Colloquia

Summary

There is a growing interest in high-sensitivity instrumentation across a wide range of applications, from space exploration to ground-based detectors. Achieving such sensitivity requires minimizing all sources of noise, including thermal noise. One common approach is to add cooling devices to the system. However typical mechanical compressors used in cooling systems are undesirable as they induce mechanical vibrations. An attractive alternative is sorption compressors, which compress gas by thermally cycling a sorbent material and controlling the gas flow to and from the system. Typical sorption compressors employ a single heater cell configuration, although this arrangement may not be the most optimal design for maximizing efficiency or performance. Therefore, an alternative multi-heater cylindrical cell design has been proposed. This thesis presents the implementation of an experimental setup to characterize and test this novel design. Furthermore, three case studies were performed: heat sink temperature variation, cycle time variation, and complete cell depletion. The results align with expected system behavior, which support the validation of the correct functioning of the experimental setup. The heat sink temperature variation produced a decreased mass output, as the temperature increased. The cycle duration showed a trade-off between rapid system response and energy efficiency. The cell depletion tests presented a marginal increase in mass output with multiple heaters active, in comparison with the single heater configuration, but with different energy inputs. Overall, these outcomes contribute to a better understanding of the sorption compressor behavior with an alternative cell design, facilitate future improvements for the experimental set up, as well as give insight into further testing possibilities.