en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoacoustic_heat_engine
1 correction found
Thermoacoustic engines (sometimes called "TA engines") are thermoacoustic devices which use high-amplitude sound waves to pump heat from one place to another
This conflates thermoacoustic engines with thermoacoustic refrigerators/heat pumps. In standard usage, engines convert heat into acoustic power; refrigerators use acoustic power to pump heat.
Full reasoning
The quoted sentence describes a refrigerator/heat-pump function, not an engine function.
Authoritative and review sources distinguish the two device classes:
- A thermoacoustic engine converts heat into acoustic/mechanical power. Frontiers states: "The thermoacoustic engine converts supplied heat power into mechanical power in the form of sound" and "Thermoacoustic engines convert heat into sound without any solid moving parts."
- A thermoacoustic refrigerator/heat pump does the reverse relevant task here: it uses acoustic energy to pump heat. A review in the International Journal of Thermal & Environmental Engineering defines a thermoacoustic refrigerator (TAR) as "the device that uses acoustic energy to pump heat from a lower temperature reservoir."
So the article's wording is incorrect because it labels the heat-pumping device itself as a thermoacoustic engine, when that function belongs to a thermoacoustic refrigerator/heat pump. A more accurate lead would say that thermoacoustic devices include both engines (heat → sound/work) and refrigerators/heat pumps (sound/work → heat pumping).
3 sources
- Frontiers | Evaluating the onset conditions of a thermoacoustic Stirling engine loaded with an audio loudspeaker
The thermoacoustic engine converts supplied heat power into mechanical power in the form of sound... Thermoacoustic engines convert heat into sound without any solid moving parts.
- Thermoacoustic Refrigeration: Short Review
Thermoacoustic engine (TAE) or prime mover is the device that harnesses heat to produce acoustic waves... Thermoacoustic refrigerator (TAR) or heat pump is the device that uses acoustic energy to pump heat from a lower temperature reservoir.
- Design methodology of standing-wave thermoacoustic refrigerator: theoretical analysis
A thermoacoustic refrigerator converts acoustic energy to thermal energy (creating a cooling effect). Thermoacoustic refrigerators use sound waves to pump heat from the cooling space to the surrounding environment.