SBIR-STTR Award

Miniature Two Stage J-T Cryostat
Award last edited on: 6/10/2002

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
DOD : Navy
Total Award Amount
$553,619
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
N88-209
Principal Investigator
Ralph C Longsworth

Company Information

APD Cryogenics Inc

1833 Vultee Street
Allentown, PA 18103
   (610) 791-6700
   sales@apdcryogenics.com
   www.apdcryogenics.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 07
County: Lehigh

Phase I

Contract Number: N60530-90-C-0450
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase I year
1988
Phase I Amount
$59,619
A miniature two stage joule-thomson (j-t) cryostat in a dewar with 0.5 in. dia x 0.5 in. length is proposed which can cool to less than 80 k in an ambient of 75 deg c. high efficiency in the very small heat exchanger is made possible by new technology. the program will include a demonstration of run time in excess of 10 minutes using 15 in(3) of gas.

Keywords:
heat exchangers jt crystat coolers detector arrays dewars joule thomson miniaturization heat transfer

Phase II

Contract Number: NAVY88-209
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase II year
1990
Phase II Amount
$494,000
This program is aimed at developing open-cycle jt coolers including the dewar for cooling new detector arrays that require a stable operating temperature below 80 k for application in missiles that require fast cooldown followed by extended run time with minimum weight. during phase i it was demonstrated that the requirements could be met for the smallest size unit, .32 in. (8.1 mm) long. cooldown from 70 deg c to 79 k was achieved in 4.0 s and run time was 12 m from 25 in.(3) (.41 l). this was made possible by a very small two-stage matrix-tube heat exchanger installed in a housing with 14 miniature feedthroughs and a pump-out tube. this proposal for phase ii extends the work by developing a unit for a larger array, one having 488 x 640 pixels. a two-stage matrix-tube heat exchanger is proposed that will extend the run time by improving the efficiency and by developing a new type of demand flow control mechanism that will minimize gas consumption and have less than 1 k temperature cycling. concepts for reducing the thermal mass that has to be cooled and improving the heat transfer will be developed. a major area of work will be material selection and processing studied that will assure dewar vacuum integrity for 10-year shelf life.

Keywords:
heat exchangers jt crystat coolers detector arrays dewars joule thomson miniaturization heat transfer