Universal Cryopanel for Cooling from Room to Cryogenic Temperatures

This paper evaluated the operation of a universal cryopanel designed to cool surfaces to cryogenic temperatures using an experimental and computer study. The cryopanel’s structure comprises prefabricated parts: a lower plate and a top plate featuring 2.3 mm high pins, through which cooled nitrogen flows. The main aim of this work was to assess the performance of the universal cryopanel design through thermal and mechanical numerical modeling to meet the demands of different operating modes. Using the COMSOL Multiphysics software version 6.1, it has been shown that the optimized design achieves the required temperature of 150 K and lower on the top surface of the panel with a constant inlet temperature of 80 K and a flow rate of 0.05 m/s. Experimental data on the operation of cryopanels was compared with the resulting model. Data on the cryopanel and research at cryotemperatures will find application in medicine, the food industry, electronics, and scientific research on deposition and condensation, where it is important to observe operating modes and maintain low temperatures.