Thermoacoustics

The central source for information on thermoacoustics research at the Laboratory.

Educational and computational resources, links to news, publications, and information on research and development of thermoacoustic engines, refrigerators, and mixture separators.

Thermoacoustics is the interaction between temperature, density and pressure variations of acoustic waves. The groundbreaking Thermoacoustics research performed at Los Alamos National Laboratory focuses on applying this to create next generation propulsion systems for space travel, refrigeration systems, and gas separation systems.

Thermoacoustics Textbook

This new edition is available from Springer, as a hardcover book and an ebook.  If you are located outside the US, a notice will appear at the top of the page directing you to a version of Springer’s website optimized for your own country. That page will display pricing in your local currency. You can also manually change the country from the drop-down list at the top right of the page.

For students and staff at universities and other institutions with a subscription to Springer’s eBook Package in Physics and Astronomy, you can click on “Access this title on SpringerLink - Click here” to download the eBook for free and/or purchase a low-cost, black-and-white paperback for individual use.

To obtain the computer animations used to illustrate points in the book, for either the first or second edition, download files from Springer or LANL. 

To fully explore the textbook and examples within it, also download the computer code DeltaEC.

DeltaEC

Design Environment for Low-amplitude ThermoAcoustic Energy Conversion (DeltaEC) is software that can predict how a given thermoacoustic apparatus will perform, or can allow the user to design an apparatus to achieve desired performance.

DeltaEC numerically integrates a one-dimensional wave equation appropriate to a user-defined geometry in a user-selected gas or liquid. DeltaEC is capable of handling complex geometric configurations and specialized acoustic elements including resonators, duct networks, and complete thermoacoustic engines, electroacoustically driven thermoacoustic refrigerators, and thermoacoustic mixture separators.

Source code for DeltaEC is not available to the public. 

Please email our team for access to the software.

A two-page introduction (pdf) to DeltaEC's decade-old core capabilities is available, and the current Users Guide (pdf) (which is also included in the installation package) explains current capabilities. The Users Guide requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, version 6 or later.

Experienced users can review the recent revision history and a list of known bugs, below.

Publications

Within each category, these recent journal articles and conference papers are listed in reverse chronological order.

Clicking on a link takes you to that journal's website, where you might only have access if the journal recognizes you or your institution as a subscriber. If you can't get access to a journal please contact our staff to request a pdf reprint of the article.

Educational Animations

These are computer animations of thermoacoustic processes described in Thermoacoustics: A Unifying Perspective for some Engines and Refrigerators. Select the version below that is compatible with your computer, download and unzip the file, and look for a readMe file if you need further instructions.

These animations were created in the late 1990s with Microsoft QuickBASIC. We converted them to Visual Python in the early 2010s. The physics is the same in both versions, but the Visual Python version is prettier.

This program was prepared by Los Alamos National Security, LLC at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) under contract No. DE-AC52-06NA25396 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). All rights in the program are reserved by the DOE and Los Alamos National Security, LLC. Permission is granted to the public to copy and use this software without charge, provided that this Notice and any statement of authorship are reproduced on all copies. Neither the U.S. Government nor LANS makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any liability or responsibility for the use of this software.