Numerical simulation and experimental validation of the heat transfer characteristics in a circuit gas gap heat switch for the dilution refrigerator

Abstract

The gas gap heat switch (GGHS) used for controlling heat transfer between different stages can be an important component for the precooling process of some dilution refrigerators. In this paper, a novel circuit GGHS is a rotationally symmetric heat switch assembly with annular fin arrangements to strengthen the heat-transferring effect. A numerical model considering ⁴He actual gas properties is proposed to investigate the heat transfer characteristics in the circuit GGHS, in which the effects of charge pressure, cold end temperature, thickness and length of walls on the mean thermal conductance (MTC) are studied. Simulation results show that the MTC increases with the growing cold end temperature, wall thickness, and length, respectively. Given the pressure of 10 kPa, cold end temperature of 4.2 K, wall thickness of 0.97 mm, and wall height of 66 mm, the theoretical MTC is 0.828 W/K. Experimental results indicate that the proposed simulation model is reasonable. Furthermore, the increment of the MTC decreases with the growing temperature. The GGHS used in experiments had a cold end temperature of 4 K, wall thickness of 0.65 mm, and wall height of 33 mm; the measured MTC was 0.219 W/K. Only when the temperature is above 10 K does the charge pressure have a pronounced effect on the MTC. This study provides helpful theoretical guidance for the design and optimization of the circuit GGHS.