Abstract
A small washer powered directly and solely by thermal radiation was constructed and tested to explore the feasibility of using solar energy or other types of thermal radiation for washing and cleaning. In principle, TA (ThermoAcoustic) washers have the benefits of simpler design and operation and fewer energy conversion processes, thus should be more energy efficient and cost less than electric washing/cleaning systems. The prototype TA converter we constructed could sustain itself with consistent fluid oscillations for more than 20 minutes when powered by either concentrated solar radiation or an IR (infrared) heater. The frequencies of water oscillations in the wash chamber ranged from 2.6 to 3.6 Hz. The overall conversion efficiency was lower than the typical efficiencies of TA engines. Change in water temperature had little effect on the oscillatory flow in the TA washer due to its low efficiency. On the other hand higher water temperatures enhanced grease removal considerably in our tests. Methods for measuring the overall conversion efficiency, frictional loss, and grease removal of the TA washing system we designed were developed and discussed.
