2016 Volume 51 Issue 8 Pages 385-390
The regenerator is an indispensable regenerative heat exchanger in Stirling cycle machines, G-M cryocoolers and pulse tube cryocoolers. Its existence is a key factor in enabling these machines to have the highest thermal efficiency and coefficient of performance. A regenerator is composed of a matrix and housing. The matrices are often made of stacks of fine wire mesh screens. However, an optimum balance between flow loss and heat transfer characteristics is required. In this report, based on the theoretical studies of thermal behavior in wire elements and matrices, relationships between design factors are obtained. An approach for designing regenerator used in Stirling cryocoolers is presented.
