Conveners
C3OrA - Stirling Cryocooler Performance and Modeling
- Jimmy Wade (Sunpower Inc.)
- Ryan Taylor (Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp)
The physics behind Stirling-type cryocoolers are complicated. One dimensional simulation tools only offer limited details and accuracy, in particular for cryocoolers that have non-linear configurations. Multi-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) methods are useful but are computationally expensive in simulating cyrocooler systems in their entirety. In view of the fact that some...
Thermodynamic and fluidic modeling results for a novel small satellite (SmallSat) Stirling Cryoooler, capable of delivering up to 400 mW net cooling power at 80 K for less than 6 W DC input power, are discussed in this paper. Industry and government requirements for SmallSat borne infrared sensors is driving the development of ever-more miniaturized cryocooler systems. Such cryocoolers must...
Methane is one of the major volatile components of the natural gas. With the heat load, the low boiling components tend to evaporate first and is likely to build up the pressure in the storage vessel. In order to avoid such situation, the storage vessel is generally vents out the vapour to the atmosphere. If this vapour can be re-condensed in-situ at storage pressure, it will save Methane from...
High cooling power (i.e., from several hundred Watt to thousand Watt) free piston Stirling cryocooler could find important application in fields such as boil-off gas recondensation and superconducting. This work reveals the acoustic field characteristics mainly concerning the regenerator and acoustic impedance match between cooler and linear compressor. Based on thermoacoustic theory,...
Free-piston Stirling crycooler, featuring its elimination of the motor that drives the displacer, has extensive applications in various areas for its simplicity in structure and decrease in mass. However, the elimination of the motor has not only added to the complexity of its analysis and design, but also made it differ from Stirling cryocoolers with displacer driving mechanism, such as the...
