Abstract
Measurements of thermoacoustic prime movers with stacks made of copper wire mesh are presented. The resonance frequencies were below 100Hz, which means the movers can be used to drive pulse-tube refrigerators. Onset temperature and resonance frequency were studied. It was found that, under certain conditions, the second harmonic component becomes dominant and the prime mover essentially works on the second mode, which should be avoided. The influence of gas properties, frequency, mean pressure, mesh size and stack length on the overall performance are measured and expressed in terms of normalized input power, heater temperature and pressure amplitude. A maximum output power of 26W from the thermoacoustic prime mover was achieved with the frequency, input power and heater temperature 73Hz, 833W and 700K, respectively.
