Optimal Pulse-Tube Design Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the pulse-tube cryocooler has advanced from a curiosity to one of the most attractive systems for providing reliable cryogenic cooling; it is now used in aerospace, medical and superconductor applications. This technology development has been enabled by the simulation tools that are available for regenerator, compressor, and inertance tube design. However, a dedicated design tool for the pulse-tube component in a pulse-tube cryocooler and the associated flow transitions between the pulse tube and the regenerator and the pulse tube and the inertance network is not currently available.This paper describes the development of a two-dimensional, axisymmetric computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model of the pulse-tube and its associated flow transitions. The model is implemented in the commercial CFD package FLUENT. The CFD simulations are sufficient to calculate and delineate the various loss mechanisms; these are reported as a percentage of the acoustic power that is present at the co...