Closed Loop Helium Cooling System

Using a pressurized, cold gaseous helium loop offers a significant advantage by “decoupling” the cooler from the application. This is especially beneficial when directly connecting a cooler to an application is challenging due to restrictions like safety, space, noise, vibration, or the presence of rotating components.

Another key benefit of gaseous helium cooling is its broad operational temperature range, from ambient down to approximately 10 Kelvin (K). Unlike other fluids, helium gas doesn’t face issues with undesirable liquefaction or freezing within this range. When pressurized, ideally between 10 to 20 bar (gauge), it achieves sufficient density for effective heat transfer.

Stirling Cryocoolers

Stirling’s single and two-stage Cryogenerators can be equipped with an integrated heat exchanger to work directly with gaseous helium as a coolant for cryogenic cooling. These units operate efficiently in a temperature range from 150 K down to 18 K using an integrated CryoFan. This innovative design eliminates the need for a separate cryostat that would typically house a cryocooler, heat exchanger, and fan or pump. With a Stirling Cryogenerator featuring an integrated CryoFan, cold helium gas flows directly out of the cooler. Only a vacuum-jacketed connection between the cooler and the application is needed to complete the system.

Closed Loop Cooling with Stirling CryoFans

Stirling CryoFans are essential for efficiently circulating gaseous helium between the cryocooler and the customer’s application. The appropriate CryoFan can be selected based on the required volume flow and specific process conditions.

Applications and Markets
Gaseous helium cooling systems are highly beneficial across a range of applications and markets, including:

• High-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables and devices
• Superconducting Magnet cooling (e.g., in MRI systems, research magnets)
• Aerospace applications
• Space simulation chambers and shroud cooling
• Cooling of rotating devices
• Instrument cooling
• Observatories (e.g., for sensitive detectors)
• Thermal shielding

For our solutions see our Cryogenerator and Cryogenic fans.

More information

• Article: The solution for Cooling Problems?

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