Geometric optimization of micro-thermoacoustic cooler for heat management in electronics

Abstract

As a result of miniaturisation, electronic products are shrinking in size and weight but with greater pressure for cost reduction. Heat fluxes have increased considerably and hence thermal management becomes crucial from the reliability point of view. Thermoacoustic heat engines provide a practical solution to the problem of heat management in microcircuits where they can be used to pump heat or produce spot cooling of specific circuit elements. However, the most inhibiting characteristic of thermoacoustic cooling is its current lack of efficiency. A multiobjective optimization approach is presented to model and optimize a small-scale thermoacoustic regenerator. Optimization of multiple objectives components is considered and global optimal solutions have been identified using the epsilon constraint method.