Cooling characterization of conceptual Joule-Thomson cryogenic cooler

Abstract

In this study, cooling characterization of a conceptual Joule-Thomson cryogenic cooler operating with argon or nitrogen gases as coolant is studied by using numerical approach. Because of geometric complexities, a one dimensional model is used to study the thermo-fluidic behavior of the system. Heat transfer correlations used in the previous investigations are used while the thermodynamic properties of selected real gases are calculated by utilizing an inhouse code based on formulations presented in the literature. In most of the previous studies, the same friction factor formulation is used in pressure loss calculations. In this study, pressure drop is calculated through a different approach. The major distinction of present study is related to pressure drop calculations. Since the model is one dimensional, finite difference method is applied to solve differential form of governing equations. Numerical results are validated with the results published in the literature and satisfactory agreement is obtained. © 2016, International Institute of Refrigeration. All rights reserved.