Cryogenic Systems Introduction Cryogenic engineering is the technical field that is concerned with developing and utilizing low-temperature

techniques, processes, and phenomena. The point on the temperature scale at which conventional refrigeration ends and cryogenics begins is somewhat arbitrary. In the 1950s, engineers and scientists at the National Bureau of Standards (now called NIST) in Boulder, CO, suggested that the field of cryogenics be defined as that temperature region below 150C (123 K or 240F) (Scott, 1959). This point was selected because the refrigerants used in air conditioning systems and domestic refrigerators boil at temperatures above 150C; whereas, the gases utilized for cryogenic applications, such as oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and helium, boil at temperatures below 150C. Heat transfer in cryogenic systems is an important factor in the design of all low-temperature systems. The cost of removing energy from a low-temperature region is significant. A power input of approximately 14 kW (19 hp) would be required to drive a refrigerator (cryocooler) removing 1 kW (3412 Btu/hr) from a space at 90 K (298F) and rejecting the energy to the ambient surroundings. The average cost

of the cryocooler is about $38,000 (in 1974 dollars) or about $415,000 in 1999 dollars (Strobridge, 1974). Because of the high cost of removing energy from a cryogenic system, heat transfer is examined closely in the design of these systems.

Joule-Thomson Cryocooler Any liquefaction system that uses the expansion valve or J-T valve to produce low temperatures may be classified as a J-T cryocooler. A schematic of the basic J-T cryocooler is shown in Figure 4.12.4. The refrigeration effect, Qa/m, for the J-T cryocooler is give by: (4.12.6) The quantities are the same as those used in Equation 4.12.1. The liquid in the evaporator boils at a constant temperature, so the temperature level achieved by the cryocooler is dependent on the liquid used as the working fluid. Liquid nitrogen may be used as the coolant for the temperature range from about 65 to 115 K. The low-temperature limit is set by the triple point for the working fluid. If the evaporator pressure is lowered below the triple point pressure, nitrogen snow forms in the evaporator. Unless special heat transfer surfaces are provided, the heat transfer

between solid nitrogen and a surface, such as the evaporator tube wall, is much less effective than boiling heat transfer that would occur for the liquid phase. The high-temperature limit is set by the critical temperature for the working fluid. If the evaporator is operated at pressures above the critical pressure, there is no liquid to evaporate. Because the J-T cryocooler relies on the positive JouleThomson effect for production of low temperatures, it cannot be used with hydrogen, helium, or neon gases unless the system is precooled below the maximum inversion temperature for the respective gas. Microminiature J-T cryocoolers have been developed for cooling infrared sensors and for thermal imaging systems (Little, 1990). These systems use nitrogenhydrocarbon gas mixtures as the working fluid to produce high refrigeration capacities and more rapid cool-down. The refrigeration capacity of the J-T cryocooler using the gas mixture has been found to be as much as five times that for the system using nitrogen alone.

Air Liquefaction
Commercial systems for the production of liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen, liquid argon, and liquid neon use atmospheric air as the raw stock. The first commercial air liquefaction system was developed in Germany by Karl von Linde (1897) for the production of oxygen-enriched air for use in the steel-making industries (Ruhemann, 1949). Hampson (1895) developed a similar system with a more efficient heat exchanger. A schematic of the Linde-Hampson system is shown in Figure 4.12.1. In the Linde-Hampson liquefaction system, air is compressed to 200 atm (20.3 MPa or 2940 psia), and the high-pressure stream is cooled in a counterflow heat exchanger. The cold gas is finally expanded through an expansion valve or Joule-Thomson valve to a pressure on the order of atmospheric pressure. At the exit of the expansion valve, the stream is in the two-phase (liquid-vapor) condition. The liquid is collected in the liquid receiver, and the cold vapor is returned through the heat exchanger to provide cooling for the incoming warm gas stream. The fraction of the gas from the compressor that is liquefied (the liquid yield) for the Linde-Hampson system is given by:

(4.12.1)

where h1 = enthalpy of the low-pressure stream at pressure p1 and temperature T1 = T2; h2 = enthalpy of the high-pressure stream at the inlet at the warm end of the exchanger; h g is the enthalpy of the vapor returning from the liquid receiver; and is the heat exchanger effectiveness. The power requirement per unit mass flow rate through the compressor is given by:

(4.12.2)

Helium Liquefaction
Helium is one of the most difficult (i.e., expensive) gases to liquefy because the maximum inversion temperature for helium is only 45 K (-379F). Prior to 1946, low-temperature research laboratories generally designed and constructed their own liquefiers (Croft, 1961), some of which used liquid hydrogen as a precoolant. Samuel Collins (1947) developed a helium liquefier, shown in Figure 4.12.3, that was a modification of the basic Claude liquefier. The commercial introduction of the Collins liquefier had a significant positive impact on the ease and economy of helium liquefaction.

In the Collins liquefier, helium gas is compressed to a pressure of 1275 kPa (185 psia), and passed through the first heat exchanger. After leaving the first heat exchanger, a portion (about 16%) of the stream is bypassed through the first expander. The gas temperature at the expander inlet is between 40 and 45 K (388 to 379F). The remainder of the helium gas flows through the second heat exchanger, and leaves the exchanger at about 15 K (433F). A fraction (about 56%) of this stream is bypassed through a second expander after the helium has passed through a third exchanger. The remaining flow passes through two more exchangers and expands through the J-T valve, in which a portion of the stream is liquefied. The vapor formed during the expansion process is returned through the heat exchangers to provide cooling for the incoming gas stream. Although it is not necessary, liquid nitrogen precooling is usually used to improve the liquid yield and offset some of the heat exchangers inefficiencies. Collins liquefiers have been constructed with as many as five expanders, depending on the design inlet pressure of the helium gas.