Study on the heat transfer characteristic of solar powered thermoacoustic prime mover at different tilted angles

Solar powered thermoacoustic prime mover is an attractive device for solar thermal utilization. Its performance is significantly affected by tilt angle when it rotates with the Sun. In this study, the heat transfer characteristics within thermoacoustic core were investigated under 3 tilt angles including, −90°, 0° and 90°. The temperature fields of thermoacoustic core were measured by Thermal Infrared Imager. Experimental results show that the tilt angle has significant influence on the heat transfer and the temperature field in the thermoacoustic core when the engine onset. Three tilt angles were classified into three situations according to the relative position of two heat exchangers. And the temperature field and heat transfer characteristic was discussed in each situation.