Thermoacoustics

[Canadaglass]

Hello to all you "cool" people. I am a flameworker, myself. A bit of cross pollenation can't hurt.

While blowing glass, every so often it starts "singing". Technically called Sondhauss oscillations, they are powered by the heat differential between the hot, closed end of the tube, and the cold, open end of the tube. This was my own introduction to thermoacoustics, or the interplay of heat and sound.

A google search brought me to one of the few threads on this forum that mention thermoacoustics, and a forum search showed me how few there were.

I have had a passive (<key word) interest in this feild for a few years now, and then I recently came across this:

ww w.qdrive.com /index.php?id=28

Suddenly, my interest was more than just passive. One of my biggest expenses has always been oxygen. An oxygen generator large enough to run my torches is prohibitively expensive, but small, retired/refurbished medical concentrators are only a couple of hundred dollars. Unfortunately, they lack both volume and pressure. If I could store the oxygen one of those units produced running around the clock by liquifying it, both problems would be solved. I contacted John Corey at qdrive, but it seems their unit is out of my price range as well.
There is more than one way to skin a cat! (none that the cat likes, but i digress...)
I am looking to learn more about thermoacoustics, and explore ideas. This is your forum, so don't be afraid to go off on a tangent, ignoring my applications all together.

Here is a good place to start:

ww w.lanl.gov/projects /thermoacoustics/

I apologize for the spaces stuck in the middle of the url's , but I am only allowed to post links after fifteen posts. Take the spaces out after you cut and paste the links.

[Chef]

Hi Canadaglass

Thermoacoustics is a fascinating topic, are you interested thermoacoustic engines or TAR (thermoacousticrefrigeration)?

Try http://www.acs.psu.edu/thermoacousti...tion/setac.htm
for details of SETAC - a fridge that develops over 250 watts of cooling.

Chef

[Tesla]

Hi Canadaglass
Cool post - it leads onto some most interesting subjects. As to your expensive oxygen costs have you checked out Browns Gas? it makes hydrogen and oxygen mix which is used for welding and heating, by vibrating water to seperate the elements. A question here does it sing louder with a bigger bowl at end of tube? if so it could be part of the schumann effect aswell. Since we are getting into vibrations a fellow countryman of yours John Hutchison is working on simmilar stuff to cause levitation. I suspect we could use this vibration technology to improve heatexchangers such as atomisers which vapourise water without adding heat.