameters
x
E ,
0
E , and
0
as follows:
max
r r
0 max
E E E s s and .
0 max
r r r s s
X. Kan et al. / Physics Procedia 3 (2010) 987994 993
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5. Conclusion
The optimal ecological performance of a generalized irreversible thermoacoustic cooler with the losses of heat-
resistance, heat leak and internal irreversibility, in which the transfer between the working fluid and the heat
reservoirs obeys a generalized heat transfer law , where is complex, is derived in this paper. The heat
transfer exponent for a thermoacoustic cooler must be complex number due to the thermal relaxation induced by the
thermoacoustic oscillation. The effects of the complex heat transfer exponent on the optimal performance for a
thermoacoustic cooler are discussed in the paper, the optimal zone of the thermoacoustic cooler with a complex heat
transfer exponent is analyzed by numerical examples. The results obtained herein are helpful for the selection of the
optimal mode of operation of the real thermoacoustic cooler.
( )
n
Q T A n
Aknowledgements
This paper is supported by The National Natural Science Fund of P. R. China (Project No.50676068) and the
Hubei provincial department of education, P. R. China (project No. D200615002)
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