Liquidhyphen;sodium thermoacoustic engine

摘要

We have constructed a thermoacoustic engine that uses liquid sodium as its working substance. The engine generates acoustic power using heat flowing from a highhyphen;temperature source to a lowhyphen;temperature sink. The measured performance of this engine disagrees significantly with numerical calculations based on our theory of thermoacoustic engines. The efficiency of the engine is a substantial fraction of Carnotrsquo;s efficiency, and its power density is comparable to that of the conventional heat engines in widespread use. Thus we expect this type of engine to be of practical, economic importance.