Heat-Only-Driven Vuilleumier Refrigeration
Andreas Fischer, Abdellah Khodja, Raphael Paul, Karl Heinz Hoffmann
Abstract
Vuilleumier refrigerators are devices which provide cooling power by using heat from a source at a temperature above the ambient. This feature makes Vuilleumier refrigerators particularly useful in situations where waste heat is abundant but electrical energy is scarce even as auxiliary operating power. For an operation by heat only with no need of auxiliary power, the Vuilleumier refrigerators must be designed in such a way that the mechanical losses occurring during operation are compensated by power gained from pressure differences. Here, we study the optimal design of such a device with heat-only operation maximizing the cooling power.
Topics & Concepts
RefrigerationWaste heatPower (physics)Mechanical engineeringEnvironmental scienceProcess engineeringNuclear engineeringEngineeringHeat exchangerThermodynamicsPhysicsAdvanced Thermodynamics and Statistical MechanicsAdvanced Thermodynamic Systems and EnginesRefrigeration and Air Conditioning Technologies