Stirling and Pulse-tube Cryo-coolers

Contents

Preface

Notation

Chapter 1 Background and scope

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Stirling types

1.3 The basic pulse-tube

1.4 The thermo-acoustic cooler

1.5 Scope

1.5.1 Scope from linear wave theory

1.5.2 Scope from the methods of non-linear gas dynamics

1.5.3 Scope from extension of Rott’s thermo-acoustics

1.5.4 Scope from incorporation of regenerator theory

1.5.5 Scope from taking account of ‘real’ gas behaviour

1.5.6 Scope from similarity and scaling

1.5.7 Scope from optimization

1.5.8 Scope from continuously graded regenerator packing

1.5.9 Scope from re-acquisition of regenerator heat transfer and flow correlations

Chapter 2 Ideal reference cycles

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Stirling cycle – equivalence of volume variations

2.3 In search of an ideal cycle for the Gifford pulse-tube

2.3.1 Kittel’s ideal COP

2.3.2 In the footsteps of Gustav Schmidt

2.3.3 Specimen ideal gas processes

2.4 Coefficient of performance of ideal Gifford cycle

2.5 Deductions for first-principles pulse-tube design

Chapter 3 Ideal Stirling cycle – real gas

3.1 Background

3.2 Role of the ideal cycle in the present study

3.3 Basic reference cycle

3.3.1 Reference cycle with ideal gas

3.3.2 ‘Real’ gas

3.4 Reformulation – the complete ideal cycle

3.4.1 Ideal gas

3.4.2 ‘Real’ gas

3.5 Heat quantities

3.5.1 Basic thermodynamic relationships

3.5.2 Engineering thermodynamics form

3.5.3 Application to the ideal gas

3.5.4 Application to the ‘real’ gas

3.6 Computed results

3.7 Implications for practical design

Chapter 4 Isothermal ...