Abstract
The regenerator of the pulse tube refrigerator (PTR) operates with oscillating pressure and mass flow, so a proper description of the heat transfer characteristics of the oscillating flow in the regenerator is crucial. In this paper, a one-dimensional model based on Lagrangian representation is developed to simulate the oscillating flow in the regenerator of the PTR. The continuity equation, momentum equation and energy equation are solved iteratively using the SIMPLER algorithm. The Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model is used in the momentum equation, and a thermal non-equilibrium model is implemented in the energy equation. Lagrangian representation is employed to describe the thermodynamics of fluid parcels while the Eulerian representation (control volume method) is adopted for the energy equation of the solid matrix. The boundary conditions are set as the periodic flow of the sine function. The thermodynamic parameters of the gas parcels are obtained, which reveal the critical processes of the heat transfer in the regenerator under oscillating flow. The performance of the regenerator with different geometries is evaluated based on the numerical results. The present study provides insight for better understanding the physical process in the regenerator of the PTR, and the proposed model serves as a useful tool for the design and optimization of the cryogenic regenerator.
Highlights
The use of very low temperatures in advanced technology for applications in medical science, electronic technics, computer technology, aerospace exploration and other fields requires high performance cryogenic systems of low cost, simple design, small vibrations, low noise production, long life and high efficiency [1]
A high frequency regenerator at low temperature, operating at 50 Hz with a cold end temperature transfer in the oscillating processes are discussed in detail
The flow field and heat transfer in the applied in the model, the trajectories of selected gas parcels inside the regenerator can be oscillating processes are discussed in detail
Summary
The use of very low temperatures in advanced technology for applications in medical science, electronic technics, computer technology, aerospace exploration and other fields requires high performance cryogenic systems of low cost, simple design, small vibrations, low noise production, long life and high efficiency [1]. Its oscillating flow characteristics play a critical role in the performance of a PTR, which has attracted extensive attention in both theoretical and experimental studies. Radebaugh et al reported a series of numerical studies on the performance and optimization of regenerators of a 4 K cryogenic system [4,5,6,7]. They used the commercial software Regen 3.2 in the simulation and design. They obtained the temperature curves along the regenerator which were later demonstrated to be consistent with the experimental results [7]. The comparative study of He-3 and He-4 systems showed that He-3 was more like an ideal gas at low temperature, which indicated that the substitution of He-3 for He-4
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