Conveners
C2Or2C - Aerospace Cryocooler Simulation
- Carl Kirkconnell (West Coast Solutions)
- Mike Meyer (NASA)
We present a computational model for a closed cycle dilution refrigerator (CCDR) for space applications. The motivation of the computational model was the design a
CCDR demonstration model for the X-IFU instrument of the Athena space observatory.
We also have applied the computational model to other astrophysical instruments such as PIXIE and LiteBIRD to predict the available cooling power for...
A proven design for a zero gravity dilution refrigerator consists of three capillaries soldered in parallel to form a heat exchanger. The mixing chamber is an T-junction at the cold end of the exchanger. Almost pure liquid $^3$He and pure liquid $^4$He flow through the two outside capillaries to the cold end where they mix in the T-junction causing dilution cooling. The cold liquid...
In recent years, demands for high sensitivity observation in astronomical missions are increasing. In astronomical observation, in order to achieve superior sensitivity and energy resolution, cooling down the detector for extremely low temperature (100mK or less) is necessary to reduce thermal fluctuation noise emitted from the detector itself. The purpose of this research is to improve the...
An initial prototype of a mixed gas Joule-Thomson (JT) cryocooler was constructed and installed in a test facility to experimentally validate and refine a computational tool developed to optimize the gas mixture composition for a Joule-Thomson cycle with specific operating parameters. The mixture optimization model determines an optimal three-component mixture based on the analysis of the...
Earth observation satellites require cryocoolers to cool down their infrared imagers at very low temperatures. Besides having very good thermodynamic performances, satellite cryocoolers are expected to generate as little vibrations as possible. In order to better understand vibration causes between 0 and 500 Hz, the whole cryocooler needs to be modelled. In the literature, two main modelling...
