Design and optimization of liquid helium-free cooling systems for magnetic resonance imaging device using multi-physical modeling
Effective initial cooling is critical in conduction-cooled superconducting magnet systems, especially for medical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), where traditional reliance on liquid helium poses challenges due to helium resource limitations and high costs. This study introduces a liquid helium-fr...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25000218 |
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| Summary: | Effective initial cooling is critical in conduction-cooled superconducting magnet systems, especially for medical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), where traditional reliance on liquid helium poses challenges due to helium resource limitations and high costs. This study introduces a liquid helium-free MRI cooling system that rapidly cools components below 80 K or 20 K using gaseous refrigerants. A three-dimensional multi-physical model was developed to predict cool-down times for various tube materials and refrigerants, and to evaluate system performance. The cooling process was enhanced by optimizing flow velocity and incorporating copper foam inserts into the gas tubes of the heat exchangers. Increasing flow velocity from 5 m/s to 30 m/s reduced cool-down time by over 40 %, although it caused significant pressure drops, 2.09 kPa for nitrogen and 0.24 kPa for helium. An optimal flow velocity of 20 m/s was determined, balancing cooling efficiency with manageable pressure drops. Additionally, using copper foam with lower porosity and larger particle diameter further improved system performance, achieving cool-down times of 164 h for nitrogen and 58 h for helium, with pressure drops of 1.48 kPa and 1.49 kPa, respectively. This optimized design and the developed models offer a robust framework for guiding the design and control of liquid helium-free MRI cooling systems, contributing to the advancement of sustainable and cost-effective MRI technology. |
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| ISSN: | 2214-157X |