Cryocooler Modelling Methodology

Future spacecraft will increasingly use cryocoolers to improve the performance of their payloads. For system level studies, it is necessary to quickly and easily assess the impact of these coolers on the overall thermal budget of a spacecraft. This requires the capability of simulating, in a simplified yet representative manner, the interaction of a cooler mathematical model with the overall thermal mathematical model of the spacecraft and instruments. This paper discusses potential methodologies for creating basic models for system level studies. It covers the prototype cooler models created to assess the methods and algorithms for Stirling, pulse tube, Joule–Thomson and Peltier coolers.