A Superconducting Cryogenic Heat Switch: On-State Conductance, Off-State Isolation and Switching Energy
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper presents a computed design for a cryogenic heat switch intended for cryogenic thermal control, with its performance, resource budgets and margins derived from stated assumptions rather than asserted. The headline results are: on-state thermal conductance at 0.3 K of 1.63 mW per K; off-state thermal conductance at 0.3 K of 0.036 microwatt per K; ratio of on-state to off-state conductance of 4.52e+04 dimensionless; time to cool the stated stage from 1 K to 0.3 K through the switch of 0.574 minutes; energy cost of one switching actuation of 147 mJ. Each figure was produced by the deposited computation from the inputs listed in the Methods, and the sensitivity of the conclusions to those inputs is examined in the Discussion. The design is a paper study: it is labelled, on its face and in this abstract, SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED, and no quantity reported here is a measurement of built hardware.
Author: Aldred, William Alexander
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225798346