Design of a spaceworthy adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator

A spaceworthy adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) under development at NASA-Goddard is presented. A baseline model heat switch was tested extensively with an on/off ratio of about 10,000 and a parasitic heat leak of 10 micro-W. Data obtained from the breadboard models were used to design an ADR with improved structural integrity. The core of the ADR is the salt pill which consists of the paramagnetic salt crystal and the thermal bus. When a magnetic field is applied to the salt it forces the alignment of the magnetic moments, thereby decreasing the entropy of the salt. Preliminary tests results showed a net crystal mass of 680 g instead of the expected 740 g, which indicate that there are gaps in the salt pill. A partial fix was accomplished by sealing helium gas in the salt pill at a pressure of 2 bar, which improved the thermal contact during salt magnetization, at about 2 K.