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Lockheed Martin Looks to Space with Australian-Developed Composite Tanks

In a groundbreaking collaboration, Lockheed Martin, Omni Tanker and UNSW Sydney have joined forces to pioneer and commercialize world-first composite tank technologies. This ambitious project, supported by a grant from the Federal Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC), aims to tackle the challenges associated with using composites for the transportation...

Cryospain Introduces Vacuum Insulated Pipes in Rotterdam

Cryospain demonstrates its dedication to pioneering cryogenic equipment through the design and production of state-of-the-art super-insulated pipes for cryogenics employing high vacuum technology. Positioned at the forefront of progress toward a more sustainable future, Cryospain continues to assert its central role in advancing innovative solutions. The latest endeavor in Rotterdam...

Beckman Institute Welcomes New Ultra-High-Performance PET-CT Scanner

The Molecular Imaging Laboratory at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, with support from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, has added to its imaging repertoire a new ultra-high-performance positron emission tomography and X-ray computed tomography scanner, opening new possibilities for cutting-edge research. PET imaging is a highly...

Cryogenics Airmen Supply Cool Fuel for Climatic Munition Test

During the intense heat of summer and throughout the humid Florida fall, Airmen donned protective gear to handle, manage, and deliver over 19,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen at temperatures below minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit to support a three-month munition test at Eglin Air Force Base. The 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron’s...

NASA’s Cryo Efforts Beyond the Atmosphere

Establishing sustained operations on the moon and Mars presents a multitude of opportunities and challenges NASA has yet to encounter. Many of these activities require new technologies and processes to ensure the agency is prepared for its ambitious Artemis missions and those beyond. One of those challenges is working with cryogenic...

Indirect Cryogenic Grinding Enhances Steel Alloy Properties

The machining process covers many material removal procedures; among them, grinding is one of the most important. Improved grinding is crucial to improve the overall machining process; hence, many researches focused on enhancing the performance of grinding operations by focusing on factors like wear, chattering vibrations, grinding wheel topography, temperature,...

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Refrigerators and Liquefiers

Two of the most common terms used in cryogenics are “refrigerator” and “liquefier.” These terms describe similar and, as will be seen, in some cases identical components. A refrigerator provides cooling (that is, absorbs heat) at cryogenic temperatures. Refrigerators typically put a working fluid (such as helium) through one of...

Air Separation

Air separation is one of the largest, as well as earliest, industrial applications of cryogenics. In this process, cryogenic temperatures are used to separate air into its constituent gases: nitrogen (78.08%), oxygen (20.95%), argon (0.93%) and carbon dioxide (0.3%). Trace gases such as krypton, neon, xenon and helium total far...

Coefficient of Performance and Figure of Merit

The coefficient of performance (COP) is used to describe the effectiveness of refrigerators, including those operating at cryogenic temperatures. The COP is defined as the amount of heat removed at the cryogenic operating temperature of the refrigerator divided by the amount of work that must be applied to remove the...

Magnets

From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. Particle physics uses accelerators to recreate the conditions of the early universe in an attempt to piece together the complex puzzle of how we got to where we are today. These huge machines are used...

Energy Storage

From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. With power lines increasingly congested and prone to instability, strategic injection of brief bursts of real power can play a crucial role in maintaining grid reliability. Small-scale Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) systems, based on...

Astronomy

ASTRONOMY IN SPACE by Peter V. Mason, retired,  Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Visiting Associate, California Institute of Technology. Pmason@alumni.caltech.edu In thinking about the reasons to perform astronomy in space, we first consider the effect of the earth’s atmosphere.  On a scale of decreasing energy, gamma rays, cosmic rays, X-rays and...

Cryocoolers

What is a Cryocooler? A mechanism that can extract heat from an object (cooler) and by doing so draw its temperature down below approximately 150 Kelvin (cryo). — (Courtesy Dr. Willy Gully) What is the difference between a Cryocooler and a Cryostat? A cryostat is any device designed to maintain...

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...