Unique Method for Liquid Nitrogen Precooling of a Plate Fin Heat Exchanger in a Helium Refrigeration Cycle

Precooling of helium by means of liquid nitrogen is one the oldest and most common process features used in helium refrigerators. The principal tasks are to permit a rapid cool down to 80 K of the plant, to increase the cooling power of,the plant in low temperature operation and to increase the rate of pure liquid production. The advent of aluminum plate fin heat exchangers in the design of helium refrigerators has made this task more complicated because of the potential damage to these heat exchangers.