Refrigeration for Cryogenic Sensors: Cryocoolers 2
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
NASA Conference Publication 2287 Ref rigeration for Cryogenic Max Gasser, Editor Goddard Space Flight Center Proceedings of the Second Biennial Conference on Refrigeration for Cryogenic Sensors and Electronic Systems held at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland December 7-8, 1982 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Branch 1983 INTRODUCTION This document contains the proceedings of the Second Biennial Conference on Refrigeration for Cryogenic Sensors and Electronic Systems. The Conference was held at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, on December 7-8, 1982. The first cryogenic refrigeration conference was held at the National Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colorado, in October 1980. Its objective was to report and discuss the state of cryocooler technology in a temperature range below 20 K with cooling capacity below 10 K. The conference was extremely beneficial to the cryocooler community, and as a result, the participants voted unanimously to meet again. The objectives of the second conference were similar to the first. The emphasis was to be on low temperature, closed cycle cooler technology; however, higher temperature coolers (77 K) , with technology applicable to the low temperature coolers, were considered to be within the scope of the meeting. The importance of cryocooler technology cannot be overemphasized. The utilization of superconducting and other cryogenic instruments, on the ground and in space, rests heavily on the development of reliable, compact, low-cost cryocoolers. To this end, we hope the second conference made a contribution. The Editors iii I -- --,~ -.---.---.-. -.. .~-- --- - Second Biennial Conference on Refrigeration for Cryogenic Sensors and Electronic Systems Mr. Edgar A. Edelsack Office of Naval Research Dr. Martin Nisenoff Naval Research Laboratory Dr. Allan Sherman NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Mr. Max G. Gasser NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. Ralph C. Longsworth Air Products and Chemicals Inc. Dr. Peter J. Kerney CTI-Cryogenics CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .............................................. iii SECOND BIENNIAL CONFERENCE ON REFRIGERATION FOR CRYOGENIC SENSORS AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS COMMITTEE .................. v U.S. NAVY PROGRAM IN SMALL CRYOCOOLERS M. Nisenoff and E.A. Edelsack ........................ 1 NASA NEEDS AND TRENDS IN CRYOGENIC COOLING Allan Sherman ........................................ 13 CRYOCOOLER ACTIVITIES IN CHINA Ralph C. Longsworth .................................. JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN REFRIGERATION TECHNOLOGY T. Fujita, T. Ohtsuka and Y. Ishizaki................ SPACECRAFT-BORNE LONG LIFE CRYOGENIC REFRIGERATION--STATUS AND TRENDS Alfred L. Johnson .................................... REGENERATION EXPERIMENTS BELOW 10K IN A REGENERATIVE-CYCLE CRYOCOOLER Ronald E. Sager and Douglas N. Paulson ............... A CRYOCOOLER FOR APPLICATIONS REQUIRING LOW MAGNETIC AND MECHANICAL INTERFERENCE J.E. Zimmerman, D.E. Daney and D.B. Sullivan ......... AN APPROACH TO OPTIMIZATION OF LOW-POWER STIRLING CRYO- COOLERS D.B. Sullivan, R. Radebaugh, D .E. Daney and J.E. Zimmerman ............................................ vii -- CONTENTS ( continued ) Page REGENERATION EFFICIENCY, SHUTTLE HEAT LOSS AND THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY IN EPOXY-COMPOSITE ANNULAR GAP REGENERATORS FROM 4K TO 80K Ken Myrtle, Suso Gygax, Chris Plateel and Calvin Winter ............................................... 131 A 10"K TRIPLE-EXPANSION STIRLING-CYCLE CRYOCOOLER W. Newman and C.S. Keung ............................. 141 AN APPLICATION OF GAP REGENERATOR/EXPANDER PRECOOLED BY TWO STAGE G-M REFRIGERATOR Y. Matsubara and K. Yasukochi.. ...................... 157 COMPACT CLAUDE CYCLE REFRIGERATOR FOR LABORATORY USE Y. Hiresaki, M. Kaneko, T. Munekata and Y. Baba. ..... 169 A SMALL AND LIGHT WEIGHT HEAT EXCHANGER FOR ON-BOARD HELIUM REFRIGERATOR T. Koizumi, M. Takahashi, T. Uchida, Y. Kanazawa and M. Suzuki ............................................ 179 A MINIATURE TILTING PAD GAS LUBRICATED BEARING Herbert Sixsmith and Walter L. Swift. ................ 189 LIFE TEST PERFORMANCE OF A PHILIPS RHOMBIC-DRIVE REFRIG- ERATOR WITH BELLOWS SEALS E. Lindale and D. Lehrfeld ........................... 197 SPLIT-STIRLING, LINEAR-RESONANT, CRYOGENIC REFRIGERATORS FOR DETECTOR COOLING Daniel Lehrfeld ...................................... 215 SPLIT-STIRLING-CYCLE DISPLACER LINEAR-ELECTRIC DRIVE R.A. Ackermann, S.K. Bhate and D.V. Byrne.. .......... 231 viii CONTENTS ( continued) Page COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR ANALYSIS OF SPLIT-STIRLING-CYCLE CRYOGENIC COOLERS M.T. Brown and S.C. Russo ............................ 245 A MAGNETICALLY SUSPENDED LINEARLY DRIVEN CRYOGENIC RE- FRIGERATOR F. Stolfi, M. Goldowsky, J. Ricciardelli and P. Shapiro ........................................... 263 GIFFORD-MCMAHON REFRIGERATOR WITH SPLIT COLD HEAD H.-J.Forth, R. Heisig and H.4. Klein ................ 30 5 TESTING AND CHARACTERIZATIONS OF INFRARED SENSORS OVER THE TEMPERATURE RANGE OF 2 KELVIN TO 300 KELVIN Robert G. Hansen ..................................... 315 OPTIMAL DESIGN OF GAS ADSORPTION REFRIGERATORS FOR CRYO- GENIC COOLING C.K. Chan ............................................ 323 A GENERAL COMPUTER MODEL FOR PREDICTING THE PERFORMANCE OF GAS SORPTION REFRIGERATORS Katherine B. Sigurdson ............................... 3#43 LaNi5 HYDRIDE CRYOGENIC REFRIGERATOR TEST RESULTS Jack A. Jones ........................................ 3157 THE THEORY OF AN ACTIVE MAGNETIC REGENERATIVE REFRIGERATOR J.A. Barclay ......................................... 375 DESIGN OF AN ADIABATIC DEMAGNETIZATION REFRIGERATOR FOR STUDIES IN ASTROPHYSICS Stephen Castles ...................................... 389 CONTENTS (continued) Page A HELIUM-3 REFRIGERATOR EMPLOYING CAPILLARY CONFINEMENT OF LIQUID CRYOGEN D.J. Ennis, P. Kittel, W. Brooks and A. Miller ....... 405 CASCADE JOULE-THOMSON REFRIGERATORS E. Tward and W.A. Steyert ............................ 419 SUITABILITY OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE LABORATORY CRYOGENIC REFRIGERATORS TO SUPPORT SHIPBOARD ELECTRO-OPTICAL SYSTEMS IN THE 10-77 KELVIN REGION R.G. Hansen and E.A. Byrd ............................ 427 LOW COST MICROMINIATURE REFRIGERATORS FOR LARGE UNIT VOLUME APPLICATIONS Robert M. Duboc, Jr .................................. 43 1 U.S. NAVY PROGRAM IN SMALL CRYOCOOLERS M. Nisenoff Naval Research Laboratory Washington, D.C. 20375 USA E. A. Edelsack Office of Naval Research Arlington, VA 22217 USA ABSTRACT If superconducting and cryogenically cooled electronic instrumentation are to be deployed in future Naval operational systems, there is an strong need for compact, highly reliable cryogenic refrigerators. Accordingly, several years ago, a Navy program was initiated to develop fractional-watt cryocoolers capable of operating below 10 K. Several varieties of Stirling coolers have been built and are under evaluation. In addition, helium gas compressors designed for use with small, closed cycle Joule-Thomson coolers are under development. An overview of the technical aspects of the program are presented. Many of the individual efforts supported under this program are discussed in detail elsewhere at this Conference. INTRODUCTION Superconductive electronic systems are fast becoming a practical reality. In addition, there is interest in the use of semiconductor devices and cir- cuits operating at temperatures of 77 K and below. With the possible excep- tion of cryogenic high speed, high density computer application, the required cooling capacity for most applications are quite modest, from microwatts to fractions of a watt at the operating temperature. Efficient, highly reliable, fractional watt closed cycle refrigeration systems ("cryocoolers") have been developed for operating temperatures near 77 K. However, there has been only limited activity in developing fractional watt coolers for the temperature region below about 50 K. The realization that closed cycle refrigerators are essential to make cryogenic electronics. a viable technology is not new. For example, Prof. S. C. Collins, the inventor of the Collins cryostat, made the following observations in 1958 when he was awarded the Kamerlingh Onnes Medal on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the liquefaction of helium:' In recent years we hear much about ingenious devices for computer elements and amplifiers which require a very low temperature envi- ronment. kt long last it seems that a practical application for superconductivity has been found. The technical problems yet to be solved may be formidable but, if one may judge by the vigor and optimism with which many competent people are attacking these problems, solutions will soon be found. The matter of suitable refrigeration presents a different kind of problem. It too, must be resolved before success is complete. For very large computers a supply of liquid helium might be accepted with reluctance. What is really demanded is a closed-cycle helium refrigerator of great reliability which can provide the required refrigeration at temperatures down to 1.2 K without interruption for months at a time. For large installations such a refrigerator, I believe, can now be produced and its performance guaranteed. But the field of application is much broader if one can have compact refrigerators of small power which can be plugged into a wall socket, as you do a household refrigerator. This is more difficult because small machines are much more sensitive