New application of plate-fin heat exchanger with regenerative cryocoolers

作者：Chang Ho Myung^*; Gwak Kyung Hyun

来源：Cryogenics, 2015, 70: 1-8.

DOI：10.1016/j.cryogenics.2015.04.005

• Heat exchanger
• Plate-fin
• GM cryocooler
• Liquid nitrogen

A design idea is newly proposed and investigated for the application of plate-fin heat exchanger (PFHX) with regenerative cryocoolers. The role of this heat exchanger is to effectively absorb heat from the stream of coolant and deliver it to the cold-head of a cryocooler. While various types of tubular HX's have been developed so far, a small PFHX could be more useful for this purpose by taking advantage of compactness and design flexibility. In order to confirm the feasibility and effectiveness, a prototype of aluminum-brazed PFHX is designed, fabricated, and tested with a single-stage GM cryocooler in experiments for subcooling liquid nitrogen from 78 K to 65-70 K. The results show that the PFHX is 30-50% more effective in cooling rate than the tubular HX's. Several potential applications of PFHX are presented and discussed with specific design concepts.

• 出版日期2015-9