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Toroidal field coils: strand production passes 400 tons

Manufactured by suppliers in six ITER Domestic Agencies—China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Russia and the USA—production of niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) superconducting strand for ITER's toroidal field coils began in 2009 and has now topped 400 tons.

Reaction Engines completes tests on key component for new SABRE engine

Reaction Engines Ltd., a UK based company, has successfully completed another series of tests of the key component for a new engine, SABRE, that will enable aircraft to fly anywhere on Earth in under 4 hours, or directly into space and back to deliver satellites and other cargo.

NASA tests game-changing composite cryogenic fuel tank

NASA recently completed a major space technology development milestone by successfully testing a large, pressurized cryogenic propellant tank made of composite materials. The composite tank will enable the next generation of rockets and spacecraft needed for space exploration.

Take two for cryomodule 2

With the repair and reinstallation of the cryomodule known as CM2, researchers at Fermilab are back on the road toward achieving the International Linear Collider’s R&D goal (named task force “S1”): operating a cryomodule at ILC gradient specifications.

Superconductor created from non-metallic solvent

A study led by Washington State University researchers has turned a fairly common nonmetallic solvent into a superconductor capable of transmitting electrical current with none of the resistance seen in conventional conductors.

International Linear Collider design is ‘good to go’

On June 12, scientists on three continents celebrated the completion of the design for the International Linear Collider (ILC), a next-generation particle collider.

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

Primary Standards

Elie K. Track Hypres, Inc. elie@hypres.com http://www.hypres.com/ Primary standards involve the exact definition and realization of units of measurement for various quantities, time, length, mass, voltage, resistance, current, etc. International agreements based on the latest scientific knowledge define those units, and their realizations vary depending on the unit itself. For...

Shrink Fitting

Robin A. Rhodes Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. rrhodes@nitrofreeze.com Shrink fitting, (or “compression fitting” as it is sometimes called), is a method used to insert a pin or bushing into a housing or other assembly requiring an extremely tight tolerance fit. It can be used as an alternative to...

Telecommunications

From the Winter 2004 issue of Cold Facts magazine The recent M-Calc IV — 4th Industry Assessment workshop discussing military and commercial applications for low-cost cryocoolers, held in November in San Diego, highlighted progress being made in cryogenics as applied in telecommunications. The reliability and long lifetime of projects now...

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...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Information on how the emissivity of the panel changes with air fouling?

I work at a facility with a large thermal vacuum chamber. We are using both nitrogen and helium shrouds.

In search of a calculation for designing a cryostat

I am a final year physics student at the University of Birmingham, and as part of a group I am currently designing a cryostat. One of the calculations I need to make (very soon!) is how much heat will be conducted down the walls. All information I have found so...

Safety of ethylene glycol and pressurized oxygen

We are reviewing the product design of liquid filled differential level gauges and want to insure that they meet the industry requirements. The former license owner had authorized that a fill fluid of ethylene glycol (68%) and distilled water (32%) could be used for oxygen service up to 500 psi....

Heat flux in case of vacuum loss on cryogenic surfaces?

Is there anyone who has information about the heat flux in case of vacuum loss on cryogenic surfaces?

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