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Physics Procedia 67 (2015) 423 427

25th International Cryogenic Engineering Conference and the International Cryogenic Materials
Conference in 2014, ICEC 25ICMC 2014

Miniature piezoelectric compressor for Joule-Thomson cryocoolers

Sergey Sobola, Nir Tzabarb,*, Gershon Grossmana
a

Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel 32000

b
Rafael, Haifa, Israel 3102102

Abstract
Joule-Thomson (JT) cryocoolers operate with a continuous flow of the working fluid that enters the cooler at a high
pressure and leaves it at a lower pressure. Ideally, the temperature of the outgoing fluid equals the temperature of the entering
fluid. JT cryocoolers that operate with pure refrigerants require high pressure of a few tens of MPa where the low pressure is
usually around 0.1 MPa. Circulation of the working fluid in such cases requires high pressure ratio compressors that evidently
have large dimensions. JT cryocoolers can operate with much lower pressure ratios by using mixed-refrigerants. Cooling from
300 K to about 80 K in a single stage cryocooler normally requires a pressure ratio of about 1:25.
In the present research a miniature compressor driven by piezoelectric elements is developed in collaboration between
Rafael and the Technion. This type of compressor has the advantage of improved long life compared to other mechanical
compressors, very low vibrations, and silent operation. In the current case, the design goal of the intake and discharge pressures
has been 0.1 and 2.5 MPa, respectively, with a flow rate of 0.06 g/s. The compressor has two compression stages; 1:5 and 5:25.
Several configurations have been considered, fabricated, and tested. The performance of the last configuration approaches the
desired specification and is presented in the current paper together with the design concept.
2015 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of ICEC 25-ICMC 2014.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of ICEC 25-ICMC 2014
Keywords: Joule-Thomson cryocooler; compressor; piezoelectric.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +972 4 9906472; fax: +972 4 9906100.

E-mail address: nirtz@rafael.co.il

1875-3892 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of ICEC 25-ICMC 2014
doi:10.1016/j.phpro.2015.06.052

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1. Introduction
Joule-Thomson (JT) cryocoolers operating with mixed-refrigerants may cool from normal ambient temperatures
to 80 K with a pressure ratio of 1:25 only (Tzabar, 2010; Tzabar, 2014). This pressure ratio can be achieved with
several compressor techniques; however, there is no report in the literature on such a compressor driven by a
piezoelectric device, except for Simon et al (Simon, 2009). that have reported their prototype that has achieved a
pressure ratio of 1:21 with no flow. The main advantage of a piezoelectric driven compressor is the small
displacement of the pistons that yields extreme low vibrations and improved long life time compared to mechanical
compressors. The current study is based on a former study at the Technion (Sobol, 2009) on Stirling type
cryocoolers activated by piezoelectric elements.
2. Compressor Configuration
The use of a piezoelectric device for actuating the pistons yields extremely low vibration emission and long life
operation, due to the tiny motion of the device that normally equals about 0.1 % of its length. This small
displacement dictates operation at elevated frequencies in order to provide a sufficient flow rate. In the current study
the compressor is required to provide a mass flow rate of about 0.06 g/s with low and high pressures of 0.1 MPa and
2.5 MPa, respectively. The compression process is therefore divided into two stages with equal pressure ratios of
1:5. The first compression stage is characterized by a large change in volume and small increase in pressure, while
the second compression stage is characterized by a relatively small change in volume and a large change in pressure.
These characteristics led us to design the first stage with a displacement amplifier, at the expense of the compression
force, and the second stage with a direct coupling between the piezoelectric element and the piston. The operating
frequency is 400 Hz, selected as a compromise between the demand for providing the required flow rate and the
capabilities of the valves to open and close sufficiently fast.
Many design configurations for the compressor housing with different piezoelectric elements and various
displacement amplifiers have been considered. It is most challenging to obtain a sufficient stiffness of the entire
assembly high enough to maintain an effective compression process in the compression volume; otherwise, the
elongation of the piezoelectric element is lost to structural deformations and to other sources of elasticity. The final
configuration we have reached consists of two separate and structurally identical compression stages, with an
additional displacement amplifier in the first stage, as shown in Fig. 1. The quasistatic relation between the supply
voltage to the piezoelectric element, VPZT , and the piston displacement, x, is given by:

N VPZT

k
k PZT
x  a1  PZT
k str
a

'p x A  k prl x

>

(1)

where N is the piezoelectric conversion, kPZT is the piezoelectric element stiffness, a is the no-load displacement
amplification ratio, kstr is the structure stiffness, kprl is the preload stiffness, and A is the piston area. 'p(x) is the
pressure difference between the two sides of the piston which is a function of the piston displacement. The relation
between the piezoelectric displacement, xpzt, and the piston displacement, x, is given by:

xPZT

x 'px A  k prl x

a
k str

(2)

The displacement cycles of the piezoelectric element and the piston as a function of the supply voltage are
demonstrated in Fig. 2 for different values of kstr. During the isentropic compression, process 1, the deviation
between the piezoelectric element and the piston displacements increases due to the increase in 'p(x). Process 2 is
where the fluid leaves the compressor at constant pressure; therefore, the difference between the displacements is

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Sergey Sobol et al. / Physics Procedia 67 (2015) 423 427

nearly constant. In the current example it is desired to have a kstr that is double the kPZT to achieve the required high
pressure with less than 1000 V (the upper limit of the piezoelectric element in use).

Inter-cooling

High
Pressure

Low
Pressure

Valve
Units

Displacement
Amplifier Unit

Compression
Volumes
Pistons
Piezoelectric
Actuator

Second Stage

First Stage

Fig 1. The current compressor configuration

kstr = kPZT

xpiston
50

kstr = kPZT
Pm

40

kstr = 2 kPZT
30

3
20

22

4
10

200

400

600
800
PZT Voltage [V]

Maximum Allowed Voltage

xP ZT

60

1000

1200

1400

Fig 2. Structure stiffness influence on the piezoelectric actuator and piston movements.

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Sergey Sobol et al. / Physics Procedia 67 (2015) 423 427

3. Compression Volume
Operating at a high frequency and a small displacement enhances the necessity of extremely low dead volume;
therefore, an elastomeric membrane is used to compress the working fluid, as shown in Fig. 3 at the compression
volume of the second stage. A hydraulic fluid is contained between the elastomeric membrane and the piston which
is sealed against the cylinder with a metallic membrane. The use of liquid ensures perfect contact of the elastomeric
membrane against the surface of the top cover of the compression volume, which is the valves unit.
The first compression stage includes a displacement amplifier unit located between the piston and the elastomeric
membrane, as shown in Fig. 4. A secondary piston that has two diameters is driven by the first cylinder via a
hydraulic fluid. The ratio between the small diameter area of the secondary piston and the area of the first piston
determines the no-load amplifying ratio of the unit. In our case the amplifying ratio equals 5; meaning, 5 times the
PZT displacement with 1/5 of the blocking force. The secondary piston is further sealed with an additional metallic
membrane at its large diameter to capture another hydraulic liquid that drives the elastomeric membrane.
High Pressure

Intermediate Pressure
Valve Unit

Compression Volume

Hydraulic fluid

Elastomeric Membrane
Metallic Membrane

Piston
Piezoelectric Actuator

Fig 3. A schematic of the second stage compression volume.

Intermediate Pressure

Low Pressure
Valve Unit

Compression Volume

Hydraulic Liquid

Elastomeric Membrane
2nd Piston
Hydraulic Liquid

Metallic Membranes

1st Piston
Piezoelectric Actuator

Fig 4. A schematic of the displacement amplifier unit and the compression volume of the first compression stage.

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Sergey Sobol et al. / Physics Procedia 67 (2015) 423 427

4. Valves
Passive leaf valves are used in the current compressor. The operation at a high frequency requires specific
designs for each valve to open and seal the ports at a precise timing. Analytical dynamic simulation of the valves has
been developed to determine their physical dimensions. In addition, since the valve units also function as the top
covers of the cylinders, the design ensures negligible dead volume.
5. Results and Discussion
The compressor has been manufactured and tested in an experimental setup. The setup enables operation at
various pressures, flow rates, and compressor frequencies. In addition, the setup enables the operation of each stage
separately or both stages simultaneously, with intercooling between them. The preliminary results are summarized
in table 1. The maximum operating frequency that has been achieved to-date is 200 Hz, which provides a flow rate
of about 0.02 g/s with low and high pressures of 0.15 and 2.2 MPa, respectively, using nitrogen as a working fluid.
These performances do not meet the full requirements; however, they prove the concept and the capability of
obtaining a large compression ratio with a considerable high flow rate by a piezoelectric driven compressor. This
study has illuminated many challenges in developing a piezoelectric- actuated compressor that do not exist in other
compressor types. During this preliminary study many of the challenges have been addressed and solved and others
have been better comprehended. Future work shall further improve the compressor performances.
6. Summary
This paper presents the concept of a novel compressor driven by a piezoelectric element. The compressor is
designed to provide a relatively high compression ratio in comparison with other piezoelectric driven compressors
described in the literature. Preliminary results show a pressure ratio of 1:14.7 with a flow rate of 0.021 g/s. Further
development shall improve these results by increasing the pressure ratio and/or the flow rate.
Table 1. Preliminary test results of the compressor.

Compression
Stage
2
2
2
1
1
1+2
1+2

Frequency
[Hz]
50
100
200
100
200
100
200

Low
Pressure
[MPa]
0.155
0.149
0.15
0.15

Intermediate
Pressure
[MPa]
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.506
0.503
-

High
Pressure
[MPa]
2.4
2.1
2.2
2.1
2.2

Flow
Rate
[mg/s]
6
13.4
21
13.4
21.4
13.4
21

Acknowledgements
The authors greatly acknowledge the Israeli MOD for financially supporting this research.
References
Tzabar N, Lapp Z, Experimental Investigation on Mixed-Refrigerant for Closed-Cycle Joule-Thomson cryocoolers, Advances in Cryogenic
Engineering 2010; 55:148-154.
Tzabar N, Mixed-Refrigerant Joule-Thomson (MR JT) Mini-Cryocoolers, Advances in Cryogenic Engineering 2014; 1573:148-154
Simon MJ, DeLucaC, Bright VM, Lee YC, Bradley PE, Radebaugh R, Development of a Piezoelectric Microcompressor for a Joule-Thomson
Microcryocooler, Cryocoolers 2009; 15:441-450
Sobol S, Grossman G, Investigation of Cryogenic Cooling Systems Activated by Piezoelectric Elements, Cryocoolers 2009; 15:289-298