EAGER: Thermoacoustics: Active Feedback Control Enabling a New Generation of Energy Conversion Devices

EAGER：热声学：主动反馈控制实现新一代能量转换设备

• 批准号: 0937539
• 负责人: Bassam Bamieh
• 金额: $ 9.56万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Barbara
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0937539&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Thermoacoustics; Active; Feedback; Control

The objective is to design, optimize and build a new class of thermoacoustic energy conversion devices. The new feature of these devices is the extensive use of active acoustic feedback, and sophisticated controller design that optimizes power conversion efficiency while trading off control effort. The use of such feedback control can overcome two significant challenges in current thermoacoustic devices, namely (a) the narrow range of operating parameters required for high efficiency, and (b) the mechanical design complexity incurred due to acoustic impedance requirements. The use of active feedback control can create virtual acoustics and thus satisfy impedance requirements over a much larger parameter regime than non-feedback devices. In addition, feedback can create new thermoacoustic instabilities in operating regimes where they would not naturally exist. This new device concept moves significant complexity from the mechanical design of the device into the design of the feedback electronics, where it can be much more easily implemented. This is to be done while trading off the additional power required for acoustic control, through optimal feedback control design. The ability to operate over a large parameter regime would enable the use of thermoacoustics in more varieties of energy conversion devices, especially in solar powered ones.Intellectual Merit: Although certain limited types of thermoacoustic energy conversion devices have existed for some time, fundamental limitations have prevented them from being used for more than highly specialized applications. Smart Thermoacoustics has the potential to be a transformative development in this technology, enabling its use for a wide variety of applications. The approach is to investigate control-oriented thermoacoustic modeling together with optimal feedback and learning control design.Broader Impact: Thermoacoustic devices are currently unable to operate using highly variable heat power sources such as solar power, and have therefore not yet been used to harness solar energy. Active feedback control enables thermoacoustic devices to adapt to a wide range of heat power inputs, and could thus enable an entirely new category of solarpowered energy conversion devices. This would be a significant contribution to the renewable and clean energy sector.

目标是设计、优化和构建新型热声能量转换装置。这些器件的新功能是广泛使用主动声反馈和复杂的控制器设计，可优化功率转换效率，同时权衡控制工作量。 使用这种反馈控制可以克服当前热声装置中的两个重大挑战，即（a）高效率所需的工作参数范围窄，以及（b）由于声阻抗要求而导致的机械设计复杂性。使用主动反馈控制可以创建虚拟声学效果，从而满足比非反馈设备大得多的参数范围的阻抗要求。此外，反馈可能会在运行状态中产生新的热声不稳定性，而这些不稳定性本来是不存在的。这种新的设备概念将显着的复杂性从设备的机械设计转移到反馈电子设备的设计中，从而更容易实现。这是通过最佳反馈控制设计来权衡声学控制所需的额外功率的同时实现的。在大参数范围内运行的能力将使热声学能够在更多种类的能量转换设备中使用，特别是在太阳能供电的能量转换设备中。 智力优点：虽然某些有限类型的热声能量转换设备已经存在了一段时间，但基本的限制阻止了它们被用于高度专业化的应用之外。智能热声学有潜力成为该技术的变革性发展，使其能够用于广泛的应用。该方法旨在研究面向控制的热声建模以及最佳反馈和学习控制设计。更广泛的影响：热声设备目前无法使用高度可变的热电源（例如太阳能）进行操作，因此尚未用于利用太阳能。主动反馈控制使热声装置能够适应各种热功率输入，从而可以实现全新类别的太阳能能量转换装置。这将是对可再生和清洁能源领域的重大贡献。