Suppression of harmonics in a model of thermoacoustic refrigerator based on an acoustic metamaterial

Abstract

A model of thermoacoustic refrigerator on the basis of an acoustic metamaterial is presented, in which an array of side pipes is adopted to suppress harmonic waves in the thermoacoustic resonator. The array of side pipes traps the acoustic waves with Fabry-Perot resonant frequencies and induces narrow forbidden bands of transmission. When the resonant frequency of the thermoacoustic refrigerator is chosen as the operating frequency, the harmonic wave can be exactly located in the forbidden band by properly adapting the structural parameters of the system. Therefore, the component of the harmonic wave in the thermoacoustic resonator can be efficiently suppressed.