Thermo acoustic study of carbon nanotubes in near and far field: Theory, simulation, and experiment

Carbon nanotube webs exhibit interesting properties when used as thermo-acoustic projectors. This work studies thermo-acoustic effect of these sound sources both in near and far field regions. Based on two alternative forms of the energy equation, we have developed a straightforward formula for calculation of pressure field, which is consistent with experimental data in far field. Also we have solved full 3-D governing equations using numerical methods. Our three-dimensional simulation and experimental data show pressure waves are highly affected by dimensions of sound sources in near field due to interference effects. However, generation of sound waves in far field is independent of projectors area surface. Energy analysis for free standing Thermo-Acoustic (TA) sound sources show that aerogel TA sound sources like CNT based projectors could act more efficiently compared to the other sources in delivering more than 75% of alternative input energy to the medium gas up to a frequency of 1 MHz. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.