Boris Ivanov

Lomonosov Moscow State University / Cryogenic Engineering

Advisor: Prof. Nikolai Volkov

Boris Ivanov models and experiments on thermoacoustic refrigerators as an alternative to rotating-machinery liquefaction cycles for small-scale LNG satellite plants that serve remote Russian gas fields inaccessible to pipeline infrastructure. At Lomonosov MSU's Low Temperature Physics laboratory, supervised by Prof. Nikolai Volkov, he has used DeltaEC software to design a half-wavelength standing-wave resonator operating at 300 Hz with a He/Ar working gas mixture that balances acoustic impedance and thermal penetration depth across the cold-end heat exchanger. Prototype experiments in his cryostat facility have achieved a cold-end temperature of 104 K — sufficient for partial methane liquefaction — with a coefficient of performance 22% above the prior art reported by Penn State's thermoacoustics group. Boris has mapped the resonator acoustic field using PIV laser diagnostics and identified a secondary streaming recirculation that degrades efficiency at high drive ratios, which he has mitigated by an asymmetric stack repositioning. A consulting arrangement with Gazprom Engineering's small-scale LNG division provides both funding and an industrial validation pathway for his resonator geometry.