A single-stage miniature coaxial pulse tube cryocooler prototype is developed to provide reliable low-noise cooling for an infrared detector system to be equipped in the future space mission. The challenging work is the exacting requirement on its dimensions due to the given miniature Dewar. The limited dimensions result in the insufficiency of the phaseshifting ability of the system when inertance tubes alone are employed. A larger filling pressure of 3.5 Mpa and higher operating frequency up to 70 Hz are adopted to increase the energy density, which compensates for the decrease in working gas volume due to the miniature structure, and realize a fast cool down process. A 1.5 kg dual opposed linear compressor based on flexure bearing and moving magnet technology is used to realize light weight, high efficiency and low contamination. The design and optimization are based on the theoretical CFD model developed by the analyses of thermodynamic behaviors of gas parcels in the oscillating flow. This paper describes the design approach and trade-offs. The cooler performance and characteristics are presented.

Date Published: 3 May 2010
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 7660, Infrared Technology and Applications XXXVI, 76602Q (3 May 2010); doi: 10.1117/12.850075

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7660:
Infrared Technology and Applications XXXVI
Bjørn F. Andresen; Gabor F. Fulop; Paul R. Norton, Editor(s)