Thermoacoustic-wave equations for gas in a channel and a tube subject to temperature gradient

Abstract

This paper develops a general theory for linear propagation of acoustic waves in a gas enclosed in a two-dimensional channel and in a circular tube subject to temperature gradient axially and extending infinitely. A ‘narrow-tube approximation’ is employed by assuming that a typical axial length is much longer than a span length, but no restriction on a thickness of thermoviscous diffusion layer is made. For each case, basic equations in this approximation are reduced to a spatially one-dimensional equation in terms of an excess pressure by making use of a method of Fourier transform. This equation, called a thermoacoustic-wave equation, is given in the form of an integro-differential equation due to memory by thermoviscous effects. Approximations of the equations for a short-time and a long-time behaviour from an initial state are discussed based on the Deborah number and the Reynolds number. It is shown that the short-time behaviour is well approximated by the equation derived previously by the boundary-layer theory, while the long-time behaviour is described by new diffusion equations. It is revealed that if the diffusion layer is thicker than the span length, the thermoviscous effects give rise to not only diffusion but also wave propagation by combined action with temperature gradient, and that negative diffusion may occur if the gradient is steep.