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

其目的是设计、优化和制造一种新型的热声能量转换装置。这些设备的新功能是广泛使用主动声反馈，以及复杂的控制器设计，在权衡控制努力的同时优化了功率转换效率。这种反馈控制的使用可以克服当前热声设备中的两个重大挑战，即(A)高效率所需的操作参数的窄范围，以及(B)由于声阻抗要求而引起的机械设计复杂性。使用主动反馈控制可以产生虚拟声学，从而在比非反馈装置大得多的参数范围内满足阻抗要求。此外，反馈可能会在运行状态下产生新的热声不稳定性，而这些热声不稳定是不会自然存在的。这种新的设备概念将相当复杂的设计从设备的机械设计转移到反馈电子设备的设计中，在那里它可以更容易地实现。这是在权衡声学控制所需的额外功率的同时，通过最优反馈控制设计来实现的。在大参数范围内工作的能力将使热声技术能够在更多种类的能量转换设备中使用，特别是在太阳能驱动的设备中。智能优点：尽管某些有限类型的热声能量转换设备已经存在了一段时间，但基本的限制使它们无法用于高度专业化的应用。智能热声学有可能成为这项技术的变革性发展，使其能够用于广泛的应用。方法是研究面向控制的热声建模以及最优反馈和学习控制设计。广泛的影响：热声设备目前无法使用高度可变的热源，如太阳能，因此尚未被用于利用太阳能。主动反馈控制使热声设备能够适应广泛的热功率输入，从而使一种全新的太阳能能量转换设备成为可能。这将是对可再生能源和清洁能源部门的重大贡献。

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.