Transient and Synchronized Behaviors of Two Coupled Thermal Acoustic Converters
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 1
Abstract
Integration of multiple sound generators is essential to the development of large-scale, sono-assisted processes such as combustion, evaporation, or capture with acoustic excitations. In this work, the transient and synchronized behaviors of a thermal acoustic converter (TAC) pair were investigated experimentally for various crossing angles and different separation distances between the converters. The two TACs were acoustically coupled through the air mass between their openings, and the only mode-locking operation that could be achieved was the one that was nearly 180° out of phase. The time to achieve synchronization was found to be dependent upon the initial mistuning of the frequencies and the crossing angle between the converter axes. The synchronization process could also be accelerated by turning on the converter with the lower power input first. When the separation distance between the two converters exceeded a certain value, synchronization of the TAC pair could not be achieved. As the separation distance increased, the maximum amplitude of the unsynchronized TAC pair became less and less than the sum of the maximum amplitudes of the two converters when operating individually.
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Acknowledgments
This work was carried out as part of the overseas research assignment supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Research through two NRF grants (NRF-2010-0017458 and NRF-2011-0029820).
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Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 1 • March 2016
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 27, 2014
Accepted: Oct 27, 2014
Published online: Dec 4, 2014
Discussion open until: May 4, 2015
Published in print: Mar 1, 2016
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