Experimental and Theoretical Investigation to Study Pressure Drop in Regenerators

Abstract Stirling-type cryocoolers are essential for cooling infrared detectors in military and space applications due to their efficiency and compact design. The regenerator is a critical heat exchanger at the core of these cryocoolers, that must be optimized for effective heat transfer while minimizing pressure drop. This study focuses on experimentally determining the hydrodynamic parameters of SS 400 wire-woven mesh, specifically Darcy permeability and Forchheimer coefficient. These parameters serve as inputs for ANSYS Fluent simulations aimed at predicting pressure drop through the regenerator within an inline Pulse tube cryocooler setup. A prototype Regenerator experimental setup is developed to investigate the pressure drop and mass flow rate across the regenerator. Experimental data on hydro-dynamic parameters are obtained based on these experiments and subsequently utilized to simulate pressure drop within the pulse tube cryocooler. The simulated results are then compared with experimental data obtained from the Pulse tube cryocooler. This paper provides a analysis of how these hydrodynamic parameters influence the performance of pulse tube cryocoolers as it cools down.