Application of response surface methodology and desirability approach to investigate and optimize the jet pump in a thermoacoustic Stirling heat engine

A jet pump used in the thermoacoustic engine can improve the performance by suppressing the Gedeon streaming. In this paper, response surface methodology (RSM) and desirability approach are used to investigate and optimize the jet pump in a thermoacoustic Stirling heat engine (TASHE). The position, length, diameter and tapered angle of jet pump are selected as the designing parameters, and pressure amplitude and time-averaged power dissipation across the jet pump are adopted as responses. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) is conducted to identify the significant influences of jet pump's parameters on responses. The regression models are obtained, and prediction deviations for pressure amplitude and power dissipation are within ±2% and ±5% respectively. In addition, the influences of jet pump's parameters on responses are plotted by 3D surface. Eventually, the designing parameters of jet pump are optimized to achieve both maximal pressure amplitude and minimal power dissipation. The optimal results are validated by comparing with DeltaEC simulation. Results show that the deviations between DeltaEC and RSM for pressure amplitude and power dissipation are 1.86% and 2.88%, which indicates that RSM as an assessment methodology in optimizing jet pump is feasible.