Direct use of acoustic power in stirling engine for heat removal

Abstract

A Stirling engine includes a piston and a displacer that move in phased reciprocating motion within one or more cylinders. A working fluid is contained within the one or more cylinders, and a position of the displacer causes the working fluid to be in contact with either a hot heat exchanger or a cold heat exchanger. A volume of the working fluid governed by a position of the piston is referred to as a compression space. The piston, the displacer and the working fluid operate in a thermodynamic cycle that generates acoustic wave power. An acoustic pump is driven by the acoustic wave power.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to Stirling engines, and particularly to utilizing acoustic power in such an engine for heat removal.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The Stirling cycle is a well-known four-part thermodynamic process, typically operating on a gas, to produce work, or conversely to effect heating or refrigeration. The four parts, shown in FIG. 1, are isothermal expansion, isochoric heat extraction, isothermal compression, and isochoric heat addition. The process is closed, in that the gas remains within the system performing the cycle at all times during the cycle.[0003]A typical Stirling engine has pistons that respond to the heating / expansion and cooling / contraction of a contained gas as part of the Stirling cycle. The motion of the pistons may provide available work. A regenerative heat exchanger or regenerator increases the engine's thermal efficiency. FIG. 1 shows a Stirling cycle having such a regenerator between two heat exch...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent is about a new way to cool down Stirling engines using the sound waves they produce. This improves the engine's efficiency. The sound waves are used to drive a piston or an acoustic pump to move liquid through a cooling device. This method eliminates the need for the sound waves to be converted into electricity and then back into pumping work.

Problems solved by technology

However, by using this configuration there is an inherent increased power loss, since the engine is using some of its end product (electricity) for its continuous operation.

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