INNOVATIVE STIRLING CYCLE REFRIGERATOR

WE PROPOSE USING AN INNOVATIVE STIRLING COOLER FOR SHIPBOARD REFRIGERATION. THIS DESIGN ELIMINATES THE FRICTTON, WEAR, AND SEAL LEAKAGE PROBLEMS OF CURRENT STIRLING COOLERS, AND WILL PROVIDE A HIGH RELIABILITY, LONG-LIFE REFRIGERATOR. THE USE OF NEAR AMBIENT PRESSURE AIR AS THE WORKING FLUID MAKES THIS MACHINE ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN AND IMMUNE TO PROBLEMS WITH LEAKAGE IN THE COOLER ENVELOPE. THE REFRIGERATOR IS AN ARRAY OF SMALL COOLING "MODULES" MAKING IT INSENSITIVE TO FAILURES OF ANY INDIVIDUAL MODULE. THIS DESIGN ALSO ENABLES VERY SIMPLE SCALING TO DIFFERENT COOLING CAPACITIES BY THE ADDITION OR REMOVAL OF COOLING MODULES. THE THERMODYNAMIC BASIS AND CRITICAL COMPONENT RELIABILITY FOR THIS MACHINE DESIGN HAVE ALREADY BEEN EXPERIMENTALLY DEMONSTRATED IN PREVIOUS WORK. THE FEASIBILITY DEMONSTRATION IN PHASE I WILL THEREFORE FOCUS ON SCALING AND OPTIMIZING THE THERMODYNAMICPARAMETERS AND PHYSICAL CONFIGURATION TO THIS SPECIFIC APPLICATION AND AN EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION OF OUR DESIGN METHOD AT THESE CONDITIONS. THE DESIGN WILL ADDRESS COOLING PERFORMANCE, DIMENSIONS, INTEGRATION REQUIREMENTS, WEIGHT, AND FABRICATION METHODOLOGY, AND WILL SETTHE STAGE FOR FABRICATION AND TESTING IN THE SECOND PHASE.