Extended range of the Lockheed Martin coax Micro cryocooler

This paper describes the higher cooling capability of the Lockheed Martin coax Micro cryocooler thermal mechanical unit. The design of the previously qualified TRL6 Micro (Nast et al., 2014) [1] was modified to accommodate over twice the input power, greatly increasing the cooling capability. These Micro units are in a split configuration with the cold head separated from the compressor.This unit was optimized for cooling at 105 K and provides cooling over a wide range of temperatures. With a weight below 450 g, this small unit is ideal for compact instruments. Load lines were obtained over a range of powers, cold tip temperatures and rejection temperatures. This testing raised the Technology Readiness Level to six.     

Interlaboratory comparison of Josephson voltage standards betweenNIST and Lockheed Martin Astronautics

Two Josephson voltage standard (JVS) systems operated at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Lockheed Martin Astronautics (LMA) were compared by using four traveling Zener standards. A Measurement Assurance Program (MAP) protocol was adopted for the comparison. The Zener data were first corrected based on their pressure coefficients to compensate for the pressure difference due to the lab elevations and local meteorological conditions. The Welch-Satterthwaite formula and effective degrees of freedom (DOF) were then used to calculate the expanded uncertainty. The mean difference between the measurements of the two laboratories was found to be 0.059 μV with an expanded uncertainty of ±0.189 μV at the 95% confidence level     

Vibration analysis of cryocoolers

The vibrations of Gifford-McMahon (GM) and pulse-tube (PT) cryocoolers were measured and analyzed. The vibrations of the cold-stage and cold-head were measured separately to investigate their vibration mechanisms. The measurements were performed while maintaining the thermal conditions of the cryocoolers at a steady state. We found that the vibration of the cold-head for the 4 K PT cryocooler was two orders of magnitude smaller than that of the 4 K GM cryocooler. On the other hand, the vibration of the cold-stages for both cryocoolers was of the same order of magnitude. From a spectral analysis of the vibrations and a simulation, we concluded that the vibration of the cold-stage is caused by an elastic deformation of the pulse tubes (or cylinders) due to the pressure oscillation of the working gas.     

Optimal performance of regenerative cryocoolers

The key component of a regenerative cryocooler is its regenerative heat exchanger. This device is subject to losses due to imperfect heat transfer between the regenerator material and the gas, as well as due to viscous dissipation. The relative magnitudes of these losses can be characterized by the ratio of the Stanton number St to the Fanning friction factor f. Using available data for the ratio St/f, results are developed for the optimal cooling rate and Carnot efficiency. The variations of pressure and temperature are taken to be sinusoidal in time, and to have small amplitudes. The results are applied to the case of the Stirling cryocooler, with flow being generated by pistons at both sides of the regenerator. The performance is found to be close to optimal at large ratio of the warm space volume to the regenerator void volume. The results are also applied to the Orifice Pulse Tube Refrigerator. In this case, optimal performance additionally requires a large ratio of the regenerator void volume to the cold space volume.     

空间斯特林制冷机的可靠性筛选

介绍了中国国内空间斯特林制冷机的早期失效模式及其对应的筛选试验方法,研究了长寿命制冷机的寿命筛选方法,采用温度循环为模拟应力,试验内容包括两部分:制冷机的开关机试验和连续工作试验,总试验时间约500 h.按照给定的筛选程序,可在短期内发现制冷机内部潜在的薄弱环节,诱发其早期失效,剔除不良产品,经过筛选之后的制冷机可有一个长期稳定的工作期,从而提高了制冷机的使用可靠性,推动了自研制冷机在空间任务中的应用.     

Development of parallel wire regenerator for cryocoolers

This paper describes development of a novel regenerator geometry for cryocoolers. Parallel wire type is a wire bundle stacked in parallel with the flow in the housing, which is similar to a conventional parallel plate or tube. Simple and unique fabrication procedure is developed and fully depicted in this paper. Hydrodynamic and thermal experiments are performed to demonstrate the feasibility of the parallel wire regenerator. First, pressure drop characteristic of the parallel wire regenerator is compared to that of the screen mesh regenerator. Experimental result shows that the steady flow friction factor of the parallel wire type is three to five times smaller than that of the screen mesh type. Second, thermal ineffectiveness is determined by measuring the instantaneous pressure, the flow rate and the gas temperature at the warm and cold ends of the regenerator. The measured ineffectiveness of the parallel wire regenerator is larger than that of the screen regenerator due to the excessive axial conduction loss. To alleviate the intrinsic axial conduction loss of the parallel wire regenerator, segmentation is introduced and the experimental results reveal the favorable effect of the segmentation. Entropy generation calculation is adopted to compare the total losses between the screen regenerator and the parallel wire regenerator for various operating ranges. Simulation results show that the parallel wire regenerator can be an attractive candidate to improve cryocooler performance especially for the case of smaller NTU and lower cold-end temperature.     

Impedance match for Stirling type cryocoolers

Impedance match in Stirling type cryocoolers is important for the compressor efficiency and available acoustic power. This paper generalizes the basic principles concerning the efficiency and acoustic power output of the linear compressor. Starting from basic governing equations and mainly from the viewpoint of energy balance, the physical mechanisms behind the principles are clearly shown. Specially, this paper focuses on the impedance match for an existing compressor, where the current limit and displacement limit should also be taken into consideration when selecting a suitable impedance. Some case studies based on a commercial compressor are also provided for a deep understanding.     

US Navy programme in small cryocoolers

If superconducting and cryogenic electronic instrumentation are to be deployed in future US Naval operational systems, there is a strong need for compact, highly reliable cryogenic refrigerators. Accordingly, several years ago, a programme was initiated to develop fractional-watt cryocoolers capable of operating below 10 K. Several varieties of Stirling coolers have been built and are under evaluation. In addition, helium gas compressors designed for use with small, closed cycle Joule- Thomson coolers are under development. An overview of the technical aspects of the programme are presented.     

High-capacity turbo-Brayton cryocoolers for space applications

Long-life, high-capacity cryocoolers may be needed for future space systems utilizing stored cryogens. The cooling requirements for planetary and extraterrestrial exploration missions, extended-life orbital transfer vehicles, and space depots may range from 10 W to 50 W at temperatures between 20 K and 120 K. Turbo-Brayton cryocoolers are ideal for these systems because they are lightweight, compact and very efficient at high cooling loads due to the high power density of rotary machines. These benefits are in addition to their inherent attributes of high reliability; negligible vibration; long, maintenance-free lifetimes; flexibility in integrating with spacecraft systems; and ability to directly cool remote and distributed loads. To date, space-borne turbo-Brayton technology has been developed for low cooling loads. The first space implementation of a turbo-Brayton cryocooler was in the NICMOS Cooling System (NCS). The NCS has been operational on the Hubble Space Telescope for over 3.5 years without any degradation. It provides 7 W of cooling at 70 K. The scaling of the technology to higher capacities is the subject of this paper.     

Design guidelines for large Stirling cryocoolers

A simplified design guideline for the refrigerating capacity of Stirling cryocoolers is presented.     

Improvement in performance of cryocoolers as condensers

Modifications to the cold head of a Cryomech PT410 pulse tube cryocooler, being used as a helium condenser, have led to an increase in liquefaction rate from 12.8 to 21.4 L/day. These modifications are the first experimental results from attempts to enhance the use of natural convective heat transfer to precool the helium vapour prior to liquefaction.     

Miniature Stirling cryocoolers: trends in development

Following a lengthy period of development, Stirling refrigerators have emerged as the preferred system for the miniature cryocoolers used in infrared night-vision, missile guidance systems and other low capacity cryogenic sensors. Single stage expansion integral and split-Sterling refrigerators having capacities of 0.25-1 W at 80 K are in series volume production. They are characterized by increasing reliability (multithousand hours operation). Future preference is anticipated for split-Stirling systems with close tolerance seals replacing rubber contact seals and linear electric motors increasingly preferred as the compressor drive. Present difficulties with the cooler—sensor interface and of fluid leakage will be overcome by manufacture of integrated cooler—sensor units welded leak-proof and having no provision for field servicing. Eventual production is anticipated of throw-away, radio tube like, cryocooler-sensor units capable of plugging in to ambient temperature circuits. Control of compression speed in accordance with load demand will be routine. The use of multistage expansion Stirling cryocoolers for superconducting electronics is anticipated with the development of the high temperature superconducting materials having critical temperatures ≈ 20 K and operating temperatures ≈ 10 K. Availability of a reliable, compact, relatively low cost, 10 K refrigerator would eliminate the need for liquid helium cooling and open possibilities for application of superconducting electronics on a broad front for diverse military and civil purposes.     

Development of high efficiency Stirling-type pulse tube cryocoolers

Thermoacoustic theory is a powerful tool to understand the working mechanism of regenerative thermodynamic systems. In this paper, a modified thermoacoustic model is employed to design three single-stage Stirling-type pulse tube cryocoolers. The first one (PTC-10) is designed with in-line configuration and the second one (CPTC-10) is designed with co-axial configuration. Both of them are able to provide about 10 W cooling power at 77 K with a relative Carnot efficiency of about 18.6%. The third one (PTC-20), designed with in-line configuration, has a twice cross section area of the PTC-10. It can provide more than 20 W cooling power at 77 K with a relative Carnot efficiency of 22%.     

Development of mechanical cryocoolers for Astro-H/SXS

The Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) is a high-resolution spectrometer with an X-ray micro-calorimeter array onboard the Japanese X-ray astronomy satellite Astro-H, planned for launch in 2013. The micro-calorimeter is operated at cryogenic temperature of 50 mK provided by the Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (ADR) with a heat sink of 1.3 K liquid helium stored in the SXS Dewar. To extend the liquid helium lifetime to over 3 years in orbit, two types of mechanical cryocoolers are installed: 20 K-class double-staged Stirling (2ST) coolers and a 1 K-class Joule-Thomson (JT) cooler. Improvement of mechanical cryocoolers has been investigated and verified for higher reliability and cooling performance. The engineering model (EM) of upgraded mechanical cryocoolers was fabricated for a long lifetime test. The required cooling power of 200 mW at 20 K for the 2ST cooler and 10 mW at 1.7 K for the JT cooler are achieved by EM test.     

Numerical analysis of stirling type pulse tube cryocoolers

A one-dimensional finite volume discretization method is proposed and is implemented as a computer program for the modeling of a family of stirling type Pulse Tube Cryocoolers (PTC). The set of unsteady, one-dimensional, viscous compressible flow equations are written in a general form such that all, porous and non-porous, sections of the PTC can be modeled with these governing equations. In present work, temperature dependency of thermo-physical properties are taken into account as well as the heat transfer between the working fluid and the solid parts, and heat conductions of the gas and solid. The simulation tool can be used to model both the inertance tube type and the orifice type cryocoolers equipped with regenerators made up of different matrix constructions. The PTC might have an arbitrary orientation with respect to the gravitational field. By using the computer program, an orifice type and an inertance tube type pulse tube cryocooler are simulated. Diameter of the orifice and length of the inertance tube are optimized in order to maximize the coefficient of performance. Furthermore, the cooling power of the two types is obtained as a function of the cooling temperature. The behavior of thermodynamic parameters of the inertance tube PTC is investigated. Mean cyclic values of the parameters are presented.     

Discussion on refrigeration cycle for regenerative cryocoolers

Based on review and analysis of thermodynamic efficiency ε of the Carnot cycle and the cycle with two isothermal and two polytropic processes, another thermodynamic cycle with two isentropic and two polytropic processes, which can achieve the Carnot value of thermodynamic efficiency, is testified theoretically. Thermodynamic efficiency expressions of a number of ideal regenerative refrigeration cycles are derived, including the ideal pulse tube refrigeration cycle. A classified branch chart and a plot of ideal thermodynamic efficiency of regenerative refrigeration cycles are given for the purpose of comparison.     

Size effects on miniature Stirling cycle cryocoolers

Size effects on the performance of Stirling cycle cryocoolers were investigated by examining each individual loss associated with the regenerator and combining these effects. For the fixed cycle parameters and given regenerator length scale, it was found that only for a specific range of the hydrodynamic diameter the system can produce net refrigeration and there is an optimum hydraulic diameter at which the maximum net refrigeration is achieved. When the hydraulic diameter is less than the optimum value, the regenerator performance is controlled by the pressure drop loss; when the hydraulic diameter is greater than the optimum value, the system performance is controlled by the thermal losses.It was also found that there exists an optimum ratio between the hydraulic diameter and the length of the regenerator that offers the maximum net refrigeration. As the regenerator length is decreased, the optimum hydraulic diameter-to-length ratio increases; and the system performance is increased that is controlled by the pressure drop loss and heat conduction loss. Choosing appropriate regenerator characteristic sizes in small-scale systems are more critical than in large-scale ones.     

Outgas analysis of mechanical cryocoolers for long lifetime

Mechanical cryocoolers for space applications are required to have high reliability to achieve long-term operation in orbit. ASTRO-H (Hitomi), the 6th Japanese X-ray astronomy mission, has a major scientific instrument onboard—the Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) with several 20K-class two-stage Stirling (2ST) coolers and a 4K-class Joule Thomson (JT) cooler, which must operate for 3 years to ensure the lifetime of liquid helium as a cryogen for cooling of its detectors [1], [2]. Other astronomical missions such as SPICA [3], [4], LiteBIRD [5], and Athena [6] also have top requirements for these mechanical cryocoolers, including a 1K-class JT cooler to be operated for more than 3–5 years with no cryogen system.The reliability and lifetime of mechanical cryocoolers are generally understood to depend on (1) mechanical wear of the piston seal and valve seal, and (2) He working gas contaminated by impurity outgases, mainly H₂O and CO₂ released from the materials in the components of the cryocoolers. The second factor could be critical relative to causing blockage in the JT heat exchanger plumbing and the JT orifice or resulting in blockage in the Stirling regenerator and thereby degrading its performance. Thus, reducing the potential for outgassing in the cryocooler design and fabrication process, and predicting the total amount of outgases in the cryocooler are very important to ensure cryocooler lifetime and cooling performance in orbit.This paper investigates the outgas analysis of the 2ST and the 1K/4K-JT coolers for achieving a long lifetime. First, gas analysis was conducted for the materials and components of the mechanical cryocoolers, focusing on non-metallic materials as impurity gas sources. Then gas analysis of the mechanical wear effect of the piston seal materials and linear ball bearings was investigated. Finally, outgassing from a fully assembled cryocooler was measured to evaluate whether the outgas reduction process works properly to meet the requirement levels.