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Description
Minor geometric features and imperfections are commonly introduced into the basic design of multi-component systems in order to simplify or reduce the expense of manufacturing. In this work, detailed 3D Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) models were used to investigate the impact of such apparently minor geometric imperfections on the performance of Stirling type pulse tube cryocoolers. A series of CFD simulations based on a prototypical cold tip was carried out. Temperature and velocity distributions in perfect and imperfect geometries were compared and analyzed. Predictions of cooling performance and gravity orientation sensitivity were compared with experimental results obtained with cryocooler prototypes. The results indicate that minor geometry imperfections in cold tip assembly can have considerable negative effects on the gravity orientation sensitivity of pulse tube cryocooler.