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NASA extends Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne’s contract

NASA awarded a contract extension to Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a United Technologies Corp. company. The extension will allow the company to continue development of the Common Extensible Cryogenic Engine (CECE), in an effort to support future lunar landing development.

Aqua Cure Ltd. awarded contract by US Air Force

Aqua Cure Ltd., Buffalo NY, has been awarded a $131,430 contract by the US Air Force for cryogenic vaporizers.

Hydrogen rocket technologies prepare for lift-off

An engine which is fueled by a mix of liquid oxygen and hydrogen has been developed to demonstrate advanced rocket technologies for future space vehicles, such as lunar vehicles, and has achieved a technical milestone in throttling capability.

Drell appointed acting director at SLAC

Persis Drell has been appointed acting director at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC); she was formerly deputy director. She succeeds Jonathan Dorfan who becomes assistant to the president, focusing on the relationship between Stanford University and SLAC.

Norman R. Augustine speaks at AAAS meeting

During the AAAS meeting held on February 18, 2008, Norman R. Augustine shared some challenging and interesting insight into the alarming state of science and technology research and education in the United States.

Tevatron sets a new record

The Tevatron set a new record on Monday, March 17, 2008 when it produced more particle collisions per second than ever before. Breaking the barrier of 3E32 for the first time, the Tevatron reached a record peak luminosity of 3.15 E32 cm^ -2 sec^ -1. The record came on the...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Mixed Refrigerant Cycles

Most cryogenic refrigeration systems, both large scale systems and cryocoolers, use helium as a working fluid. There are a number of advantages to helium, not the least of which is that helium remains a fluid down to the lowest achievable temperatures. In order to freeze helium, pressures of over 20...

Fountain Pumps and He II Phase Separators

Helium II (He II), the second liquid phase of the 4He isotope described in this column in Cold Facts Spring 2010 (http://2csa.us/he2), can be modeled as consisting of two interpenetrating fluids. One, the superfluid component, has zero viscosity and entropy and the other, the normal fluid component, has nonzero viscosity...

Turboexpanders

A vital technology in the refrigerators and liquefiers described in Cold Facts Volume 31 Number 3 is that of turboexpanders. These devices are rotating machines in which the process fluid (e.g., helium) does work against the turboexpander while moving from high pressure to a lower pressure and thus is cooled....

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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