Open Access

ARTICLE

Numerical Simulation and Experimental Study of Self-Supplied Aerostatic Air Float Piston in Miniature Linear Compressor

Haifeng Zhu^1,*, Zhenyu Chen^1,*, Teng Lu¹, Xiaoqin Zhi²

1 Nantong Yangtze River Delta Institute of Intelligent Sensing, Nantong, 226009, China
2 Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

* Corresponding Authors: Haifeng Zhu. Email: ; Zhenyu Chen. Email:

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer 2025, 23(4), 1303-1321. https://doi.org/10.32604/fhmt.2025.065830

Received 22 March 2025; Accepted 11 June 2025; Issue published 29 August 2025

Abstract

To meet the demand for miniaturized, compact, high-reliability, and long-life cryocoolers in small satellite platforms, the development of a linear Stirling cryocooler has been undertaken. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation software was used to conduct simulation analyses, verifying the impact of porous media channel layout, eccentricity, viscous resistance coefficient of the porous media, and piston position on the designed aerostatic bearing piston employing self-supplied gas bearing technology. The calculation results indicate that both the aerostatic force and leakage increase synchronously with eccentricity, while the two designed gas lift channel layouts are capable of providing sufficient load-bearing capacity while ensuring minimal leakage. Through calculations, it was determined that the viscous resistance coefficient of the porous media material, used as a throttling mechanism, is most suitable within the range of 8 × 10¹¹ to 8 × 10¹³ 1/m². When studying the piston position, it was found that due to the influence of the gas film length, the aerostatic force gradually increases as the piston moves from the maximum compression stroke state to the maximum low-pressure stroke state. To validate combining simulation with experimental platform testing, a support fixture platform for testing the load-bearing capacity of the gas bearings was independently constructed. The development of the aerostatic bearing piston prototype was completed, and performance tests were conducted, confirming that the trend of aerostatic force variation with gas film length is consistent with calculations. Additionally, it was verified that under the two aerostatic channel layouts, the aerostatic force closely matches the calculated values.

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Keywords

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