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Low Cost, High Performance Cryogenic Heat Exchanger

Creare, Inc.

Hanover, NH

Developed lightweight, compact Radial Flow Heat Exchanger (RFHX) for space and aircraft cryocooler applications.

• Construction and fabrication methods enable small size, light weight, and high performance compared to state-of-the-art heat exchangers.
• Design models predict that a multi-module RFHX can achieve a thermal effectiveness of 0.99 with a mass of only 2.5 kg and a fractional pressure drop of only 6 percent.

• Additional applications include cryocoolers for reconnaissance and missile defense systems, oxygen generating systems for medical and aircraft applications, laboratory- and industrial-scale cryogenic refrigeration and liquefacation systems, and oxygen generating systems for field hospitals.

• Phase III funding from GSFC and the Air Force Research Lab for the development of the RFHX to provide high-performance recuperative heat exchangers for future turbo-Brayton cryocoolers.
• Air Force has sponsored development of high-capacity recuperates based on RFHX technology to provide compact cryogenic coolers for air separation in large transport aircraft and to supply liquid oxygen for medevac units.
• JSC providing funding using RFHX technology for service in the advanced Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) and Thermal Control System (TCS) for the International Space Station.
• Developing RFHX using advanced materials that meets the requirements for sensor cooling in the NASA Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST).

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