Parametric investigation of hybrid regenerator of a stirling cryocooler

Abstract

Stirling cryocoolers find applications in a variety of equipments installed in airborne, marine and vehicular platforms along with handheld and ground fixed applications. They are used for producing cryogenic cooling in the range of 60–80 K with the cooling power ranging from mW to a few watts. The performance of the cooler largely depends on the effectiveness of the regenerative heat exchanger used in the system. A study has been carried out using REGEN 3.3 to optimize a 3-mesh hybrid regenerator for a miniature Stirling cryocooler operating with a warm end temperature of 300 K and cold end temperature of 80 K. The investigation was carried out using #200, #250, #300, #400, and #450 Stainless Steel wire meshes and combinations of them. The output given by REGEN 3.3 includes the gross and net cooling power, thermal losses and associated pV work at the cold and warm ends of the regenerator. The optimization of regenerator is defined for a regenerator design that minimizes the required work supplied at the warm end to achieve a desired cooling power at the cold end. Thus the optimization is achieved by maximizing the COP, which is calculated from the net cooling power and pV work at the warm end of the regenerator. The COP is a function of length of each subsection of regenerator, mass flow and the phase between the cold end mass flow and pressure. The results obtained from the analysis are helpful for the complete design of a miniature Stirling cryocooler.