A 300 Hz two-stage pulse tube cryocooler that attains 58 K

We present a two-stage pulse tube cryocooler working at 300 Hz driven by a thermoacoustic engine. Compared to the previous experimental results, the combined inertance tube with different diameters that is used in the second stage is found to play the key role in phase shifting and to lead to superior cooling. Two different wall thickness tubes are tested in the experiments. After the optimization, the second-stage cold end achieves a no-load temperature of 57.9 K with an average pressure of 3.8 MPa, and a cooling capacity of 0.5 W at 81.88 K.     

Valve timing effect on the cooling performance of a 4 K pulse tube cooler

Generally, a compressor together with a rotary valve system generates the pressure oscillation in GM-type cryocoolers. The timing of the rotary valve, which is one of the key operating parameters for cryocoolers, determines the relationship between intake and exhaust processes. A systematic investigation of valve timing effects on cooling performance of a two-stage 4 K pulse tube cooler (PTC) is reported. The experiments show that the optimization of valve timing can considerably improve the cooling performance for both stages. For the same PTC, a performance comparison for operation on different compressors with various input powers ranging from 0.5 to 6.0 kW is also presented.     

High-power Stirling-type pulse tube cooler working below 30 K

High-power Stirling-type pulse tube coolers (PTCs) are promising candidates for cooling HTS devices and gas liquefaction or separation applications. Nevertheless, till now most high-power Stirling-type PTCs are not able to reach a refrigeration temperature below 35 K. Here, a high-power two-stage Stirling-type PTC was designed, manufactured and experimentally investigated. In order to realize a convenient coupling with a thermal load, U-shape configuration is adopted in both stages, which makes it more challenging to distribute the gas flow and reduce dead volume in the cold end heat exchanger. By optimizing operating conditions, flow straightener, and double-inlet opening, the cooler has reached no-load refrigeration temperatures of 29.6 K and 27.1 K at 55 Hz and 40 Hz, respectively. Furthermore, the cooler is able to provide cooling powers of 50 W at 45.6 K and 100 W at 59.3 K when input pV powers are 4.77 kW and 4.59 kW, respectively.     

Integrated Resonant Self-Pumped Loop and pulse tube cryocooler for cryogenic cooling distribution

Cooling distribution is a vital technology concerning cryogenic thermal management systems for many future space applications, such as in-space, zero boil-off, long-term propellant storage, cooling infrared sensors at multiple locations or at a distance from the cryocooler, and focal-plane arrays in telescopes. These applications require a cooling distribution technology that is able to efficiently and reliably deliver cooling power (generated by a cryocooler) to remote locations and uniformly distribute it over a large-surface area. On-going efforts by others under this technology development area have not shown any promising results.This paper introduces the concept of using a Resonant Self-Pumped Loop (RSPL) integrated with the proven, highly efficient pulse tube cryocooler. The RSPL and pulse tube cryocooler combination generates cooling power and provides a distributive cooling loop that can be extended long distances, has no moving parts, and is driven by a single linear compressor. The RSPL is fully coupled with the oscillating flow of the pulse tube working fluid and utilizes gas diodes to convert the oscillating flow to one-directional (DC) steady flow that circulates through the cooling loop. The proposed RSPL is extremely simple, lightweight, reliable, and flexible for packaging. There are several requirements for the RSPL to operate efficiently. These requirements will be presented in this paper. Compared to other distributive cooling technologies currently under development, the RSPL technology is unique.     

Characterization of a low frequency magnetic noise from a two-stage pulse tube cryocooler

Magnetic noise of a two-stage pulse tube cryocooler (PT) was measured by a fundamental mode orthogonal fluxgate magnetometer and by a LTS Double Relaxation Oscillation SQUID (DROS) first-order planar gradiometer. The magnetometer was installed in a dewar made of aluminum at 12 cm distance from a section containing magnetic regenerative materials of the second pulse tube. The magnetic noise spectrum showed a clear peak at 1.8 Hz, which is the fundamental frequency of the He gas pumping rate. The 1.8 Hz magnetic noise registered a peak, during the cooling down process, when the second cold-stage temperature was around 12 K, which is well correlated with the 1.8 Hz variation of the temperature of the second cold stage. Hence, we attributed the main source of this magnetic noise to the temperature variation of the magnetic moments resulting from magnetic regenerative materials, Er₃Ni and HoCu₂, in the presence of background static magnetic fields. We have also pointed out that the superconducting magnetic shield of lead sheets reduced the low frequency magnetic noise generated from the magnetic regenerative materials. With this arrangement, the magnetic noise amplitude measured with the LTS DROS gradiometer, mounted at 7 cm horizontal distance from the magnetic regenerative materials, in the optimum condition, was lower than 500 pT peak-to-peak, whereas the noise level without lead shielding was higher than the dynamic range of DROS instrumentations which was around .     

Characterization of a 300 Hz thermoacoustically-driven pulse tube cooler

This article introduces our recent experimental advances on a 300 Hz pulse tube cooler driven by a thermoacoustic standing-wave engine. After some modifications on the engine, the integral system performance is improved, which leads to a better cooling performance of the high frequency pulse tube cooler compared with that in former reports. Cooling powers of the pulse tube cooler with different operating conditions have been measured in detail for the first time. So far, a lowest no-load temperature of 68 K and a maximum cooling power of 1.16 W at 80 K have been obtained with the mean pressure and the heating power being 4.1 MPa and 1 kW, respectively.     

Experimental discovery and verification of the third type of DC gas flow in pulse tube cryocooler

DC gas flow in pulse tube cryocooler (PTC) is a crucial problem both in theory and application which considerably affects the refrigeration performance. We have experimentally discovered and verified the third type of DC gas flow in PTC which is formed due to hydrodynamic and thermodynamic asymmetry of the regenerator and other flow channels. This new type of DC gas flow is possible to be identified in other regenerative engines or refrigerators. We also introduced a highlighting method which can suppress this kind of DC gas flow effectively in most cases, with the best result of 30 K temperature drop at the cold end of the PTC.     

Comparison of two different ways of using inertance tube in a pulse tube cooler

It is well known that the pressure wave should lead the volume flow rate at the ambient end of the pulse tube for a high-efficiency operation of a pulse tube cooler. Inertance tube can provide such a phase relationship without DC flow problem. However, inertance tube is always connected with a reservoir in previous literatures. Through theoretical calculation here, inertance tube without a reservoir can also provide a rather large phase-leading effect. Thus phasor diagram is used to analyze the relationship between phase-leading requirement and the pulse tube geometry. Roughly speaking, a larger void volume of pulse tube would require a larger phase-leading effect. Comparison experiments are also done on a thermoacoustically-driven pulse tube cooler. With i.d.2 mm tube as inertance tube, the tube without reservoir yields close results in terms of lowest temperature to that of the tube with reservoir and both give much better performance than that of an orifice with reservoir. Finally, the advantages of using inertance tube without reservoir are given.     

A single-stage pulse tube cooler reached 12.6 K

A single-stage G-M type pulse tube cooler (PTC) was designed and tested to explore the lowest attainable refrigeration temperature and to further improve the cooling performance in the temperature range of 15-40 K. The magnetic material Er₃Ni was used as part of the regenerative material besides the phosphor-bronze and the lead so as to improve the efficiency of the regenerator. With an input power of 6 kW, a lowest no-load refrigeration temperature of 12.6 K was obtained, which is a new record for the single-stage PTC. The cooling capacity at 15-40 K was also significantly improved, which may extend the application of the single-stage PTC for the cooling of superconductors and cryopumps.     

A novel coupled VM-PT cryocooler operating at liquid helium temperature

This paper presents experimental results on a novel two-stage gas-coupled VM-PT cryocooler, which is a one-stage VM cooler coupled a pulse tube cooler. In order to reach temperatures below the critical point of helium-4, a one-stage coaxial pulse tube cryocooler was gas-coupled on the cold end of the former VM cryocooler. The low temperature inertance tube and room temperature gas reservoir were used as phase shifters. The influence of room temperature double-inlet was first investigated, and the results showed that it added excessive heat loss. Then the inertance tube, regenerator and the length of the pulse tube were researched experimentally. Especially, the DC flow, whose function is similar to the double-orifice, was experimentally studied, and shown to contribute about 0.2 K for the no-load temperature. The minimum no-load temperature of 4.4 K was obtained with a pressure ratio near 1.5, working frequency of 2.2 Hz, and average pressure of 1.73 MPa.     

Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems cryocooler overview

Mechanical long life cryocoolers are an enabling technology used to cool a wide variety of detectors in space applications. These coolers provide cooling over a range of temperatures from 2 K to 200 K, cooling powers from tens of mW to tens of watts. Typical applications are missile warning, Earth and climate sciences, astronomy and cryogenic propellant management. Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (NGAS) has delivered many of the US flight cooler systems and has 12 long life pulse tube and Stirling coolers on orbit with two having over 11 years of continuous operation. This paper will provide an overview of the NGAS cryocooler capabilities.     

Vibration spectrum of a pulse-tube cryostat from 1 Hz to 20 kHz

The vibrations of the cold finger of a low-vibration helium pulse-tube cryostat are measured from 1 Hz to 20 kHz using an optical interferometer specially designed to measure small amplitude vibrations at high frequencies in the presence of large vibrations at lower frequencies. While the vibrational amplitude is dominated by the contribution at the fundamental compressor frequency of 1.4 Hz, the pulse tube contributes mechanical noise at frequencies up to 15 kHz, where the spectral density is measured to be 4 × 10⁻¹² m/Hz^1/2. Root-mean-squared vibration amplitudes of 5.2 μm and 3 μm are measured along perpendicular axes in the horizontal plane, and 1.0 μm in the vertical direction. The effect of a suspended sample holder for the purpose of attenuating high-frequency vibrations is evaluated. Finally, the cryostat is shown to be considerably noisier than typical laboratory floors.     

Two-stage high frequency pulse tube cooler for refrigeration at 25 K

A two-stage Stirling-type U-shape pulse tube cryocooler driven by a 10 kW-class linear compressor was designed, built and tested. A special feature of the cold head is the absence of a heat exchanger at the cold end of the first-stage, since the intended application requires no cooling power at this intermediate temperature. Simulations where done using Sage-software to find optimum operating conditions and cold head geometry. Flow-impedance matching was required to connect the compressor designed for 60 Hz operation to the 40 Hz cold head. A cooling power of 12.9 W at 25 K with an electrical input power of 4.6 kW has been achieved up to now. The lowest temperature reached is 13.7 K.     

Model for transient behavior of pulse tube cryocooler

This article describes an investigation of the transient behavior of a small (2.0 W at 85 K) pulse tube cryocooler operating at 120 Hz with an average pressure of 3.5 MPa, capable of relatively fast cool-down from ambient to about 60 K. In a series of experiments, the cold end temperature was measured as a function of time in a complete cool-down and subsequent warm-up cycle, with no heat load and different quantities of excess mass at the cold end. A transient heat transfer model was developed, that considers the effects of the cooling power extracted at the cold end and that of the heat gain at the warm end on the cool-down time. The heat gain factor was calculated from warm-up data, and found to be approximately the same for all experiments. Using the same model with cool-down data enables a determination of both the gross and net cooling power as functions of time, but more importantly – as functions of the cold end temperature. An expression was derived for the cold end temperature as a function of time for any amount of excess mass, including zero. The cool-down time of the “lean” cryocooler (with no excess mass) was found to be less than 50 s.This cool-down/warm-up method for evaluating the cooling power of a cryocooler seems simpler than steady-state experiments with a heater simulating load at the cold end. Use of the heat transfer model with data from one or two good experiments conducted in the above manner, can yield both the gross and net cooling powers of a cryocooler as functions of the cold end temperature, and allow the determination of cool-down time with any amount of excess thermal mass. While the net cooling power during cool-down differs somewhat from that under steady-state operation, the former can serve as a good measure for the latter.     

Single-stage high frequency coaxial pulse tube cryocooler with base temperature below 30 K

This paper introduces two single-stage high frequency coaxial pulse tube cryocoolers (PTCs) with base temperature below 30 K. One has reached the lowest temperature of 26.1 K with an electric power of 250 W, which is the reported lowest temperature for single-stage high frequency PTC without multi-bypass. Using nozzle for double-inlet instead of need valves, the second PTC has achieved the temperature of 28.6 K with an electric power of 235 W. The analysis result is coinciding with experiments in general. The paper shows the advantage of the cooperated phase adjustment method of inertance tube and double-inlet, they might be the best choice when low temperature PTC is required.     

Performance analysis and optimization of high capacity pulse tube refrigerator

High capacity pulse tube refrigerator (HCPTR) is a new generation of cryocoolers tailored to provide more than 250 W of cooling power at cryogenic temperatures. The most important characteristics of HCPTR when compared to other types of pulse tube refrigerators are a powerful pressure wave generator, and an accurate design. In this paper the influence of geometrical and operating parameters on the performance of a double inlet pulse tube refrigerator (DIPTR) is studied. The model is validated with the existing experimental data. As a result of this optimization, a new configuration of HCPTR is proposed. This configuration provides 335 W at 80 K cold end temperature with a frequency of 50 Hz and COP of 0.05.     

Cryogen-free cryostat for neutron scattering sample environment

Today all advanced neutron facilities maintain a fleet of Orange cryostats, or similar systems, to provide low temperature sample environment in neutron scattering experiments. However recent liquid helium cost increases, caused by global helium supply problems, have raised significant concern about the affordability of such cryostats. The ISIS facility is carrying out a development programme intended to substitute conventional cryostats with cryogen-free systems preferably based on pulse tube refrigerators. The main aim of the development is to create a cryogen-free system as a potential replacement for the conventional Orange cryostat. This paper describes the design and test results of a cryogen-free cryostat, based on a pulse tube refrigerator, with 50 mm diameter top-loading sample facilities for neutron scattering experiments. The sample temperature range is 1.45–300 K in the continuous flow regime. The cryostat may also be used with ultra-low temperature dilution refrigerator inserts.     

A new computational model for entire pulse tube refrigerators: Model description and numerical validation

In present paper, a new modeling approach for the performance of pulse tube refrigerator is proposed. The new approach combines one-dimensional and two-dimensional models (1-D and 2-DCC model) together, and can be used to simulate the fluid flow and heat transfer processes of the basic type, orifice type and double-inlet type pulse tube refrigerators (PTRs). With the present model, the complicated fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in the PTR system can be efficiently depicted and the computational time can be greatly reduced. Then based on the approach, the distribution characteristics of the flow and temperature fields of the three types of PTR are numerically analyzed. The complicated fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena in PTR, such as DC flow, velocity and temperature annular effects are presented vividly. The numerical results show that the 1-D and 2-DCC model is reliable and practical, which can be used to explore the physical mechanism of the thermodynamic processes of the PTR system and optimize the design of the PTR system and its components.     

High frequency two-stage pulse tube cryocooler with base temperature below 20 K

High frequency (30-50 Hz) multi-stage pulse tube coolers that are capable of reaching temperatures close to 20 K or even lower are a subject of recent research and development activities. This paper reports on the design and test of a two-stage pulse tube cooler which is driven by a linear compressor with nominal input power of 200 W at an operating frequency of 30-45 Hz. A parallel configuration of the two pulse tubes is used with the warm ends of the pulse tubes located at ambient temperature. For both stages, the regenerator matrix consists of a stack of stainless steel screen. At an operating frequency of 35 Hz and with the first stage at 73 K a lowest stationary temperature of 19.6 K has been achieved at the second stage. The effects of input power, frequency, average pressure, and cold head orientation on the cooling performance are also reported. An even lower no-load temperature can be expected from the use of lead or other regenerator materials of high heat capacity in the second stage.     

Efficient helium recondensing using a 4 K pulse tube cryocooler

This paper introduces helium recondensing in a 4000 l dewar using a 4 K pulse tube cryocooler at Amundsen-Scott research station at the South Pole. The helium dewar has a normal boil-off rate of 14 l/day. Two features of cooling the dewar neck by helium vapor and precooling helium gas to be liquefied ensured high efficiency of the pulse tube recondenser in this application. The liquefier/recondenser has being successfully operating in the dewar at South Pole station since February 2005. It not only maintains zero boil-off of the dewar, but also liquefies helium gas supplied from outside of the dewar with a rate around 2.7 l/day.