Modeling, design, and development of novel thermagoustic and therporaoustic systems

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Imagine a refrigerator that uses environmentally friendly gases instead of the current environmentally damaging CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons). Imagine this refrigerator being so quiet that it cannot be heard. Further imagine that the costly compressor is replaced with a single moving part that makes the refrigerator inherently robust and reliable. Such a refrigerator exists and it utilizes thermoacoustics. A typical thermoacoustic engine utilizes a low grade heat source (e.g., waste heat and solar energy) and converts it to acoustic power. In contrast, a typical thermoacoustic refrigerator utilizes an acoustic source to produce a cooling effect. The catch is that thermoacoustic systems are currently inefficient, thus they have only found in niche applications such as in space or in environment friendly promotions by Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.