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Who is Frosty?

You have seen the cute little white smiling CSA mascot, “Frosty,” with our logo on his tummy. You may have wondered about his story. We’ve been featuring Frosty in many iterations, especially in the CryoChronicle, with holiday themes and—more recently—with a mask reminding us to be safe during this pandemic....

Why Choose One Cryogenic Transfer Hose Over Another?

Hoses are one of the unsung heroes of cryogenics. They aren’t directly responsible for the production or storage of cryogenic liquids, nor do they make headlines in the same way that innovations enabled by cryogenics do. However, hoses are found throughout cryogenic processes and in many products like MRI machines...

Cryomech Restructures, Introduces Improved Cooler during Pandemic

While 2020’s pandemic altered “business as usual” for nearly every organization, operation and individual around the globe, some businesses took advantage of the necessary changes to reflect on their operations and expectations. Late last year, Cryomech (CSA CSM) took the opportunity and restructured internally. Now, the new—and growing—team has introduced...

Jefferson Lab Sets Date for 2022 Open House Event

The Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab, CSA CSM) will open its doors to the public for its next Open House event on March 26, 2022. The free event will offer an opportunity for people of all ages to explore Jefferson Lab’s world-class research facility, including...

A Breakthrough For Electric and Hydrogen-powered Aircraft

A major breakthrough in electric propulsion for long-range aircraft could soon be on the horizon. The presence of a cold source, in the form of liquid hydrogen, alongside superconducting technologies promises to unlock new possibilities. The ASCEND demonstrator project by Airbus UpNext aims to mature these technologies to significantly boost...

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Joule-Thomson Effect

The Joule-Thomson (JT) effect is a thermodynamic process that occurs when a fluid expands from high pressure to low pressure at constant enthalpy (an isenthalpic process). Such a process can be approximated in the real world by expanding a fluid from high pressure to low pressure across a valve. Under...

Current Leads

One of the challenges of using superconducting magnets is the connection of the magnet to a room temperature power supply. This is accomplished via current leads. The trick is that current leads should ideally have a low heat leak, since they connect room temperature to cryogenic temperature, while at the...

Multilayer Insulation

Multilayer insulation (also referred to as superinsulation) is a key component in the reduction of heat leak to cryogenic systems due to thermal radiation. MLI consists of a series of uncooled reflective surfaces placed in the vacuum space between two surfaces, one warmer than the other. Generally speaking, for ideal...

Wind Tunnels

Dr. Robert Kilgore The development of the cryogenic wind tunnel is one of many significant breakthroughs in both cryogenics and wind-tunnel technology made during the past millennium. Interest in the development of high-speed commercial and military aircraft resulted in a review of problems of flow simulation in transonic wind tunnels...

History of Cryogenics

From the Fall 1999 issue of Cold Facts magazine Millennium Breakthroughs A variety of CSA members give different perspectives on the past millennium: What were the most significant breakthroughs in cryogenics during the past millennium? Prof. R.G. Scurlock, Kryos Technology, scurlock@soton.ac.uk (“Breakthrough” = way through obstacles — Oxford English Dictionary)...

Cryobiology

Andreas Sputtek Past President Society for Cryobiology sputtek@uke.uni-hamburg.de or http://www.sputtek.de/. The word cryobiology (from the Greek words “cryo” = cold, “bios” = life, and “logos” = science) literally signifies the science of life at low temperatures. In practice, this field comprises the study of any biological material or system (e.g.,...

Cryogenic Insulation

James E. Fesmire Cryogenics Test Laboratory NASA Kennedy Space Center james.e.fesmire@nasa.gov Introduction In today’s world, the use of cryogenics and low-temperature refrigeration is taking a more and more significant role. From the food industry, transportation, energy, and medical applications to the Space Shuttle, cryogenic liquids must be stored, handled, and...

An Issue of Pressure and Flow Rate in a Supply Tank

Please help solve this problem: A supply tank requires a vaporizer to generate sufficient pressure to pump stored fluid up into a vehicle or tank. The available head is limited as the tank level falls and it is important to minimize the system pressure drop to maintain the desired flow...

Using MLI on VJ Line Joints or Cryo Storage Tanks

When installing Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) blankets on VJ line joints or cryo storage tanks should they be wrapped and tied down tight or loose? These are usually pre-cut to size. Also should they have an access hole at the point of where the molecular sieve is installed to help...