Investigation of effective parameters on the performance of the helium liquefaction cycle

Abstract

Due to its unique properties, helium has wide application in different industries and scientific fields, which has turned it into a strategic material. Helium liquefaction plants include wide temperature range from 300 k to 4.2 k, so these plants have high energy consumption. A lot of studies have done to optimize the operation of these cycles. In this research, an exergy analysis is performed for a liquid helium production plant. The optimal performance of 3 and 4 stage cycles is extracted using parametric study and the results are compared with those of Collins dual-expander cycle. The results show that by increasing the number of cooling stages, not only the compressor optimum discharge pressure is reduced, but also the cycle efficiency dramatically increases and the power consumption of the cycle decreases. Further, a sensitivity analysis of the exergy efficiency of the 2, 3 and 4 expander cycles is compared to the heat exchangers effectiveness, expander’s efficiency and the input flow rate to the expanders.