Optimal design of the pulse tube refrigerator with slit-type heat exchangers

A single-stage inline pulse tube refrigerator (PTR) with tapered slit-type heat exchangers utilized as the aftercooler and the cold end heat exchanger has been designed, fabricated and investigated. Simple energy conservation equation is applied for the design of the tapered slit-type heat exchangers with which the PTR is optimized. The air-cooled aftercoolers with different slit configurations have been compared in this paper with regard to its cooling capacity. The optimized PTRs driven by a single-piston linear compressor achieve the lowest temperature of 53.1 K and 53.5 K, and the cooling capacity of 3.0 W at 60 K and 3.5 W at 60 K, respectively. The result shows that the tapered slit-type heat exchangers can replace the mesh-type heat exchanger, but the geometric configuration of slits and the compressible volume should be carefully considered for optimum performance of the cooler.     

The experimental investigation of a pulse tube refrigerator with a ‘L’ type pulse tube and two orifice valves

In order to simplify the structure of the cold end of the pulse tube refrigerator (PTR) and have a better utilization of the cold energy of the system, a single stage four-valve pulse tube refrigerator (FVPTR) with a ‘L’ type pulse tube structure and two orifice valves at the hot end of pulse tube has been constructed. Verification experiments show that a two-orifice valve structure gives different adjustments to the gas flow rate of the hot end of the pulse tube than that of the one-orifice valve structure, a lowest temperature of 72 K was obtained at a frequency of 2.5 Hz under a system average pressure of 1.6 MPa with 200 mesh bronze screens as regenerator material, 20 mesh copper screens as stuffing material of heat exchanger. Due to the difficulty in manufacturing the thin ‘L’ type pulse tube, the wall thickness of the pulse tube in the experiment is relatively bigger than that of the ordinary pulse tube, which resulted in relatively big system loss and affected the minimum temperature of the system to a certain degree.     

Experimental study of the influence of cold heat exchanger geometry on the performance of a co-axial pulse tube cooler

Improving the performance of the pulse tube cooler is one of the important objectives of the current studies. Besides the phase shifters and regenerators, heat exchangers also play an important role in determining the system efficiency and cooling capacity. A series of experiments on a 10 W @ 77 K class co-axial type pulse tube cooler with different cold heat exchanger geometries are presented in this paper. The cold heat exchangers are made from a copper block with radial slots, cut through using electrical discharge machining. Different slot widths varying from 0.12 mm to 0.4 mm and different slot numbers varying from around 20–60 are investigated, while the length of cold heat exchangers are kept the same. The cold heat exchanger geometry is classified into three groups, namely, constant heat transfer area, constant porosity and constant slot width. The study reveals that a large channel width of 0.4 mm (about ten times the thermal penetration depth of helium gas at 77 K, 100 Hz and 3.5 MPa) shows poor performance, the other results show complicated interaction effects between slot width and slot number. These systematic comparison experiments provide a useful reference for selecting a cold heat exchanger geometry in a practical cooler.     

脉管制冷机冷端换热器的改进

为了进一步提高脉管制冷机在液氮温区（７７Ｋ）的制冷量,本文对脉管冷端换热器进行了改进,同时还对脉管冷端气流的平均温度进行了测量。实验结果表明,常规脉管制冷机冷端换热器中的换热面积是不足的,脉管制冷机冷端换热器的传热损失较大,在设计计算中不应忽视。采用高目数的换热器填料有利于降低脉管冷端壁面与冷端气体之间的温差,从而提高冷端换热器效率,进而提高液氮温区脉管制冷机效率。     

Experimental test of a supercritical helium heat exchanger dedicated to EUROTRANS 150 kW CW power coupler

The coaxial power coupler needed for beta = 0.65 superconducting RF cavities used in the high energy section of the EUROTRANS driver should transmit 150 kW (CW operation) RF power to the proton beam. The estimated RF losses on the power coupler outer conductor in standing wave mode operation are 46 W. To remove these heat loads, a full scale copper coil heat exchanger brazed around the outer conductor was designed and tested using supercritical helium at T = 6 K as a coolant. Our main objective was to minimise the heat loads to cold extremity of SRF cavity maintained at 2 K or 4.2 K. A dedicated test facility named SUPERCRYLOOP was developed and successfully operated in order to measure the performance of the cold heat exchanger. The test cell used reproduces the realistic thermal boundary conditions of the power coupler mounted on the cavity in the cryomodule. After a short introduction, a brief discussion about the problem of power coupler cooling systems in different machines is made. After that, we describe the experimental set-up and test apparatus. Then, a heat exchanger thermal model will be developed with FEM code COSMOS/M to estimate the different heat transfer coefficients by comparison between numerical simulation results and experimental data in order to validate the design. Finally, thermo-hydraulic behavior of supercritical helium has been investigated as function of different parameters (inlet pressure, flow rate, heat loads).     

Regenerator performance improvement of a single-stage pulse tube cooler reached 11.1 K

In order to improve the cooling performance of pulse tube cooler (PTC) at 20-40 K, hybrid regenerators are often employed. In this paper a three-layer regenerator, which consists of woven wire screen, lead sphere and Er₃Ni is optimized to enhance the cooling performance and explore the lowest attainable refrigeration temperature for a single-stage PTC. The efforts focus on the temperature range of 80-300 K, where woven wire screens are used. Theoretical and experimental studies are carried out to study the metal material and the mesh size effect of woven wire screens on the performance of the single-stage G-M type PTC. A lowest no-load refrigeration temperature of 11.1 K was obtained with an input power of 6 kW. The PTC can supply 17.8 W at 20 K and 39.4 W at 30 K, respectively.     

Heat exchangers for he II cooling loops with self-sustained fountain effect pumps

A cooling cycle with He II convection driven by self-sustained fountain effect pumps is being investigated. Special attention is drawn to the problem of heat transfer at both ends of the superfilter of this loop. The heat exchanger requirements are derived from theoretical considerations on the degradation of the cooling characteristic effected by non-perfect heat exchangers. A shell and tube type heat exchanger, optimized for the warm end of the filter has been operated in this loop with a thermal load of up to 9 W, with 2.8 g s⁻¹ maximum helium flow rate and with inlet temperatures between 1.8 and 3.4 K. Its performance is well described by computations. A different heat exchanger design with finned Cu walls is suggested for the cold end of the pump. Some considerations on its optimization are given.     

异型管管翅式换热器性能研究

管翅式换热器的翅片优化为研究热点,而对管型的研究较少.本文提出一种与圆管相同水力半径的异型管的设计方法,建立了异型管管翅式换热器空气侧换热的数值计算模型,研究了管型、迎风方向和翅片间距对异型管管翅式换热器性能的影响.结果表明:对于双排的异型管换热器,第一排管大圆迎风,第二排管小圆迎风时,空气流动最均匀,压降最低,是综合...     

Air-side thermal hydraulic performance of multi-louvered fin aluminum heat exchangers

An experimental study on the air-side heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics for multi-louvered fin and flat tube heat exchangers has been performed. For 45 heat exchangers with different louver angles (15–29°), fin pitches (1.0, 1.2, 1.4 mm) and flow depths (16, 20, 24 mm), a series of tests were conducted for the air-side Reynolds numbers of 100–600, at a constant tube-side water flow rate of 0.32 m³/h. The inlet temperatures of the air and water for heat exchangers were 21 and 45°C, respectively. The air-side thermal performance data were analyzed using effectiveness-NTU method for cross-flow heat exchanger with both fluid unmixed conditions. The heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop data for heat exchangers with different geometrical configurations were reported in terms of Colburn j-factor and Fanning friction factor f, as functions of Reynolds number based on louver pitch. The general correlations for j and f factors are developed and compared to other correlations. The f correlation indicates that the flow depth is one of the important parameters for the pressure drop.     

Intermediate cooling from pulse tube and regenerator in a 4 K pulse tube cryocooler

This paper introduces intermediate cooling by thermally attaching heat exchangers on the second stage pulse tube and regenerator in a commercial 4 K pulse tube cryocooler. Due to the large enthalpy flow in the 2nd stage pulse tube and regenerator, both intermediate heat exchangers on the pulse tube and regenerator can provide cooling capacities in the temperature range of 5–15 K without or with minor effect on the performance of the 4 K stage. Extracting cooling capacity from the pulse tube or regenerator reduces the 1st stage cooling performance in the present study. The joint intermediate heat exchanger on the pulse tube and regenerator has demonstrated promising results for applications.     

采用铜铝复合管的翅片管换热器换热性能数值模拟与实验研究

提出采用一种铜铝复合管,用来替代传统的空调室外机换热器用铜管,可降低成本27.8%。首先通过数值模拟研究了Φ7管径的铜铝复合管与铜管翅片管换热器空气侧的传热与流动性能,计算结果表明,在入口风速为2.5m/s的情况下,与采用铜管的换热器相比,采用铜铝复合管的换热器空气侧的压力分布几乎不变,换热量降低3.12%,对性能影响较小。另一方面,对采用该模型的铜铝复合管换热器进行了性能测试,实验结果表明:铜铝复合管换热器换热量为8775W,与铜管换热器9101W相比降低3.58%,满足换热器标准要求。实验结果与数值模拟结果基本吻合,均证明这种新型铜铝复合管对换热器性能的影响不大,可用于空调的制造中。     

结构特征对螺旋管换热器性能的影响

目的研究结构特征对螺旋管换热器换热性能的影响,为换热器设计和结构优化提供理论依据。方法在CFD软件Ansys的FLUENT模块中模拟螺旋管换热器内流体的流动换热过程。在相同边界条件下,不改变总换热面积,通过改变换热器的换热管直径和壳体长度,研究几何参数对换热性能的影响。通过对比单管单螺旋、单管双螺旋、双管双螺旋和内外双螺旋等4种不同缠绕方式换热器中流体的温度分布云图,研究螺旋管的结构对换热器换热性能的影响。结果保持总换热面积不变,减少换热器的管径,增大壳体的长度,都能有效提高换热效率。与单管单螺旋结构的换热器相比,单管双螺旋结构换热器的流体出口温度下降了9.74%,平行双螺旋结构换热器的出口温度下降了5.05%,内外双螺旋结构换热器的出口温度上升了10.11%。结论在螺旋管换热器的设计和优化过程中,可以通过减小换热管径,增大壳体长度,采用内外双螺旋结构,以实现提高传热效率的目的。     

Numerical analysis on pressure drop and heat transfer performance of mesh regenerators used in cryocoolers

An anisotropic porous media model for mesh regenerator used in pulse tube refrigerator (PTR) is established. Formulas for permeability and Forchheimer coefficient are derived which include the effects of regenerator configuration and geometric parameters, oscillating flow, operating frequency, cryogenic temperature. Then, the fluid flow and heat transfer performances of mesh regenerator are numerically investigated under different mesh geometric parameters and material properties. The results indicate that the cooling power of the PTR increases with the increases of specific heat capacity and density of the regenerator mesh material, and decreases with the increases of penetration depth and thermal conductivity ratio (a). The cooling power at a = 0.1 is 0.5-2.0 W higher than that at a = 1. Optimizing the filling scale of different mesh configurations (such as 75% #200 twill and 25% #250 twill) and adopting multi segments regenerator with stainless steel meshes at the cold end can enhance the regenerator’s efficiency and achieve better heat transfer performance.     

Cold leak tests of LHC beam screens

In order to guide the high energy proton beams inside its two 27 km long vacuum rings, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Geneva, makes use of superconducting technology to create the required magnetic fields. More than 4000 beam screens, cooled at 7-20 K, are inserted inside the 1.9 K beam vacuum tubes to intercept beam-induced heat loads and to provide dynamic vacuum stability. As extremely high helium leak tightness is required, all beam screens have been leak tested under cold conditions in a dedicated test stand prior to their installation. After describing the beam screen design and its functions, this report focuses on the cold leak test sequence and discusses the results.     

Heat exchanger versus regenerator: A fundamental comparison

Irreversible processes in regenerators and heat exchangers limit the performance of cryocoolers. In this paper we compare the performance of cryocoolers, operating with regenerators and heat exchangers from a fundamental point of view. The losses in the two systems are calculated from the entropy productions due to the various irreversible processes. Whether an optimized regenerator or heat exchanger performs better depends on the system parameters (molar flux, temperature, and pressure). At temperatures below 200 K the losses due to heat conduction in the axial direction are dominant.     

Thermal Applications of Open-Cell Metal Foams

The key structural and thermo-physical properties of reticulated metal foams (RMF) are reviewed. Analytical expressions relating such properties to basic structural parameters are developed through mathematical modeling and experimental studies. Conductive and convective aspects of thermal energy transfer through RMF-based heat exchangers are reviewed. A mathematical model is developed that calculates maximum thermal performance for such heat exchangers. Results of experimental and finite element analysis predicting thermal performance of test module using a thermal base plate, power device, RMF heat exchanger, and off-the-shelf external cold plate were compared. The superior performance of RMF-based heat exchangers is shown.     

混合填充式回热器单级脉管制冷机性能研究

回热器为回热式低温制冷机的关键部件,其性能对系统的影响甚大。为探索回热器内金属丝网混合填充对回热器性能的影响,文章基于回热器模拟软件REGEN3.3仿真结果的基础上,制作了单级脉管制冷装置,采用#300SS,#400SS和#500SS的金属丝网混填了四组回热器,并在不同输入功率下进行了系统制冷性能实验。实验结果表明,较之低目数丝网填充的回热器制冷机,采用高目数丝网填充的回热器制冷机性能较优;在回热器热端填充低目数,冷端填充高目数的丝网,可提高回热器冷端压比,提高整机制冷性能。     

Thermodynamic design of methane liquefaction system based on reversed-Brayton cycle

A thermodynamic design is performed for reversed-Brayton refrigeration cycle to liquefy methane separated from landfill gas (LFG) in distributed scale. Objective of the design is to find the most efficient operating conditions for a skid-mount type of liquefaction system that is capable of LNG production at 160 l/h. Special attention is paid on liquefying counterflow heat exchanger, because the temperature difference between cold refrigerant and methane is smallest at the middle of heat exchanger, which seriously limits the overall thermodynamic performance of the liquefaction system. Nitrogen is selected as refrigerant, as it is superior to helium in thermodynamic efficiency. In order to consider specifically the size effect of heat exchangers, the performance of plate-fin heat exchangers is estimated with rigorous numerical calculations by incorporating a commercial code for properties of methane and the refrigerant. Optimal conditions in operating pressure and heat exchanger size are presented and discussed for prototype construction under a governmental project in Korea.     

Investigation of the effects of three key parameters on the heat transfer capability of a CLHP

A cryogenic loop heat pipe (CLHP) has been developed for future aerospace applications at the TIPC (Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry). The device has been tested in different situations with constant heat sink temperature of about 78 K. The effects of the reservoir volume and the pore size of the primary wick on the performance of CLHP were investigated. With a wick pore size of 2 μm, the CLHP can transfer a heat load of 26 W under horizontal orientation no matter what size of the reservoir volume being used. On the contrary, when the pore size was large (10 μm), the heat transfer capability of the CLHP can be up to 26 W only when a smaller reservoir (60 cc) was used, and its ability to operate against gravity was greatly weakened. Moreover, when the working fluid was oxygen instead of nitrogen, the heat transfer capability can be up to 50 W under horizontal orientation with the other experimental conditions remaining the same.     

Effect of periodic reverse flow on the heat transfer performance of microchannel evaporators

Periodic flow reversal are commonly present in microchannel heat exchangers, but have been studied in air conditioning systems only recently. This paper presents the effect of periodic reverse flow on the heat transfer performance of a heat exchanger. Two heat exchangers with identical geometries in the heat transfer areas are employed and an artificial upstream flow resistance is added for one of them. The heat exchanger without artificial flow resistance is subject to more severe boiling instabilities and consequently generates four times more reverse vapor flow than the other one. The comparison of capacities under identical operating conditions reveals that higher intensity of reverse flow helps to improve cooling capacity by up to 13.3%. Meanwhile, numerical simulations of bubble dynamics coupled with heat transfer are carried out for both heat exchangers. Results show that in the heat exchanger with more reverse flow, the refrigerant side heat transfer coefficients are enhanced, especially in the upstream part of a channel where the flow velocity is relatively low.