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.