Closed-Cycle Neon Refrigerator for High-Temperature Superconducting Magnets

Self-regulating temperature control of a Gifford - McMahon refrigerator for potential use with neon in high- power applications

“…Hydrogen is liquid over a suitable temperature range but is undesirable for considerations of safety. Neon has a normal boiling point of 27.17 K and a high volumetric latent heat (103.7 kJ dm −3 ) and has been identified as a suitable refrigerant for this application [1,2].…”

“…In this system a GM refrigerator was used to cool a heat exchanger which condensed neon in a secondary refrigerant loop, producing liquid into which the samples were immersed. Blumenfeld and Pfotenhauer [2] have described a project to develop a system for testing small high-T c magnets, again employing a GM refrigerator but also incorporating a Joule-Thomson valve in the secondary refrigerant circuit to regulate the temperature of the neon at just above its triple point.…”