THERMOACOUSTIC COOLING PERFORMANCE USING NYLON 6 STACK MATERIAL OF VARIED GEOMETRY AND BLENDED HELIUM-ARGON GAS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4314/njt.v44i1.9Keywords:
Gas mixture, Nylon 6, Thermoacoustic refrigeration, PerformanceAbstract
Meeting the increased demand for energy-efficient, eco-friendly cooling technology requires innovative materials and gas combinations. Conventional cooling systems employ harmful refrigerants that cause global warming and ozone depletion. Thermal and acoustic nylon 6 is a potential stack material for thermoacoustic cooling systems. Despite the potential of Nylon 6 in thermoacoustic applications, its performance with different stack geometries and gas mixtures remains underexplored. Investigating the synergistic effects of these gas combinations has the potential to increase the efficiency and cooling capacity of the system. The thermoacoustic coefficient of performance (COP) and temperature differential of a helium-argon gas mixture at 1:1 proportion was evaluated using an experimental approach. Nylon 6 sheets of different arrangements were employed alongside various operating parameters such as cooling load (10W), frequency (λ/4, 3λ/4, and 5λ/4), and operating pressure (6 bar -10 bar). Reported research implies that adding helium-argon gas to thermoacoustic refrigeration (TAR) may improve their performance, expanding refrigeration and cooling applications. This mixture also reduced the onset temperature for thermoacoustic action, saving energy. According to experiments, the appropriate combination of these gases can outperform pure gas systems, making sustainable cooling possible. The study shows that the Honeycomb stack arrangement outperforms others in temperature regulation and cooling load capacity, especially at high pressures. Stack material gives significant results on the cooling performance of TAR, having the highest COP of 0.498. At 10 bar, the Honeycomb stack has the lowest cold-end temperature, while the Parallel stack has the highest at 6 bar. Linearity exists between cooling load and temperature differential, with Honeycomb stacks having the best cooling capacity at drive Pressure Ratio 10. The study reveals that Honeycomb stacks perform best in thermoacoustic refrigeration systems at more excellent pressure ratios.
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