Design analysis and optimization of the experimental setup about thermal-hydraulic performance of plate-fin heat exchangers in cryogenic helium systems

Abstract With the development of cryogenic engineering technology, cryogenic helium systems are increasingly used in nuclear fusion, high-energy particle physics, aerospace and other fields. As key equipment in cryogenic helium systems, plate-fin heat exchangers play an important role in the heat exchange process that reduces helium from room temperature to the temperature of liquid nitrogen, liquid helium or even superfluid helium. Therefore, its heat transfer and pressure drop performance have critical impact on the overall performance of cryogenic helium systems. In order to obtain the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristic curves of the helium gas flowing through the tested plate-fin heat exchangers, the experimental setup is established using low temperature helium as working medium. The experimental setup can provide testing conditions for liquid nitrogen temperature range and liquid helium temperature range without relying on a helium refrigeration unit. This paper completes design analysis and optimization of the experimental setup about thermal-hydraulic performance of plate-fin heat exchangers in cryogenic helium systems, including the process design and the design of the main components of the test cold box. In addition, the paper also utilizes Aspen HYSYS Ⓡ to optimize the cooling process of the experimental setup, with the objective of reducing the consumption of liquid helium.