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Asoundwaytoturnheatintoelectricity
MachineDesign
Thu,2007071211:30

UniversityofUtahphysicistshavedevelopedsmalldevicesthatturnheatintosoundandtheninto
electricity.Thermoacousticprimemoversholdpromiseforconvertingwasteheatintoelectricity,
harnessingsolarenergy,andcoolingcomputersandradarequipment.
HERE'SHOWITWORKS:
Apalmsized,cylindershapedresonatorcontainsastackofmaterialwithalargesurfaceareasuchas
metalorplasticplates,orfibersmadeofglass,cottonorsteelwool.Thematerialsitsbetweenacoldheat
exchangerandahotheatexchanger.Applyingheattothedevicemovesairandproducessoundata
singlefrequency,similartoairblownintoaflute.Longerresonatorcylindersproducelowertones,while
shortertubesproducehigherpitchedtones.Thesoundwavesthensqueezeapiezoelectricelementthat
produceselectriccurrent.
Thermoacousticprimemoverslackmovingparts,sotheywillneedlittlemaintenanceandlastalong
time.Researcherssaythedeviceswon'tcreatenoisepollution.Smallerversionsunderdevelopment
convertheattoultrasonicfrequenciespeoplecannothear.Second,soundvolumegoesdownassound
convertstoelectricity.Finally,soundabsorbersplacedarounddeviceseasilycontainthenoise.
SOMERESULTSOFPROTYPETESTING:
A1.5in.long,0.5in.widecylindricalresonatorproducessoundwithaslittleasa90Ftemperature
differencebetweenhotandcoldheatexchangers.Someprototypesproducedsoundat135dBasloud
asajackhammer.Pressurizingtheairinasimilarsizedresonatorproducesmoresound,andthusmore
electricity.Further,raisingairpressurelowersthetemperaturedifferenceneededbetweenheat
exchangerstoproducesound.Thismakestheacousticdevicespracticalforcoolinglaptopcomputersand
otherelectronicsthatemitrelativelysmallamountsofwasteheat,researcherssay.
Foranarraytoefficientlyconvertheattosoundandelectricity,itsindividualdevicesmustbe"coupled"
toproducethesamefrequencyofsoundandvibrateinsync.
Aresonatormadefroma0.25in.diametersteeltubebenttoformaringabout1.3in.acrosscauses
soundwavestocirclethroughinsteadofbounceofftheendsasinacylindricaldesign.Suchringshaped
resonatorsaretwiceasefficientascylindricalresonatorsinconvertingheatintosoundandelectricity.
Thisisbecausepressureandspeedofairintheringshaperemainsynchronized.
Lastly,acylindershapedprototypeonethirdthesizeoftheotherdevices(lessthanhalfthewidthofa
penny)makesahighpitchedsoundat120dB,equivalenttothelevelproducedbyasirenorarock
concert.
Withinayear,researchersplantousethedevicestoproduceelectricityfromwasteheatatamilitary
radarfacilityandattheUniversity'shotwatergeneratingplant.

Thermoacousticprimemoversmayalsoserveasaportablepowersourceonthebattlefieldtorun
electronics,asanalternativetophotovoltaiccells,orasawaytogenerateelectricityfromheatthatnow
escapesfromnuclearpowerplantcoolingtowers.

UniversityofUtahphysicistOrestSymkousesablowtorchtoheatametallicscreeninsideaplastictube,
whichthenproducesaloudtone,similartowhenairisblownintoaflute.Thesoundpressureoperatesa
piezoelectricelementthatgeneratesanelectriccurrent.
SourceURL:http://machinedesign.com/news/soundwayturnheatelectricity