Background
Today, space refrigerators are increasingly important as key devices for maintaining important material quality in spacecraft, international space stations, and deep space probes. The space refrigerator is specially designed for the extreme and special environment of space, and aims to provide stable low-temperature storage conditions so as to ensure the safety and effectiveness of foods, medicines and other sensitive articles in long-distance space travel.
The space refrigerator is widely applied to various aerospace tasks and becomes an indispensable part for supporting long-term space living and exploration. The method not only meets the basic life demands of astronauts and ensures the freshness and safety of foods, but also bears the important responsibility of preserving key medicines and scientific samples, and has a vital role in maintaining the health of astronauts, supporting scientific experiments and data collection.
However, the design and operation of space refrigerators present distinct technical challenges compared to ground refrigeration systems, which are mainly due to the uniqueness of the space environment:
In the microgravity environment, under the microgravity condition, the traditional convection heat dissipation mechanism fails, so that the heat transfer efficiency is reduced, and the refrigeration difficulty is increased. Meanwhile, the distribution and management of liquid working media also become a great problem, and an innovative technical scheme is required to ensure the effective circulation and utilization of the refrigerant.
Vacuum state-vacuum environment in space means that there is no medium for natural convection and conduction heat dissipation, which puts extremely high demands on the insulation and sealing properties of the refrigerator to prevent rapid dissipation of heat by radiation, while also increasing the complexity of thermal management.
The radiation environment, namely, cosmic rays and high-energy particles form potential threats to materials of electronic equipment and refrigeration systems, and performance degradation and even failure can be caused, so that the space refrigerator is required to adopt radiation-resistant materials and designs so as to ensure long-term stable operation.
Although significant advances have been made in existing space refrigerator technology, there are still shortcomings in refrigeration uniformity. In space environments, uneven refrigeration can cause local over-or under-temperatures of stored items, affecting preservation, especially for pharmaceutical and scientific samples requiring precise temperature control. Therefore, developing a space refrigerator technology capable of effectively improving refrigeration uniformity becomes an important subject to be solved in the current aerospace science and technology field.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a pump-driven cold fluid refrigeration system, which solves the problems in the prior art, utilizes a Stirling refrigerator to provide cold energy for a low-temperature transportation working medium, and utilizes a low-temperature pumping mechanism to provide flowing power of the low-temperature transportation working medium, so that the low-temperature transportation working medium can be conveyed to each part of an insulation box body, thereby realizing a more efficient and uniform refrigeration effect and meeting the requirement of long-term and stable storage of various materials in a space environment.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following solutions:
The invention provides a pump-driven cold fluid refrigeration system which comprises an insulation box body, a Stirling refrigerator and a low-temperature pumping mechanism, wherein the insulation box body comprises an inner container, a transmission pipeline and a low-temperature heat insulation layer, the transmission pipeline is arranged between the inner container and the insulation box body, a low-temperature transportation working medium is arranged in the transmission pipeline, the Stirling refrigerator comprises a refrigerator main body and a cold finger connected with the refrigerator main body, the cold finger is used for exchanging heat with the low-temperature transportation working medium, the low-temperature pumping mechanism comprises a pump body and a driving part connected with the pump body, and an inlet and an outlet of the driving part are respectively connected with an outlet and an inlet of the transmission pipeline or the driving part is positioned in the transmission pipeline.
In an embodiment, the driving part is located in the transmission pipeline, and the driving part comprises a driving cavity, and a one-way inlet valve and a one-way outlet valve connected to the driving cavity, wherein the one-way inlet valve faces the incoming flow direction, and the one-way outlet valve faces the outgoing flow direction.
In one embodiment, the pump body comprises a piston cylinder, a moving piston positioned in the piston cylinder and a motor assembly for driving the moving piston to reciprocate, wherein the piston cylinder is communicated with the driving cavity, and the moving piston is used for moving towards or away from the driving cavity.
In one embodiment, the motor assembly includes a housing and a mover and a stator within the housing, the mover being supported within the housing by a leaf spring.
In one embodiment, the cold finger is located downstream of the drive portion, proximate to the one-way outlet valve.
In an embodiment, the cold head in the cold finger is filled with a porous medium, one side of the porous medium exchanges heat with the low-temperature transportation working medium, and the other side of the porous medium exchanges heat with the expansion cavity.
In one embodiment, the refrigerator body includes a linear compressor and a phase modulation mechanism, the linear compressors are oppositely arranged at both sides of the phase modulation mechanism, and an axial direction of the cold finger is perpendicular to an axial direction of the linear compressor.
In an embodiment, the transmission pipeline is distributed on the outer wall of the inner container, an accommodating space is formed inside the inner container, the accommodating space is divided into a plurality of storage chambers, and the inner container adopts a soaking plate or a metal entity.
In one embodiment, the transmission pipeline adopts an annealed stainless steel pipeline, and the low-temperature transportation working medium adopts helium.
In one embodiment, the low-temperature heat-insulating layer surrounds the transmission pipeline, and the low-temperature heat-insulating layer is made of polyurethane foam, perlite, glass wool or vacuum heat-insulating layer.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following technical effects:
The invention provides cold energy for the low-temperature transportation working medium by using the Stirling refrigerator, and provides flowing power of the low-temperature transportation working medium by using the low-temperature pumping mechanism, so that the low-temperature transportation working medium can be conveyed to each part of the heat preservation box body in the transmission pipeline, the cold energy is transmitted to the inner container through the transmission pipeline, the temperature of the inner container and the inner container can be reduced, the inner container can be used as a cabin body for low-temperature storage, and the influence of microgravity environment on the low-temperature transportation working medium is avoided by actively conveying the low-temperature transportation working medium, thereby realizing more efficient and uniform refrigeration effect and meeting the requirements of long-term and stable storage of various materials in space environment.
Detailed Description
The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is apparent that the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
The invention aims to provide a cold fluid cooling system driven by a pump, which solves the problems in the prior art, utilizes a Stirling refrigerator to provide cold energy for a low-temperature transportation working medium, and utilizes a low-temperature pumping mechanism to provide flowing power of the low-temperature transportation working medium, so that the low-temperature transportation working medium can be conveyed to each part of an insulation box body, thereby realizing a more efficient and uniform cooling effect and meeting the requirement of long-term and stable storage of various materials in a space environment.
In order that the above-recited objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings and appended detailed description.
The Stirling refrigerator (Stirling refrigerator, also called ST refrigerator) is a thermodynamic cycle refrigerator, and the Stirling refrigerator is a mechanical refrigerator driven by electricity. It is based on the Stirling cycle proposed by the scotch physicist Robert Stirling (Robert Stirling) in 1816, also known as the constant volume regenerative cycle, the reverse of which is known as the reverse Stirling cycle, or Stirling refrigeration cycle, when used for refrigeration. Stirling refrigerators use expansion and compression of gases at different temperatures to achieve a refrigeration effect. The principle of operation is based primarily on the stirling cycle, which includes four main processes, compression, heating, expansion and cooling. In the compression process, the gas is compressed and heated, in the heating process, the compressed gas enters a high-temperature heat exchanger to absorb external heat, in the expansion process, the gas enters an expansion piston to expand to convert part of heat energy into mechanical energy, and meanwhile, the temperature is reduced, in the cooling process, the expanded gas enters a low-temperature heat exchanger to contact with the environment and dissipate heat, so that the temperature is further reduced. The four processes are circularly reciprocated, and the refrigerating effect is continuously generated.
As shown in fig. 1, the invention provides a pump-driven cold fluid cooling system, which comprises an insulation box body 3, a stirling refrigerator 1 and a low-temperature pumping mechanism 2, wherein the insulation box body 3 comprises an inner container 31, a transmission pipeline 32 and a low-temperature heat insulation layer 33, the transmission pipeline 32 is arranged between the inner container 31 and the insulation box body 3, on one hand, the transmission pipeline 32 can transmit low temperature to the inner container 31 through the inner container 31, so that a low-temperature storage environment is formed in the inner container 31, on the other hand, the low-temperature heat insulation layer 33 can avoid low temperature transmission to the outside, and low-temperature loss is reduced. The transmission pipeline 32 is internally provided with a low-temperature transmission working medium, and the low-temperature transmission working medium can adopt helium, nitrogen or hydrogen and other gases. The Stirling refrigerator 1 comprises a refrigerator main body and a cold finger 11 connected to the refrigerator main body, wherein the cold finger 11 is a core part of the Stirling refrigerator 1 responsible for achieving a refrigerating effect, and comprises an expansion cavity, an expansion piston, a related heat exchanger (such as a regenerator) and other components, and the cold finger 11 transfers heat from a low temperature region to a high temperature region through the expansion and cooling processes of gas during the operation of the Stirling refrigerator 1, so that the refrigerating effect is achieved. By connecting the cold finger 11 with the transmission line 32, heat exchange can be performed between the cold finger 11 and the low-temperature transportation medium to reduce the temperature of the low-temperature transportation medium, that is, the cold of the cold finger 11 is transported by using the low-temperature transportation medium. The low-temperature pumping mechanism 2 comprises a pump body and a driving part connected with the pump body, wherein the transmission pipeline 32 can be provided with an inlet and an outlet, at the moment, the inlet and the outlet of the driving part are respectively connected with the outlet and the inlet of the transmission pipeline 32, under the action of the driving part, a low-temperature transportation working medium in the transmission pipeline 32 enters the inlet of the driving part from the outlet of the transmission pipeline 32 and then enters the inlet of the transmission pipeline 32 from the outlet of the driving part to form the active flow of the low-temperature transportation working medium, and in the other case, the transmission pipeline 32 is not definitely broken, and is not definitely provided with the inlet and the outlet, at the moment, the driving part can be positioned in the transmission pipeline 32, and the low-temperature transportation working medium is driven to flow in the transmission pipeline 32 by utilizing the driving mode of one end of the driving part.
The invention provides cold energy for the low-temperature transportation working medium by using the Stirling refrigerator 1, provides flowing power of the low-temperature transportation working medium by using the low-temperature pumping mechanism 2, ensures that the low-temperature transportation working medium can be conveyed to each part of the heat preservation box body 3 in the transmission pipeline 32, transmits the cold energy to the inner container 31 by the transmission pipeline 32, can reduce the temperature of the inner container 31 and the inner part thereof, can ensure that the inner container 31 is used as a cabin for low-temperature storage, and avoids the influence of a microgravity environment on the low-temperature transportation working medium by virtue of active conveying of the low-temperature transportation working medium, thereby realizing more efficient and uniform refrigeration effect and meeting the requirement of long-term and stable storage of various materials in space environment.
The invention is provided with the Stirling refrigerator 1 and the low-temperature pumping mechanism 2, the refrigerating capacity of the Stirling refrigerator 1 can be adjusted, and the low-temperature pumping mechanism 2 is adjusted to adjust the flow, so that the double adjustment of the temperature area and the refrigerating capacity is realized.
In one embodiment, the driving part is located in the transmission pipeline 32, and the driving part comprises a driving cavity, and a one-way inlet valve 26 and a one-way outlet valve 21 connected to the driving cavity, wherein the one-way inlet valve 26 faces the incoming flow direction, only the low-temperature transportation working medium can be unidirectionally fed, and the one-way outlet valve 21 faces the outgoing flow direction, only the low-temperature transportation working medium can unidirectionally flow out, so that when the pressure of the driving cavity changes, the one-way flow of the low-temperature transportation working medium can be realized under the cooperation of the one-way inlet valve 26 and the one-way outlet valve 21. To achieve the above object, the cryogenic pumping mechanism 2 includes, but is not limited to, a compressor in the form of a linear motor driven piston pump, a diaphragm pump, a piezoelectric effect driven pump, or the like, or a pump in a similar form. The forms of the one-way inlet valve 26 and one-way outlet valve 21 include, but are not limited to, a flat valve, a reed valve, an annular valve, a mesh valve, a butterfly valve, or the like.
In an embodiment, the pump body comprises a piston cylinder 25, a moving piston 22 positioned in the piston cylinder 25 and a motor assembly 23 for driving the moving piston 22 to reciprocate, the piston cylinder 25 is communicated with the driving cavity, the moving piston 22 moves towards or away from the driving cavity under the driving of the motor assembly 23, therefore, the volume of the piston cylinder 25 is enlarged by the moving piston 22, the whole volume of the piston cylinder 25 and the driving cavity can be enlarged, negative pressure suction force is formed at the position of the one-way inlet valve 26, the low-temperature transportation working medium is sucked through the one-way inlet valve 26 by utilizing the negative pressure suction force, and note that the one-way outlet valve 21 is in a closed state at the moment, the whole volume of the piston cylinder 25 and the driving cavity can be reduced by compressing the volume of the piston cylinder 25 by the moving piston 22, the low-temperature transportation working medium is discharged through the one-way outlet valve 21 by utilizing positive pressure thrust, and note that the one-way inlet valve 26 is in a closed state at the moment. The moving piston 22 structurally includes, but is not limited to, a single piston structure, in which the space volume is reduced, and a double piston structure, in which the vibration shocks are mutually offset when moving in the axial direction toward or away from each other.
In one embodiment, the motor assembly 23 includes a housing and a mover and a stator within the housing, the mover being axially reciprocable relative to the stator, the mover being supported within the housing by a leaf spring 24, the leaf spring 24 providing axial and radial support for movement of the mover. The leaf spring 24 may be of an archimedes spiral type, a circular involute type, an eccentric circular involute type, or the like. The leaf spring 24 and the piston cylinder 25 form a clearance seal, maintaining a dynamic seal between the moving part and the piston cylinder 25 during movement, providing sufficient axial stiffness and radial support for the reciprocating movement of the moving part.
In an embodiment, the cold finger 11 is located downstream of the driving part and is close to the unidirectional outlet valve 21, that is, the low-temperature transportation working medium discharged by the driving part through the unidirectional outlet valve 21 can reach the cold finger 11 position when the kinetic energy is large, so that the trafficability of the low-temperature transportation working medium can be improved, and the low-temperature transportation working medium can smoothly pass through the cold finger 11 to realize the circulation flow in the transmission pipeline 32.
In one embodiment, the cold head in the cold finger 11 is filled with a porous medium, one side of the porous medium exchanges heat with the low-temperature transportation working medium, and the other side of the porous medium exchanges heat with the expansion cavity. By using a porous medium, the heat exchange efficiency of the cold finger 11 with the low-temperature transport medium in the transport line 32 can be increased.
In an embodiment, the refrigerator main body includes a linear compressor 12 and a phase modulation mechanism 13, the linear compressor 12 is disposed opposite to both sides of the phase modulation mechanism 13, the linear compressor 12 and the phase modulation mechanism 13 are coaxially integrated, and the axial direction of the cold finger 11 is perpendicular to the axial direction of the linear compressor 12. The arrangement mode enables the structure to be simple, compact and efficient, and facilitates the coupling and cooling with the transmission pipeline 32 in the heat preservation box body 3. The linear compressor 12 includes a compressor piston body, a compressor cylinder block, a long life plate spring, and the like. The linear motor is adopted for driving, the momentum influence can be reduced in an opposite arrangement mode, and the linear compressor 12 reciprocates to form a compression cavity and a back pressure cavity to drive the cold finger 11. The phase modulation mechanism 13 comprises a phase modulation cylinder body, a phase modulation piston body and a phase modulation reset elastic element, and improves the efficiency of the refrigerator main body by carrying out phase modulation on the refrigerator main body.
In an embodiment, the transmission pipelines 32 are distributed on the outer wall of the liner 31, the interior of the liner 31 forms an accommodating space, the accommodating space can be divided into a plurality of storage chambers according to requirements, and the transmission pipelines 32 with different lengths or numbers can be paved at the outer wall position of the liner 31 corresponding to each storage chamber so as to obtain the storage chambers with different temperatures for storing the articles with different temperature requirements. The inner container 31 adopts a soaking plate or a metal entity, so that good temperature transmission effect can be realized, the low temperature of the transmission pipeline 32 is effectively ensured to be transmitted into the inner container 31, the temperature of the cold fluid cooling system driven by the pump or the refrigerator prepared by the cold fluid cooling system is more uniform, and the refrigerating effect is effectively improved. The inner container 31 of the metal body has the characteristics of good heat conductivity, wear resistance and long service life.
In one embodiment, the transmission pipeline 32 is an annealed stainless steel pipeline, which can be bent effectively for a plurality of times, and is convenient for layout and installation. Helium is adopted as the low-temperature transportation working medium, and the helium is an ideal low-temperature transportation working medium and has the advantages of environmental protection, high efficiency, large cold capacity, capability of realizing rapid refrigeration in a deep low-temperature area and the like. Meanwhile, the chemical property of helium is stable, and the helium is not easy to react with other substances, so that the helium has higher safety in the use process. Of course, the transfer line 32 may include other flexible mounting arrangements to facilitate the desired mounting configuration and to ensure high heat transfer efficiency.
In an embodiment, the low-temperature heat insulating layer 33 surrounds the transmission pipeline 32, reduces the cold energy emitted by the transmission pipeline 32 to the outside, ensures that the low-temperature transportation working medium efficiently transfers the cold energy to the inside of the liner 31, and the low-temperature heat insulating layer 33 is made of polyurethane foam, perlite, glass wool or a vacuum heat insulating layer, and can be one of the materials used alone or a combination of a plurality of the materials.
The principles and embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to specific examples, which are provided herein to facilitate understanding of the principles and embodiments of the present invention and to provide further advantages and practical applications for those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the present teachings. In view of the foregoing, this description should not be construed as limiting the invention.