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Shock wave refrigerators (SWR) refrigerate the inflow gas through periodical expansion waves with a rotating distributor. Due to its simple structure and robustness, SWR may have many potential applications if the efficiency becomes competitive with existing alternative devices. In order to improve the refrigerating efficiency, the characteristics of wave propagation and oscillation in the SWR are studied theoretically and numerically. Base on the shock tube theory, a simplified model is suggested, which includes the assumptions of flux-equilibrium and conservation of the free energy. This model allows the independent analysis of the operation parameters and design specifics. In order to delve into the relationship of factors that influence the SWR efficiency, CFD is used to simulate the propagation of the vortex induced by the inflow injecting inside the oscillation tube. The reflection wave inside the tube with different shape of the nozzles and different structure of the tube tail are studied. The considerations to improve the PWR efficiency are given.

Shock waves; Refrigerator; Gas dynamics