Energy exchange through shock waves has numerous practical applications, including gas compression, supercharging, power generation, and refrigeration. This paper focuses on utilizing shock waves and expansion waves for refrigeration. When high-pressure gas suddenly enters a receiving tube, it generates a shock wave that moves forward, while an expansion wave propagates in the opposite direction, creating a cooling effect. Compared to conventional turbo-expanders, gas wave refrigerators (GWR) require significantly lower rotational speeds, which makes them more cost-effective, structurally simpler, and operationally more reliable. Extensive research efforts worldwide aim to advance gas wave refrigeration technology. This review explores the contributions of various researchers on the design and development of different types of GWR. The paper highlights the technological challenges, such as the self-circulation ability of GWR to eliminate the need for an external circulation system, the capability to handle liquid in the gas, damping of the reflected shock wave and losses due to temperature differential along the length of the channels or tubes. These technological challenges addressed by different researchers are presented to enable the successful development and widespread adoption of gas wave refrigeration systems. Additionally, the latest cutting-edge trends in the field of GWR are also covered. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the advancements made in GWR technology, along with its technical obstacles and potential solutions.
Zafar, S. and Nandi, T. Kumar (2026). A review on the gas wave refrigerators and their applications. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research, (), -. doi: 10.22075/jhmtr.2026.39487.1869
MLA
Zafar, S. , and Nandi, T. Kumar. "A review on the gas wave refrigerators and their applications", Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research, , , 2026, -. doi: 10.22075/jhmtr.2026.39487.1869
HARVARD
Zafar, S., Nandi, T. Kumar (2026). 'A review on the gas wave refrigerators and their applications', Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research, (), pp. -. doi: 10.22075/jhmtr.2026.39487.1869
CHICAGO
S. Zafar and T. Kumar Nandi, "A review on the gas wave refrigerators and their applications," Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research, (2026): -, doi: 10.22075/jhmtr.2026.39487.1869
VANCOUVER
Zafar, S., Nandi, T. Kumar A review on the gas wave refrigerators and their applications. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research, 2026; (): -. doi: 10.22075/jhmtr.2026.39487.1869
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