Four graduate students from the Utah of University physics department presented research findings for a promising thermoacoustic device capable of converting wasted heat into a renewable energy source during this year's Acoustical Society of America Conference in Salt Lake City Friday.
The devices, some smaller than a penny, are able to remove waste heat from just about any heat-producing source, convert the heat into a sound wave and then create energy to be used to power electrical equipment.
Students estimated that any practical application of their research is two to five years in the future, but they were excited about its potential to harness a source of energy that right now is lost.
"I see this being used for a wide variety of applications on the university campus," said U. student Brenna Gillman. "The campus nuclear power plant and hot-water-heating system produce wasted heat. If we placed 100 or 1,000 devices in an array on the hot side of the heat sources we could harness the heat and use it to produce more power."
Using PowerPoint presentations with math formulas, graphs, charts and moving diagrams, the U. students explained how the devices were developed and the processes used in the new technology.
There is great interest in developing this technology. The Department of Defense is funding the project in hopes of being able to use wasted heat from sources such as radar facilities and converting it into electrical energy. It is possible the device could also create portable power to be used to run electronics on the battlefield.
Other applications might include replacing fans on computers to eliminate heat and using the device to remove the heat while generating power to run the computer.
"This could be used on car exhaust systems, jet airplanes, anywhere there is wasted heat," said U. student Myra Flitcroft, who builds the miniature thermoacoustics engines under a microscope. "There is large-scale use in some places already."
This device is very "green," students bragged.
"We like to think of it as environmentally friendly," said Flitcroft. "There are no hydrocarbons anywhere."
Most students became interested in the project after meeting U. physics professor Orest Symko, who leads the project. Symko showed them the device and explained the purpose of the research and its real-life applications.
Symko was described as a very approachable instructor who can boast of having the most female members of any research group in the physics department.
Jamie Rankin is part of a program that offers scholarships to women interested in scientific fields. She is attending the U. this summer before starting her freshman year this fall as a way to prepare for research projects like the thermoacoustics device she is working on.
"It's a fun project," said student Bonnie McLaughlin. "It's a good mix of hands-on experiments using interdisciplinary ideas that has a good application."
Contributing: Associated Press
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