L'air Liquide, Soci&#xe9;t&#xe9; Anonyme Pour L'etude Et L'exploitation Des Proc&#xe9;d&#xe9;s Georges Claude

Eric Fauve

Jean-Marc Bernhardt

David Grillot

Cindy Deschildre

Pierre Briend

Gerald Aigouy

Veronique Grabie

Franck Delcayre

Vincent Heloin

Michel Bonneton

Gérald Aigouy

Véronique Grabie

Method and installation for refrigerating the same application by means of several refrigerators/liquefiers disposed in parallel, the refrigerators/liquefiers in parallel using a working gas of the same nature having a low molar mass, that is to say having a mean total molar mass of less than 10 g/mol such as pure gaseous helium, each refrigerator/liquefier comprising a station for compressing the working gas, a cold box intended to cool the working gas at the output from the compression station, the working gas cooled by each of the respective cold boxes of the refrigerators/liquefiers being put in thermal exchange with the application with a view to supplying cold to the latter, in which a single compression station compresses the working gas for each of the respective separate cold boxes of the refrigerators/liquefiers disposed in parallel, the single compression station comprising only compression machines of the lubricated-screw type and systems for removing oil from the working fluid output from the compression machines, so that the compression machines and the oil-removal systems are shared by the refrigerators/liquefiers disposed in parallel.

Refrigeration method and installation

An installation for refrigerating a same application by means of a single refrigerator/liquefier or several refrigerators/liquefiers arranged in parallel, the refrigerator(s)/liquefier(s) using a working gas of the same type having a low molar mass, each refrigerator/liquefier comprising a compression station to compress the working gas, a cold box intended for cooling the working gas at the outlet of the compression station, the compression station comprising only compression machines of the lubricated screw type and systems for removing the oil from the working fluid at the outlet of the compression machines, and the compression station comprises a plurality of compression machines defining several levels of pressure for the working fluid, the compression station comprising at least two compression machines defining at least two levels of pressure increasing above the level of pressure of the fluid at the inlet of the compression station, two main compression machines being arranged in series and defining, at their respective fluid outlet, levels of pressure respectively called 'low' and 'high', another secondary compression machine being supplied at the inlet with a fluid coming from the cold boxes at an intermediate level of pressure called &#x201c;medium&#x201d; between the low and high levels, this secondary compression machine also defining, at its fluid outlet, a &#x201c;high&#x201d; level of pressure.

Refrigeration method and installation using parallel refrigerators/liquefiers

The invention relates to a method and an installation for producing liquid helium, said installation comprising a cooling/liquefaction device comprising a working circuit that subjects a helium-enriched working fluid to a thermodynamic cycle in order to produce liquid helium, said circuit comprising at least one working fluid compression body and a plurality of heat exchangers. The installation also comprises a plurality of fluid recovery lines having respective upstream ends to be selectively connected to respective reservoirs, and a first collection line having an upstream end connected to the recovery lines and a downstream end connected to a receiving body that can supply the working circuit with a working fluid. The installation is characterized in that it comprises at least one second and one third collection line that each have an upstream end connected to the recovery lines and a downstream end connected to the working circuit, the upstream ends of the second and third collection lines being connected at separate determined positions of the working circuit, that respectively correspond to separate temperature levels of the working fluid in the working circuit.

Installation and method for producing liquid helium

A method for the pulsating load refrigeration of a component of a Tokamak using a refrigeration device subjecting a working fluid to a working cycle. At least one 'periodic and symmetrical' operating mode of the Tokamak includes an operating mode in which plasmas of preset duration Dp are generated periodically with intervals of duration Dnp between two successive plasmas. Dnp=Dp&#xb1;30%. The cooling device cooling power is increased to a relatively high level in a plasma generation phase and reduced to a relatively low level when the Tokamak is no longer in a plasma generation phase. The refrigerating power variation brings gradual increases and reductions in refrigerating power. The increase in the refrigeration device refrigerating power is triggered in advance, in response to a signal (S) generated during a plasma starting step before the thermal load on the component increases.

Refrigeration method and apparatus with a pulsating load

The invention relates to a method and device for pulsed charge cooling of a component of a Tokamak. The method uses a refrigeration device that subjects a working fluid such as helium to a work cycle including: compression, cooling, and decompression, as well as heat exchange with the member and heating. The refrigeration power produced by the refrigeration device is increased to a relatively high level when the Tokamak is in a plasma generation phase and is decreased to a relatively low level when the Tokamak is no longer in a plasma generation phase. The increase in refrigeration power produced by the refrigeration device is automatically triggered in response to a signal produced during a step for starting plasma in the Tokamak.

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Venelles, France

Eric Fauve