Numerical Simulation of Heat and Fluid Flow in a Basic Pulse-Tube Refrigerator

The working principle of refrigeration in basic pulse-tube refrigerators (BPTR) has been explained by the mechanism called surface heat pumping (SHP) that heat is conveyed from the cold end to the hot end of the pulse tube by the successive heat exchange between the working gas and the wall. In this study, a numerical simulation has been performed to clarify the effect of the wall in BPTRs by comparing the numerical results in two physical models; one is the model considering the heat exchange between the working gas and the wall (HE model), and the other is the model ignoring that (AW model). As a result, the importance in the effect of the wall was shown clearly. In addition, the mechanism of refrigeration other than the SHP was made clear in the AW model.Copyright © 2004 by ASME