Design and experimental validation of looped-tube thermoacoustic engine

The aim of this paper is to present the design and experimental validation process for a thermoacoustic looped-tube engine. The design procedure consists of numerical modelling of the system using DELTA EC tool, Design Environment for Low-amplitude ThermoAcoustic Energy Conversion, in particular the effects of mean pressure and regenerator configuration on the pressure amplitude and acoustic power generated. This is followed by the construction of a practical engine system equipped with a ceramic regenerator - a substrate used in automotive catalytic converters with fine square channels. The preliminary testing results are obtained and compared with the simulations in detail. The measurement results agree very well on the qualitative level and are reasonably close in the quantitative sense.