Licensable Technologies

Oscillating Side-branch Enhancements of Thermoacoustic Heat Exchangers

Abstract
A regenerator-based engine or refrigerator has a regenerator with two ends at two different temperatures through which a gas oscillates at a first oscillating volumetric flow rate in the direction between the two ends and in which the pressure of the gas oscillates, and first and second heat exchangers, each of which is at one of the two different temperatures.  A dead-end side branch into which the gas oscillates has compliance and is connecdted adjacent to one of the ends of the regenerator to form a second oscillating gas flow rate additive with the first oscillating volumetric flow rate, the compliance having a volume effective to provide a selected total oscillating gas volumetric flow rate through the first heat exchanger to be configured and located to better enhance the performance of the heat exchanger rather than being confined to the location and configuration of the regenerfator.

Application(s)
Systems that rely on thermodynamic processes in fluids such as refrigerators, air conditioners, heat pumps, engines, etc.

Advantages
This invention overcomes the two critical shortcomings suffered by cyclic thermodynamic systems:

• the need for at least two heat exchangers, which contribute to a system�s inefficiency, to transfer heat between a thermodynamic working and a process fluid;
• and the inefficiencies caused by irreversible heat transfer between a cyclic thermodynamic system�s heat exchanger and the incoming process fluid. This invention overcomes these two problems with conventional cyclic thermodynamic systems through the combination of a cyclic thermodynamic process with an externally applied steady flow of an open thermodynamic process.

IP Status: Contact Licensing Executive for Details

Commercialization Strategy: The University is seeking to license this technology for development and commercialization. 

The University will select a potential licensee based on the content of the commercialization plans submitted by the respondents and proceed from that point into license negotiations for rights in the technology.

Reference Number: 206

S Number: DOE reference no.(s): 97,785

Patents & Applications:
United States National Patent Number 6560970 Issued on 05/13/2003

Posted: 10-29-2008

Contact
Russ Hopper
Technology Transfer Division
Los Alamos National Laboratory
P.O. Box 1663, MailStop C334
(505) 665-1578
brhopper@lanl.gov