Experimental study of a mixed refrigerant Joule-Thomson cryocooler using a commercial air-conditioning scroll compressor

Mixed refrigerant Joule-Thomson (MR J-T) cryocoolers have been used to create cryogenic temperatures and are simple, efficient, cheap, and durable. However, compressors for MR J-T cryocoolers still require optimization. As the MR J-T cryocooler uses a commercial scroll compressor developed for air-conditioning systems, compressor overheating due to the use of less optimized refrigerants may not be negligible, and could cause compressor malfunction due to burn-out of scroll tip seals. Therefore, in the present study, the authors propose procedures to optimize compressor operation to avoid the overheating issue when the MR J-T cryocooler is used with a commercial oil lubricated scroll compressor, and the present experimental results obtained for a MR J-T cryocooler. A single stage 1.49 kW (2 HP) scroll compressor designed for R22 utilizing a mixture of nitrogen and hydrocarbons was used in the present study. As was expected, compressor overheating and irreversible high temperatures at a compressor discharge port were found at the beginning of compressor operation, which is critical, and hence, the authors used a water injection cooling system for the compressor to alleviate temperature overshooting. In addition, a portion of refrigerant in the high-pressure stream was by-passed into the compressor suction port. This allowed an adequate compression ratio, prevented excessive temperature increases at the compressor discharge, and eventually enabled the MR J-T cryocooler to operate stably at 121 K. The study shows that commercial oil lubricated scroll compressors can be used for MR J-T cryocooling systems if care is exercised to avoid compressor overheating. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.