Numerical modeling of pulse tube refrigerator and sensitivity analysis of simulation

Abstract

In this article a double-inlet pulse-tube refrigerator (DIPTR) is modeled using the nodal analysis technique. The main complexity of the problem is oscillatory and unsteady characteristics of the flow. Solving the flow field in the regenerator section of the system as a porous medium with nonlocal thermal equilibrium is challenging. Governing equations are developed applying mass, energy, and momentum equations to different finite volumes in each component of DIPTR. A numerical code (SharifPTR), with graphical user interface, has been developed to investigate the influence of geometrical and working parameters on performance. The governing equations are a system of boundary value problems. The guessing procedure in shooting method has been improved by integrating it with quasi-Newton algorithms, such as Broyden, Davidon–Fletcher–Powell, and Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno methods. The objective is to determine instantaneous flow field throughout the system and calculating cooling capacity and coefficient of performance of any PTR configuration.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to pay tribute to Mr. Navid Sarikhani, PhD student at Sharif University of Technology, Iran, for his tremendous help and support.

R. Jahanbakhshi, is PhD candidate.M. H. Saidi, is Professor. A. R. Ghahremani, is PhD candidate.