Thermoacoustic refrigerators produce a cooling power from an acoustic energy. Over the last decades, these devices have been extensively studied since they are environment-friendly, robust and miniaturizable. Despite all these advantages, their commercialization is limited by their low efficiency. One reason for this limitation comes from the complex thermo-fluid process between the stack and the two heat exchangers which is still not sufficiently understood to allow for optimization. In particular, at high acoustic pressure level, vortex shedding can occur behind the stack as highlight by [Berson & al., Heat Mass Trans, 44, 10151023 (2008)]. The created vortex can affect heat transfer between the stack and the heat exchangers and thus, they can reduce the system performance. In this work, aerodynamic and thermal measurements are both conducted in a standing wave thermoacoustic refrigerator allowing investigation of vortex influence on the system performance. The proposed device consists on a resonator operated at frequency of 200 Hz, with hot and cold heat exchangers placed at the stack extremities. The working fluid is air at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. The aerodynamic field behind the stack is described using high-speed Particle Image Velocimetry. This technique allows the acoustic velocity field measurement at a frequency up to 3000 Hz. Thermal measurements consist on the acquisition of both the temperature evolution along the stack and the heat fluxes extracted at the cold heat exchanger. These measurements are performed by specific micro-sensors developed by MEMS technology. The combination of these two measurements should be helpful for the further understanding of the heat transfer between the stack and the heat exchangers.
