Thermoacoustic engines and refrigerators utilize acoustically caused pressure and velocity oscillations to perform the energy conversion between heat and work flows. Based on the use of these oscillations, simplicity and high reliability are achieved. Linearized thermoacoustic theory is usually used for designing thermoacoustic energy converters. This commentary describes the assumptions used in the derivation of the basic equations in the theory and shows the method of calculating the performance of the thermoacoustic devices using the theory.
