A pre-cooling coupled low-temperature driven integrated throttling refrigerator

Abstract

This invention discloses an integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and cryogenic drive. The refrigerator structure includes a primary pre-cooling unit, a secondary pre-cooling unit, a throttling cryogenic drive unit, and a JT throttling unit, all connected by pipelines. In this refrigeration system, the pre-cooling unit uses power recovery technology to provide two-stage pre-cooling for the refrigerant in the JT circulation pipeline. The drive unit operates in a cryogenic environment, driving the refrigerant circulation and generating a cooling effect through the throttling element, thus acquiring cooling capacity in the evaporator. The cryogenic drive used to drive the refrigerant circulation in the throttling system has a very small volume and weight. The heat exchanger placed before throttling accelerates cooling and prevents impurities from clogging the throttling orifice. Simultaneously, the power recovery phase-adjusting compressor improves the operating efficiency of the refrigerator. This refrigerator structure has low power consumption and high efficiency, meeting the application requirements of compact, low-power refrigerators.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of mechanical refrigeration for space applications, specifically designing an integrated throttling refrigeration unit with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of science and technology, more and more space exploration devices are being launched into space. These deep space probes all require high-precision detection in cryogenic environments, making 4K temperature-range cooling technology a crucial component. The pre-cooled Joule-Thomson (JT) throttling refrigerator, characterized by low vibration, high efficiency, and long lifespan, has become the preferred solution for cooling systems in space exploration missions. A throttling evaporator integrated refrigerator employing acoustic power recovery pre-cooling coupled cryogenic drive offers high reliability and miniaturization, providing technical support for the development and subsequent engineering applications of throttling refrigerators.

[0003] The actuator for the working fluid circulation in the throttling system is typically located at ambient temperature and connected to the JT components via piping. Employing a cryogenic actuator addresses the issue of excessively large actuator size. A pre-cooler dissipates heat from the cryogenic actuator, improving its output performance and thus enhancing the efficiency of the JT refrigeration system. A heat exchanger before throttling accelerates cooling and prevents impurities from clogging the throttling orifice. Simultaneously, a power recovery phase-adjusting compressor improves the efficiency of the refrigeration unit's operation. This layout significantly reduces the compressor's power consumption, decreases the motor's size and weight, and enhances the performance of the throttling evaporative chiller, meeting the application requirements for compact, low-power refrigeration units. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems and needs, the purpose of this invention is to provide an integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive, and a method for implementing it.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0006] An integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive includes a primary pre-cooling unit, a secondary pre-cooling unit, a throttling low-temperature drive unit 3, a JT throttling unit, and a vacuum tank 5. The primary pre-cooling unit comprises a primary cold finger 1-1, a primary pre-cooling driver 1-2, and a primary cold plate 1-3; the secondary pre-cooling unit comprises a secondary cold finger 2-1 and a secondary pre-cooling driver 2-2; the primary cold finger 1-1, primary cold plate 1-3, secondary cold finger 2-1, throttling low-temperature drive unit 3, and JT throttling unit are placed in a vacuum environment within the vacuum tank 5; the primary cold finger 1-1 and primary pre-cooling driver 1-2, the secondary cold finger 2-1 and secondary pre-cooling driver 2-2, and the throttling low-temperature drive unit 3 and JT throttling unit are all connected by pipelines; the throttling low-temperature drive unit 3 is located on the primary cold plate 1-3 and is fastened with screws.

[0007] The first-stage cooling index 1-1 is a GM-type refrigerator or a Stirling-type pulse tube refrigerator; when the first-stage cooling index 1-1 is a GM-type refrigerator, the first-stage precooler driver 1-2 adopts a linear compressor with a rotary valve; when the first-stage cooling index 1-1 is a Stirling-type pulse tube refrigerator, the first-stage precooler driver 1-2 adopts a driver with power recovery and phase adjustment function.

[0008] When the secondary cooling unit 2-1 is a Stirling-type pulse tube refrigerator, the secondary precooler driver 2-2 is a driver with power recovery and phase adjustment function, or an inertial tube, bidirectional air intake, or piston-type phase adjuster.

[0009] The throttling low-temperature drive unit 3 is driven by a single-compression-chamber dual-piston opposed linear compressor, a dual-compression-chamber single-piston opposed linear compressor, a three-compression-chamber dual-piston opposed compressor, or an oil-free scroll compressor unit.

[0010] The JT throttling unit includes a primary precooling heat exchanger 4-1, a low-pressure pipeline 4-2, a high-pressure pipeline 4-3, a primary counter-current heat exchanger 4-4, a secondary precooling heat exchanger 4-5, a secondary counter-current heat exchanger 4-6, a pre-throttling heat exchanger 4-7, a throttling element 4-8, an evaporator 4-9, a primary cold shield 4-11, and a secondary cold shield 4-10; wherein the pre-throttling heat exchanger 4-7, the throttling element 4-8, and the evaporator 4-9 are connected in series via pipelines.

[0011] The primary precooling heat exchanger 4-1, the secondary precooling heat exchanger 4-5, and the pre-throttling heat exchanger 4-7 are Linde-type heat exchangers and Hampson-type heat exchangers.

[0012] The throttling element 4-8 in the JT throttling unit is a metal perforated plate with a pore size in the micrometer range.

[0013] The evaporators 4-9 in the JT throttling unit are slit-type evaporators, spiral tube-type evaporators, needle-rib type evaporators, or porous packed type evaporators.

[0014] The primary cold shield 4-11 and the secondary cold shield 4-10 in the JT throttling unit are made of oxygen-free copper.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are as follows:

[0016] (1) Placing the actuator in a low-temperature environment can effectively reduce the piston diameter and stroke of the actuator, meeting the requirements of miniaturization and weight reduction;

[0017] (2) By setting up a heat exchanger before throttling, the cooling can be accelerated and impurities can be avoided from clogging the throttling orifice.

[0018] (3) The use of a power recovery phase-adjusting compressor improves the efficiency of refrigeration operation. This layout greatly reduces the power consumption of the system compressor, reduces the size and weight of the motor, and improves the performance of the throttling evaporative refrigeration machine, meeting the application requirements of space miniaturization and low power consumption refrigeration machines. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0020] The labels in the diagram are as follows: 1-1 is the primary cold index, 1-2 is the primary precooling machine driver, 1-3 is the primary cold plate; 2-1 is the secondary cold index, 2-2 is the secondary precooling machine driver, 2-3 is the secondary cold plate; 3 is the throttling low-temperature drive unit; 4-1 is the primary precooling heat exchanger, 4-2 is the low-pressure pipeline, 4-3 is the high-pressure pipeline, 4-4 is the primary counter-current heat exchanger, 4-5 is the secondary precooling heat exchanger, 4-6 is the secondary counter-current heat exchanger, 4-7 is the heat exchanger before throttling, 4-8 is the throttling element, 4-9 is the evaporator, 4-10 is the secondary cold shield, 4-11 is the primary cold shield; 5 is the vacuum tank. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0022] like Figure 1The diagram shows the structure of the integrated throttling refrigerator with power recovery precooling coupling and cryogenic drive according to the present invention. The refrigerant (helium, hydrogen, neon or a mixture thereof) in the JT cycle is precooled by the first-stage precooling unit 1 and the second-stage precooling unit 2 in the pipelines on the first-stage cold finger 1-1 and the second-stage cold finger 2-1 in the precooling unit. The throttling cryogenic drive unit 3 is fixed to the first-stage cold plate 1-3 of the first-stage precooling unit 1 by screws. The refrigerant is compressed and provided with unidirectional circulation power by the throttling low-temperature drive unit 3. It enters the first-stage precooling heat exchanger 4-1 for heat exchange through the high-pressure pipeline 4-3, then enters the first-stage counter-current heat exchanger 4-4 for heat exchange with the low-pressure pipeline 4-2, then enters the second-stage precooling heat exchanger 4-5 for heat exchange, and then enters the second-stage counter-current heat exchanger 4-6 for heat exchange with the low-pressure pipeline 4-2 to reach a certain low temperature. Finally, it enters the pre-throttling heat exchanger 4-7 for heat exchange with the evaporator 4-9 while filtering the refrigerant. Under the action of the throttling element 4-8, the refrigerant produces a cooling effect, and at the same time, it obtains a certain amount of cooling capacity in the evaporator 4-9. Then, it returns to the second-stage counter-current heat exchanger 4-6 and the first-stage counter-current heat exchanger 4-4 through the low-pressure pipeline to start the next cycle.

[0023] The primary cold shield 4-11 and secondary cold shield 4-10, installed on the primary cold plate 1-3 and secondary cold plate 2-3, can reduce radiative heat leakage; the vacuum tank 5 provides a vacuum environment for the throttling evaporative refrigeration system. In this invention, the throttling cryogenic drive unit 3 is arranged on the primary cold plate 1-3 in the precooler. The cryogenic drive with power recovery function can be connected to the primary precooler unit and the secondary precooler unit, and can be changed according to the needs of the refrigeration system. The specific implementation method is the same as described above.

[0024] Finally, it should be noted that those skilled in the art should understand that this invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The above embodiments and descriptions are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made to this invention without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications should fall within the scope of the invention as claimed. The scope of protection of this invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and cryogenic drive, comprising a primary pre-cooling unit, a secondary pre-cooling unit, a throttling cryogenic drive unit (3), a JT throttling unit, and a vacuum tank (5); characterized in that: The primary precooling unit, the secondary precooling unit, and the JT throttling unit are fastened together by screws. The primary precooling unit includes a primary cold finger (1-1), a primary precooling driver (1-2), and a primary cold plate (1-3). The secondary precooling unit includes a secondary cold finger (2-1) and a secondary precooling driver (2-2). The primary cold finger (1-1), the primary cold plate (1-3), the secondary cold finger (2-1), the throttling low-temperature drive unit (3), and the JT throttling unit are all placed in the vacuum environment of the vacuum tank (5). The primary cold finger (1-1) and the primary precooling driver (1-2), the secondary cold finger (2-1) and the secondary precooling driver (2-2), and the throttling low-temperature drive unit (3) and the JT throttling unit are all connected by pipelines. The throttling low-temperature drive unit (3) is located on the primary cold plate (1-3) and is fastened together by screws.

2. The integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first-stage cooling index (1-1) is a GM-type refrigerator or a Stirling-type pulse tube refrigerator; when the first-stage cooling index (1-1) is a GM-type refrigerator, the first-stage precooler driver (1-2) adopts a linear compressor with a rotary valve; when the first-stage cooling index (1-1) is a Stirling-type pulse tube refrigerator, the first-stage precooler driver (1-2) adopts a driver with power recovery and phase adjustment function.

3. The integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive according to claim 1, characterized in that: The secondary cooling unit (2-1) is a Stirling-type pulse tube refrigerator, and the secondary precooling unit driver (2-2) is a driver with power recovery and phase adjustment function, or an inertial tube, bidirectional air intake, or piston-type phase adjuster.

4. The integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive according to claim 1, characterized in that: The throttling low-temperature drive unit (3) is driven by a single-compression-chamber double-piston opposed linear compressor, a double-compression-chamber single-piston opposed linear compressor, a three-compression-chamber double-piston opposed compressor, or an oil-free scroll compressor unit.

5. The integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive according to claim 1, characterized in that: The JT throttling unit includes a primary precooling heat exchanger (4-1), a low-pressure pipeline (4-2), a high-pressure pipeline (4-3), a primary counter-current heat exchanger (4-4), a secondary precooling heat exchanger (4-5), a secondary counter-current heat exchanger (4-6), a pre-throttling heat exchanger (4-7), a throttling element (4-8), an evaporator (4-9), a primary cold shield (4-11), and a secondary cold shield (4-10); the primary cold shield (4-11) and the secondary cold shield (4-10) are respectively installed on the primary cold plate (1-3) and the secondary cold plate (2-3); The refrigerant is compressed and provided with unidirectional circulation power by the throttling low-temperature drive unit (3). It enters the first-stage precooling heat exchanger (4-1) for heat exchange through the high-pressure pipeline (4-3), then enters the first-stage counter-current heat exchanger (4-4) for heat exchange with the low-pressure pipeline (4-2), then enters the second-stage precooling heat exchanger (4-5) for heat exchange, then enters the second-stage counter-current heat exchanger (4-6) for heat exchange with the low-pressure pipeline (4-2), and finally enters the pre-throttling heat exchanger (4-7) for heat exchange with the evaporator (4-9) while filtering the refrigerant. Under the action of the throttling element (4-8), the refrigerant produces a cooling effect and obtains cooling capacity in the evaporator (4-9). Then, it returns to the second-stage counter-current heat exchanger (4-6) and the first-stage counter-current heat exchanger (4-4) through the low-pressure pipeline (4-2) to start the next cycle.

6. The integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive according to claim 5, characterized in that: The primary precooling heat exchanger (4-1), the secondary precooling heat exchanger (4-5), and the pre-throttling heat exchanger (4-7) are Linde-type or Hampson-type heat exchangers.

7. The integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive according to claim 5, characterized in that: The throttling element (4-8) in the JT throttling unit is a metal perforated plate with a pore size in the micrometer range.

8. The integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive according to claim 5, characterized in that: The evaporator (4-9) in the JT throttling unit is a slit-type evaporator, a spiral tube type evaporator, a needle-rib type evaporator, or a porous packed type evaporator.

9. The integrated throttling refrigerator with pre-cooling coupling and low-temperature drive according to claim 5, characterized in that: The primary cold shield (4-11) and secondary cold shield (4-10) in the JT throttling unit are made of oxygen-free copper.

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