A rocket-borne He-3 refrigeratorA self-contained, recyclable He-3 refrigerator suitable for use in space has been developed. The refrigerator is compact, has no moving parts, and requires only electrical connections and thermal contact in order to operate from a 2 K cold stage. A charcoal adsorption pump is used to efficiently condense and cool the He-3. Sintered copper confines the He-3 to the evaporator in zero-gravity and, in fact, allows the refrigerator to operate upside-down in the laboratory. Mounted on a 2 K cold stage, the refrigerator provides 100 microwatts of cooling power at 346 mK, with a 7 hour hold time. On a 1.5 K cold stage, the lowest temperature achieved is 277 mK. The refrigerator has been vibration tested at 7.5 G amplitude from 30 to 400 Hz and 15 G amplitude from 400 to 2000 Hz.
Document ID
19920030787
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Duband, L. (California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Alsop, D. (California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Lange, A. (California, University Berkeley, United States)
Kittel, P. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)