Acoustic loss, a key factor in overall performance of TA systems
Since the early days of thermoacoustics, research en development had its focus on the thermodynamic process in the regenerator and heat exchangers. Thanks to this effort, nowadays the thermoacoustic process in itself is well understood and many publications can be found reporting thermoacoustic engines and heat pumps showing exegetic efficiencies over 40%.
However, overall or integral system performance, defined as the ratio between acoustic power delivered to a useful load and engine thermal input power is still far from that. In most experiments published, at least about one third of the net engine output power is dissipated in the acoustic circuitry or resonator and therefore is not available to the load, consequently degrading the overall performance proportionally.
Read more about this in the paper and presentation given on the ICSV19 in Lithuania
Multi-stage traveling-wave feedback thermoacoustics in practice (Kees de Blok)
