Influence of heat exchangers blockage ratio on the performance of thermoacoustic refrigerator

In this paper, a numerical study is carried out to assess the effect of heat exchangers plates inter-spacing on the performance of a thermoacoustic refrigerator (TAR). Considering that typically most of the heat loss occurs near the heat exchangers, a great emphasis will be placed on the space between the latter and the stack. Several geometric arrangements of heat exchangers plates inter-spacing were tested. The numerical method used is based on two-dimensional low Mach number model. This model assumes that the length of the assembled heat exchangers and stack is less than the wavelength. The results are in agreement with those provided by the DeltaEC software. It can also be observed that the larger the heat exchangers plates inter-spacing, the greater the cooling impact through the thermoacoustic effect.