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Heat-driven thermoacoustic cooling technologies: a comprehensive review and future prospects for hot climate applications.

Author(s) : FARIKHAH I., BAHMAN A. M.

Type of article: IJR article

Summary

The escalating demand for cooling in hot climate regions, driven by rising global temperatures and rapid urbanization, underscores the urgent need for sustainable and efficient refrigeration technologies. Conventional vapor-compression systems, reliant on electricity and high-global-warming-potential refrigerants, are ill-suited for off-grid and high-ambient-temperature environments. Heat-driven thermoacoustic cooler (HDTCs) present a promising alternative, leveraging thermal energy from solar, waste, or combustion heat to generate acoustic waves that produce a refrigeration effect without moving parts or harmful refrigerants. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent advancements in HDTC technology, with a specific emphasis on their potential for hot-climate applications. It synthesizes progress in system design—from standing-wave to advanced multistage traveling-wave configurations—scaling, and the optimization of stack materials and geometries. The paper further explores technological applications across cryogenics, LNG, industry, buildings, and transportation, with a dedicated focus on hot-climate technologies such as off-grid cooling, desalination, and solar integration. Despite significant achievements, including coefficients of performance (COP) exceeding 3.0 in simulations and experimental exergy efficiencies up to 21%, a persistent gap remains between theoretical predictions and practical performance. Key challenges such as acoustic losses, phase mismatch, and material limitations are discussed, alongside future research directions aimed at enhancing efficiency, scalability, and reliability. The review concludes that HDTCs are poised for practical deployment and can become a cornerstone for sustainable, grid-resilient cooling in hot-climate regions, pending further research to bridge the performance gap and optimize real-world operation.

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Pages: 35 p.

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Details

  • Original title: Heat-driven thermoacoustic cooling technologies: a comprehensive review and future prospects for hot climate applications.
  • Record ID : 30034586
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology
  • Source: International Journal of Refrigeration - Revue Internationale du Froid - vol. 183
  • Publication date: 2026/03
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2025.12.030

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