Experimental Investigation of a Modular Thermoacoustic Engine

A modular thermoacoustic engine (TAE) has been designed and fabricated providing a reliable bench test to study thermoacoustic instabilities. Thermoacoustic engines belong to a class of heat engines that produce acoustic power as a result of a fluid dynamic instability. The engine was built with the capability of being converted from a standing-wave thermoacoustic engine to a traveling-wave thermoacoustic engine with relative ease. Different acoustic mediums in the form of gases comprised of Helium, Argon, or Helium-Argon mixtures were used during experimentation across a range of pressures and temperature gradients. It was found that the thermodynamic properties of the acoustic medium greatly influence the thermoacoustic response of the engine in terms of operational frequency and acoustic power output.