Superfluid porous plug performance

Porous plug phase separator performance is analyzed, based on the tests with a number of 316 stainless steel porous plugs having filtration grades from 0.5 to 40 microns. Three models are used to describe a porous plug: a parallel-tube model with tube diameters larger than the observed filtration grade one assuming constricted paths of diameters less than or equal to the filtration grade and one that defines the diameter by means of the filtration grade, and determines the number of channels using the first model. Furthermore, the superfluid critical velocity is calculated and discussed. It is noted that large-pore plugs can be used for space dewars that operate over a wide range of input power. 23 references