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Linear and nonlinear modelling of a theoretical travelling-wave thermoacoustic heat engine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2015

Carlo Scalo ,
Sanjiva K. Lele  and
Lambertus Hesselink
Carlo Scalo
Affiliation:
Center for Turbulence Research, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Sanjiva K. Lele
Affiliation:
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Mechanical Engineering, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Lambertus Hesselink
Affiliation:
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Electrical Engineering, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Abstract

We have carried out three-dimensional Navier–Stokes simulations, from quiescent conditions to the limit cycle, of a theoretical travelling-wave thermoacoustic heat engine (TAE) composed of a long variable-area resonator shrouding a smaller annular tube, which encloses the hot (HHX) and ambient (AHX) heat exchangers, and the regenerator (REG). Simulations are wall-resolved, with no-slip and adiabatic conditions enforced at all boundaries, while the heat transfer and drag due to the REG and HXs are modelled. HHX temperatures have been investigated in the range 440–500 K with the AHX temperature fixed at 300 K. The initial exponential growth of acoustic energy is due to a network of travelling waves thermoacoustically amplified by looping around the REG/HX unit in the direction of the imposed temperature gradient. A simple analytical model demonstrates that such instability is a localized Lagrangian thermodynamic process resembling a Stirling cycle. An inviscid system-wide linear stability model based on Rott’s theory is able to accurately predict the operating frequency and the growth rate, exhibiting properties consistent with a supercritical Hopf bifurcation. The limit cycle is governed by acoustic streaming – a rectified steady flow resulting from high-amplitude nonlinear acoustics. Its key features are explained with an axially symmetric incompressible model driven by the wave-induced stresses extracted from the compressible calculations. These features include Gedeon streaming, Rayleigh streaming in the resonator, and mean recirculations due to flow separation. The first drives the mean advection of hot fluid from the HHX to a secondary heat exchanger (AHX2), in the thermal buffer tube (TBT), necessary to achieve saturation of the acoustic energy growth. The direct evaluation of the nonlinear energy fluxes reveals that the efficiency of the device deteriorates with the drive ratio and that the acoustic power in the TBT is balanced primarily by the mean advection and thermoacoustic heat transport.

JFM classification

Acoustics: Aeroacoustics Nonlinear Dynamical Systems: Bifurcation Compressible Flows: Gas dynamics
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 766 , 10 March 2015 , pp. 368 - 404
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Copyright
© 2015 Cambridge University Press 

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Scalo et al. supplementary movie

Instantaneous visualizations of temperature contours (see colorbar) showing streaming of hot fluid in the thermal buffer tube and vorticity magnitude (white) showing intense vortex shedding and transitional turbulence. Data is extracted from case for $T_h=500$ at the limit cycle.

Download Scalo et al. supplementary movie(Video)
Video 7.1 MB

Scalo et al. supplementary movie

Instantaneous visualizations of temperature contours (see colorbar) showing streaming of hot fluid in the thermal buffer tube and vorticity magnitude (white) showing intense vortex shedding and transitional turbulence. Data is extracted from case for $T_h=500$ at the limit cycle.

Download Scalo et al. supplementary movie(Video)
Video 10.6 MB