AN OIL FREE REGENERATIVE COMPRESSOR FOR CRYOGENIC REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS

THERE IS A NEED FOR THE REDUCTION IN CONTAMINATION OF CRYOGENIC HELIUM REFRIGERATORS AND LIQUEFIERS USED IN HIGH ENERGY ACCELERATORS AND IN OTHER APPLICATIONS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. ONE OF THE MAIN SOURCES OF CONTAMINANTS IS THE COMPRESSOR SYSTEMS CURRENTLY IN USE. THESE MACHINES TYPICALLY RELY ON CLEAN UP SYSTEMS WHICH ARE NOT 100 PERCENTEFFECTIVE IN REMOVAL OF CONTAMINANTS. GAS AND MAGNETIC BEARINGS ARE BEING USED IN SPECIALIZED AND LIMITED APPLICATIONS WITH HIGH SPEED CENTRIFUGAL MACHINES TO OPERATEWITHOUT INTRODUCING CONTAMINANTS. HOWEVER, IT HAS GENERALLYBEEN IMPRACTICAL TO USE THESE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MAIN SYSTEM COMPRESSORS BECAUSE OF THE SIZE, COST AND/OR NUMBER OF STAGES REQUIRED TO MEET SYSTEM PRESSURE RATIOS. THIS PROPOSAL DESCRIBES A PROJECT TO DEVELOP A FAIRLY SIMPLEROTATING COMPRESSOR-A REGENERATIVE MACHINE-WITH AN INNOVATIVE BEARING AND SEAL SYSTEM WHICH SHOULD MEET OPERATING REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL SIZED HELIUM REFRIGERATORS WITHOUT INTRODUCING OIL INTO THE SYSTEM. IN PHASE I A PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF THE COMPRESSOR WILL BE PERFORMED. PHASE II WOULD CONSIST OF A PROTOTYPE FABRICATION AND DEMONSTRATION.