• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.2196-2202
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• 1992

The optimum size combination of heat exchangers in a Joule-Thomson(J-T) circuit for small cryogenic systems has been sought analytically, when the circuit is combined with a two-stage Gifford-McMahon(GM) cooler. Full thermodynamic cycle analysis was carried out to predict the performance of the combined refrigeration system. Relevant convective heat transfer coefficients, the computerized properties of helium, and the refrigeration capacity curve of a typical GM cooler have been used in the analysis. The result showed that, by changing the configuration(heat exchanger area ratio) of the system, the performance of the commonly-used GM/J-T refrigerators could be optimized. For the maximum refrigeration performance, the optimum mass flow rate of the refrigerant and the relative size between the heat exchangers have been obtained, when the cooling load was 0.1W at 3.995K with the total heat exchanger area being given.