Development and testing of a passive check valve for cryogenic applications

• A passive check valve is presented for a Cold Cycle Dilution Refrigerator (CCDR).
• The design and testing of a PTFE seated, cryogenic, passive check valve is shown.
• A scaling argument predicts the performance with different conditions.
• Tests and scaling predict the valve at CCDR conditions.

Several cryogenic technologies use check valves, such as the Cold Cycle Dilution Refrigerator (CCDR) and the Hybrid Pulse-Tube/Reverse-Brayton Cryocooler. This paper details the development of a reed-style passive check valve with a PTFE seat for cryogenic applications. The experimental results of tests on the valve using helium gas at temperatures from 293 K down to 5.2 K, verify a scaling argument based on fundamental fluid dynamics that allows results from 78 K to be used in predicting valve performance at much lower temperatures. The scaling argument is then applied to a test conducted at the normal boiling point of Nitrogen to examine the results of improved fabrication methods.