Numerical and experimental study of flow characteristics and cooling performance of micro miniature refrigerators

Xin Tong; Ming Xia; Jie Qiu; Jia-peng Li; Yang Huai; Kun-yuan Xie; Zheng-kai Wang

doi:10.1117/12.2688066

6 November 2023 Numerical and experimental study of flow characteristics and cooling performance of micro miniature refrigerators

Xin Tong, Ming Xia, Jie Qiu, Jia-peng Li, Yang Huai, Kun-yuan Xie, Zheng-kai Wang

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12921, Third International Computing Imaging Conference (CITA 2023); 129210X (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2688066
Event: Third International Computing Imaging Conference (CITA 2023), 2023, Sydney, Australia

Abstract

The MMR (Micro Miniature Refrigerator) is a novel Joule-Thomson cryocooler manufactured by micro-machining technology, its axial length is significantly shorter than the traditional Joule-Thomson cryocoolers that are used in infrared detectors. So MMRs can greatly reduce the size of infrared detectors once they are successfully integrated. To study the working mechanism of MMRs a micro-channel flow calculation model is established considering the gas compressibility, the Joule-Thomson effect at the throttling section and the distributed Joule-Thomson effect along the micro channels and the calculation model is verified with experiments. The characteristics of heat transfer, micro-channel distribution and heat losses are further investigated, leading the model to describe the working condition of the MMR more correctly. The temperature and pressure distribution in the micro channels and the theoretical cooling performance of the MMR is thus obtained, and a set of MMR geometry parameters with superior theoretical cooling performance are acquired. Furthermore, a MMR prototype is fabricated, and a testing platform is built and the cooling performance of the prototype is experimentally studied. The experimental results agree well with the prediction of the calculation model. The MMR prototype achieves 110K and 119K cooling temperature under 10MPa N2 and Ar working condition, the cooling power reaches 231mW and 479mW, and the cool down time is 250s and 70s respectively. As a result, the cooling performance of the MMR prototype can meet the cool down requirement of infrared detectors, providing a new approach to infrared detectors’ miniaturization.

Citation Download Citation

Xin Tong, Ming Xia, Jie Qiu, Jia-peng Li, Yang Huai, Kun-yuan Xie, and Zheng-kai Wang "Numerical and experimental study of flow characteristics and cooling performance of micro miniature refrigerators", Proc. SPIE 12921, Third International Computing Imaging Conference (CITA 2023), 129210X (6 November 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2688066

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KEYWORDS

Argon

Microfluidics

Nitrogen

Infrared detectors

Prototyping

Temperature distribution

Vacuum chambers

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