Design and construction of a four-stage travelling-wave thermoacoustic system for power generation

Miniyenkosi Ngcukayitobi, Lagouge Tartibu, Samuel Gqibani

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This work describes the design and construction of a fourstage traveling-wave thermo-Acoustic system for electricity generation. The thermo-Acoustic conversion consists of using a sound-wave for the transfer of heat from a low to hightemperature medium or the use of heat energy to generate a sound wave. Both the absence of moving parts and the simplicity of thermo-Acoustic systems make the technology sustainable for converting low-grade waste heat into acoustic power. Many existing studies have pointed out the acoustic-To-electric potential of thermo-Acoustic systems. Hence in this work, a thermo-Acoustic system has been developed. The traveling-wave system has a total length of 3 560 mm. The distance between each thermo-Acoustic engine is 640 mm. Each engine stage had four cartridge heaters used to generate the heat required. A commercial loudspeaker was used to convert sound into electricity. The minimum temperature difference necessary to induce a voltage at the terminals of the loudspeaker was approximately 200oC. The four-stage traveling-wave system generated the highest output voltage of 4.218 V..

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDesign, Systems, and Complexity
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
ISBN (Electronic)9780791884539
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
EventASME 2020 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE 2020 - Virtual, Online
Duration: 16 Nov 202019 Nov 2020

Publication series

NameASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Proceedings (IMECE)
Volume6

Conference

ConferenceASME 2020 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE 2020
CityVirtual, Online
Period16/11/2019/11/20

Keywords

  • Thermo-Acoustic
  • design
  • electricity
  • loudspeaker
  • sound-wave
  • traveling-wave

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanical Engineering

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