ELECTROCHEMICAL CRYOCOOLER

A CLOSED CYCLE CRYOCOOLER IS BEING INVESTIGATED USING AN APPROACH THAT COMBINES ELECTROCHEMICAL COMPRESSOR AND EJECTOR TECHNOLOGIES. AN ELECTROCHEMICALLY INACTIVE CRYOGEN IS BEING USED IN A UNIQUE TERNARY REFRIGERANT. LIKEOTHER ELECTROCHEMICALLY-DRIVEN REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS UNDER DEVELOPMENT, THIS SYSTEM HAS NO MOVING PARTS. THE SYSTEM ISDESIGNED TO REACH A TEMPERATURE OF 77K, BUT A SIMPLE MODIFICATION IS EXPECTED TO ALLOW COLD HEAD TEMPERATURES OF 10 TO 20K. PRELIMINARY SYSTEMS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT 10 WATTS (COOLING)/100 WATTS OF INPUT POWER IS A REASONABLE EFFICIENCY GOAL AS ARE 4 WATTS (COOLING)/LB AND 0.4 WATTS (COOLING)/CUBIC INCH. IN THIS EFFORT, A SINGLE STAGE OF THECOMPRESSOR IS BEING CONSTRUCTED AND TESTED TO DEMONSTRATE THE CAPABILITY OF COMPRESSING AN ELECTROCHEMICALLY INACTIVE GAS WITH AN ELECTROCHEMICAL COMPRESSOR. CRYOGEN PURIFICATION METHODS ARE ALSO BEING EXPLORED TO PROVIDE A CRYOCOOLER WITH SUFFICIENT ENDURANCE FOR LONG TERM MISSIONS. WHEN SUCCESSFUL, THE ELECTROCHEMICAL CRYOCOOLER WOULD PROVIDE A COMPACT, EFFICIENT AND HIGHLY RELIABLE SYSTEM FOR USE IN BOTH LONG AND SHORT TERM MISSIONS. THE ELECTROCHEMICAL CRYOCOOLER WOULD BE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY WHERE COMPLEMENTARY METAL OXIDE SEMICONDUCTOR (CMOS) SPEED INCREASES OF THREE TO FOUR ARE POSSIBLE.