A Chemosorption Vacuum Pump for a Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser with CO2 Buffer Gases

Abstract

We present the design and investigation of a novel chemosorption vacuum pump (CSVP) for discharging the exhaust gases of a chemical oxygen-iodine laser system diluted with carbon dioxide (CO₂-COIL). The CSVP comprises two fixed-bed reactors separately filled with CO₂/H₂O and O₂/I₂/Cl₂ adsorbents, which can efficiently chemically absorb the CO₂-COIL exhaust gases at room or higher temperature. We consider the effects of the adsorbents in different specifications and fixed beds of various constructions on the adsorption performance of the CSVP. We develop and study the sealed CO₂-COIL system with the CSVP. We achieve a stable operation with a cumulative duration time of 40 s for four runs and an average output power up to 2.0 kW at a Cl₂ flow rate of ∼158 mmol/s and a CO₂ flow rate of 132 mmol/s. The experimental results indicate that the COIL system with the CSVP performs similarly to a conventional COIL with a vacuum tank. Taking into account that the CSVP is free of vibration and noise, avoids air pollution, is easily operated, and has a short preparation time, we believe that the chemosorption vacuum pump is an excellent alternative pump system for a transportable COIL system.