Numerical simulation of nonlinear phenomena in a standing-wave thermoacoustic engine with gas-liquid coupling oscillation

Abstract

• A CFD model of gas-liquid standing-wave thermoacoustic engine is developed and experimentally verified. • Time-domain impedance boundary condition is employed to truncate the modelling of liquid column. • Entire transient evolution of self-excited thermoacoustic oscillation from onset to saturation is captured. • Three different acoustic streamings are observed through inspecting the time-averaged mass flux field. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model based on the compressible, nonlinear Navier-Stokes equations is developed to simulate the nonlinear phenomena in a gas-liquid standing-wave thermoacoustic engine, which employs gas as the working fluid and liquid as the phase-matching element. The CFD model is well validated when comparing the simulated onset and steady-state performances with those measured from a real experimental system. Based on the CFD model, the nonlinear phenomena of the engine are analyzed from three aspects. Firstly, the nonlinear dynamic phenomena of self-excited thermoacoustic oscillation from onset to saturation are investigated, focusing on onset temperature difference and steady-state pressure amplitude. Then, the nonlinear acoustic phenomena of the engine operating at steady state are analyzed. The steady-state fluctuating pressure is decomposed into a superimposition of the acoustic modes with different frequencies, which reveals the existence of high-order harmonics. Finally, the nonlinear hydrodynamic phenomena including multi-dimensional flow effect and mass streaming are observed by examining the steady-state flow fields in the engine. The proposed CFD model provides an effective approach to comprehending the mechanism of nonlinear phenomena in gas-liquid coupling thermoacoustic engines.