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Northrop Grumman to Acquire Orbital ATK for $9 Billion

Northrop Grumman Corporation has announced its plan to acquire Orbital ATK, Inc., a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, for approximately $7.8 billion plus the assumption of $1.4 billion in net debt. The boards of both companies have approved the agreement and the transaction is expected to close in...

CEC/ICMC 2017 Conference Recap

Nestled against the coast of lake Monona in Madison WI, over 700 scientists and engineers from around the world bustled around the meeting rooms of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Monona Terrace from July 9-13, 2017, for the 21st joint Cryogenic Engineering and International Cryogenic Materials Conferences.

Flaw Uncovered in Modern Cryogenic Two-phase Flow Modeling

An investigation into popular thermal/fluid design codes begun as an exercise in curiosity by engineers at NASA Glenn Research Center and the University of Florida has uncovered an interesting flaw in modern cryogenic two-phase flow modeling.

Liquid Air Energy Storage: How Cryogenics Can Support a Greener Grid

The LAES system charges using an industrial air liquefier based on the Claude cycle used on the front end of existing air separation units. Electricity from the grid is used to produce liquid air at close to ambient pressure, thus avoiding the excessive cost of containing a high-pressure fluid in...

VNR Advances New Process to Ensure Reliability of Space-Flight-Critical Fasteners

In October 1989, while investigating the crash landing of United Flight 232 in Sioux City, the NTSB located the fan disk from the plane’s number two engine in a cornfield near Alta, Iowa. It was in two pieces, ripped apart, the agency later determined, when an undetected metallurgical defect resulted...

Chart Acquires VCT Vogel

On September 1, Chart Industries, Inc. (CSA CSM) announced its acquisition of VCT Vogel GmbH, a German firm servicing cryogenic and other mobile gas tank equipment and trucks. Founded in 2001, VCT has established itself as a provider of truck-mounted drive and control systems for the operation of cryogenic pumps...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Dewar

A dewar is a type of cryostat named after Sir James Dewar, the researcher who first developed the concept of a vacuum insulated container with silvered walls to reflect thermal radiation. Dewar was the first to liquefy hydrogen, and he created the device to store his discovery. The thermos bottle...

Stirling and Gifford-McMahon Cryocoolers

Stirling and Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocoolers are two of the most commonly used cryocoolers in cryogenics. Both devices have a significant industrial base and operate at a wide range of temperatures and capacities. The thermodynamic cycles for both of these cryocoolers are quite similar. The Stirling cycle consists of a compressor,...

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

A significant commercial application of cryogenics is the liquefaction, transport and storage of natural gas. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is generally 95 percent methane with a few percent ethane and much lower concentrations of propane and butane. LNG liquefies at 111.6 K. Unlike many applications of cryogenics, the motivation for...

Latest in Cryo Central

Air Separation and Liquefaction

by Nils Tellier, PE, President, EPSIM Corporation (CSA CSM) nils@epsim.us All illustrations courtesy EPSIM Corporation Background History of Air Separation and Liquefaction This section builds on a rich history of methods to develop deep refrigeration and cryogenic liquefaction during the 19th Century. You are encouraged to read Cryo Central’s History...

Bose-Einstein Condensate

A Bose-Einstein condensate, first proposed in 1925 by Albert Einstein based on work done by Satyendra Nath Bose (the same Bose from whom the term boson is derived), is a super-cold state of matter in which almost all of the individual atoms have “condensed” down to the lowest possible quantum...

Cold Technology for Pest Control

While it does not reach temperatures cold enough to be called cryogenic, carbon dioxide snow is at the heart of a new way of dealing with unwanted pests. It utilizes a quick freezing process that takes advantage of the properties of carbon dioxide snow and has a number of benefits...

Cryogenic Finishing

The following 3 articles discuss the uses and procedures of various type of cryogenic finishing. 1) By Robin A. Rhodes, Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. rrhodes@nitrofreeze.com Cryogenic Deflashing is employed to remove undesired residual mold flash that remains on molded parts after they are removed or ejected from the...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Seeking alloy that keeps elastic property down to 10K

I am looking for a metal (alloy) that supports high temperatures (at least 1600K) and keeps its elastic property at low temperatures down to 10K. Rhenium is a good one because it does not become brittle. But it is quite expensive. Pure tungsten and molybdenum enter in the brittle regime...

Searching for a freezer that does not need electricity

I’m student of University of Barcelona. We do technical cryogenic research and we are searching for a cryogenic portable freezer that does not need electricity. We can’t find any company that offers something like this. The product we are looking for is the typical portable freezer for food or drinks...

FEP Encapsulated O rings in the cryogenic process

Can you please advise if FEP Encapsulated O rings are used within the cryogenic process and what materials? I have been asked by my company to write about FEP Encapsulated O rings for a training seminar.

Need material property data for polycrystalline / sintered ceramics

I am a ME grad student currently working on the design of a detector array / focal plate of a scientific space instrument operating at a temperature of about -80…-100°C. Although this is not in the cryogenic temperature range, I would like to address two questions to you as the...

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