Heat transfer characteristics of oscillating flow regenerators in cryogenic temperature range below 20 K Original Research Article

Linearized thermoacoustic model considering temperature oscillation in the solid wall is applied to analyze the heat transfer characteristics of compressible oscillating flow in parallel-plate and circular-tube regenerators. In particular, the study focus results of heat transfer analysis are applicable in lower cryogenic temperature ranges (<20 K). Complete expression for Nusselt number is derived and it is shown to be the function of six nondimensional parameters when the shape of the regenerator is fixed. These parameters are discussed, respectively. Simplified expressions of the Nusselt numbers for both parallel plates and circular tubes structured regenerators are derived. Heat transfer characteristics can be evaluated via these simple expressions. Possible approaches of enhancing heat transfer in a thermoacoustic regenerator are discussed.