Operating characteristics of a single-stage Stirling-type pulse tube cryocooler with high cooling power at liquid nitrogen temperatures

Abstract

Abstract:The operating characteristics are important for design and optimization of pulse tube cryocoolers, in particular for those with high cooling power, which up to now have been seldom extensively investigated. In this study, the dependence of cooling performance on the charge pressure and operating frequency has been investigated, both numerically and experimentally. A numerical model based on Sage software was established. Experiments were performed on a home-made single-stage high power Stirling-type pulse tube cryocooler (SPTC) working at liquid nitrogen temperatures. The results revealed that each charge pressure corresponds to an optimum frequency with respect to compressor and regenerator efficiency. A lower charge pressure results in a higher cryocooler efficiency, but the delivered maximum pV power is significantly reduced due to the stroke limit of the pistons in the linear compressor. The influence of operating characteristics on the temperature non-uniformity in the regenerator was also investigated. By optimizing the charge pressure and frequency, the minimum no-load temperature was decreased to 46.9 K at 56.5 Hz and 2.0 MPa. A cooling power of 300 W at 71.8 K was measured with an electrical input power of 8.9 kW.