Abstract
A standing-wave-type thermal compressor can generate the pressure wave with the thermoacoustic effect. Because thit compressor without mechanical moving parts is driven only by the thermal input, reliability of a compressor system can be greatly enhanced. In this study, a tentative thermal compressor for 1-2W@60-80K pulse tube cryocoolers is designed and investigated with Argon gas of 1MPa. This thermal compressor consists of heat exchangers, a stack of SUS, a resonator tube of Max 7m and an attachable buffer tank. First, characteristics of a resonator are studied by using a mechanical linear compressor at various driving frequencies or displacement volumes. Next, the energy flow in the whole thermal compressor system is estimated and energy-conversion efficiencies are obtained.
