Development of high performance cryocooler improved by regenerator material and structure

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24561064
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Energy engineering
• Research Institution: Oshima National College of Maritime Technology
• Principal Investigator: MASUYAMA Shinji 大島商船高等専門学校, その他部局等, 教授 (00287591)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): NUMAZAWA Takenori 物質・材料研究機構, 環境・エネルギー材料萌芽ラボ, 主席研究員 (30354319)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 極低温 / 小型冷凍機 / エネルギー効率

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Improving the efficiency of cryocoolers induces the effective use of electric energy. However, the efficiency of 4K cryocoolers which have been utilized for various applications is not enough. In this study, we focused the regenerator material and structure of a 4K Gifford-McMahon (G-M) cryocooler to improve its efficiency. First, a sphere ceramics of Gd2O2S was filled in the G-M cryocooler as the second stage regenerator material. The experimental results show the cooling power improves by 12% at 4.2 K by filling a suitable quantity of ceramics spheres. Next, we developed a novel method for regenerator structure that is able to equivalently change the regenerator configuration. The experimental results prove that this method is able to reduce the filling quantity of regenerator material and keep the cooling power.

Free Research Field

低温工学