The Development of a Low Vibration, Long Life Pulse Tube Employing Flexural Bearings

A 1/3 watt, 80 K Technology Demonstration Model (TDM) pulse tube cryocooler has been developed by Stirling Technology Company (STC). The pulse tube expander has no moving parts, making it simpler, more reliable, lower in cost, and lower in vibration than a Stirling expander. The pulse tube expander was designed, built, and tested with SBIR Phase I funding from NASA Ames Research Center. The pulse tube expander was driven using an existing dual opposed compressor module from a TDM Stirling cryocooler. Two numerical models were developed for pulse tube cryocooler design, evaluation, and analysis.