Abstract
The Joule-Thomson cryocooler with $H_2$gas has been developed. Cool-down characteristics and the cooling performance of a JT cryocooler have been investigated in detail. The JT cryocooler consists of JT expansion valve, heat exchanger, expansion chamber, compressed $H_2$gas storage tank, $LN_2$precooler, heater and a cryostat. The precooling process using both $GN_2$and $LN_2$was peformed to cool down the inside components of cryocooler under the maximum inversion temperature of $H_2$. The $H_2$expansion experiments have been peformed for 2-5MPa of H$_2$pressure to evaluate steady state temperatures of the cryocooler. It is found that the steady state temperatures are decreased as the H$_2$pressures are increased. The effects of cooling temperatures on the performance have been evaluated for various $H_2$and $N_2$pressures. It is seen that the cooling loads are increased, as the cooling temperature and operating pressure are increased.