Development of a 90-K beta type Stirling cooler with rhombic drive mechanism

Abstract This paper is aimed at developing a beta-type Stirling cooler with rhombic drive mechanism. A prototype cooler is manufactured. Thermodynamic model and experimental study are built and conducted in parallel. In the model, the mass, the temperature, and the pressure of working fluid as well as the temperature of cold head are solved. Also, the pressure drop in regenerator, the effect of regenerator porosity, the temperature dependence of conductivity of working fluid and cold head, and the effect of operating speed fluctuation are considered. Heat losses produced by axial conduction, pressure drop, and displacer motion are also included in the energy equation for cold head. To simulate the transient behavior of the cooler, a corrected coefficient of thermal inertia is introduced here. On the other hand, a parametric study under different geometrical parameters and operating conditions are performed. Performance measurements under different heat loading, charged pressure, and operating speed for verifying present model are also conducted. The experimental results show that the present cooler is able to reach 93 K no-loading temperature at 1000 rpm with 3 atm helium.