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Cryogenic Upgrade Boosts Capacity by Almost 80%

With the rise in deep-space missions, more international requests, and increasingly intense data streams, the demand for deep-space ground stations has never been higher. Yet, the system is nearing full capacity. To alleviate the load on its three deep-space antennas within the global ground station network (Estrack), the European Space...

Demaco Unveils New Brand Identity as Part of OPW Clean Energy Solutions

Entering its 65th year of operation, Demaco Holland B.V., based in Noord-Scharwoude, The Netherlands, proudly announces the release of its new logo and brand identity. The refreshed branding signifies Demaco’s integration as a core member of OPW Clean Energy Solutions, a business unit of OPW, a Dover company, following its...

Advancing Hydrogen Innovation Through Collaboration and Breakthroughs

Over 150 research and industry experts gathered in London for a Cryogenic Hydrogen Research Conference delivered by the ATI’s Hydrogen Capability Network (HCN) in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority this week. This inaugural HCN conference with a cryogenics focus brought together academics, students, and industry engineers working in the field...

New Superconductive Materials Have Just Been Discovered

In 2024, superconductivity—the flow of electric current with zero resistance—was discovered in three distinct materials. Two instances stretched the textbook understanding of the phenomenon, while the third defied it entirely. “It’s an extremely unusual form of superconductivity that a lot of people would have said is not possible,” said Ashvin...

WCS Redefines Boundaries in Cryogenics

West Coast Solutions (WCS) has experienced remarkable growth since its founding in 2015 by Dr. Carl Kirkconnell. From its origins as a one-person operation, the company has expanded to a team of over 40, 80% of whom are engineers. Anchored by a core group of seasoned professionals—many former Raytheon colleagues—and...

INFICON’s Cryo Tech Uncovers Volcanic Secrets on Vulcano and Stromboli

Volcanism is one of Earth’s most powerful forces, reshaping landscapes and impacting ecosystems in dramatic ways. To advance the prediction of volcanic eruptions, INFICON GmbH, a leader in measurement and sensor technologies, is partnering with scientists and research institutions to monitor volcanic activity on Italy’s Vulcano and Stromboli islands. This...

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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....

Magnetic Levitation

From http://www.superconductors.org. Magnetic-levitation is an application where superconductors perform extremely well. Transport vehicles such as trains can be made to “float” on strong superconducting magnets, virtually eliminating friction between the train and its tracks. Not only would conventional electromagnets waste much of the electrical energy as heat, they would have...

Superconductivity

From Superpower website. History of Superconductivity Superconductivity was discovered in 1911 by the Dutch physicist, Heike Kammerlingh Onnes when he was able to liquefy helium by cooling it to 4 Kelvin, or -452°F. This enabled him to cool other materials close to absolute zero and investigate their electrical properties. He...

Medical Applications of Cryogenics

Neutron Therapy Cryogenics is at the heart of nuclear accelerators. Accelerators such as Fermilab’s Tevatron make neutron therapy for cancer possible. From Fermilab Today 4/20/09: Fermilab currently offers neutron therapy. But staff at Fermilab designed and built the proton accelerator used by the nation’s first hospital-based treatment center to use...

Nuclear Physics

Al Zeller National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab (NSCL) at Michigan State University zeller@nscl.msu.edu Cryogenics has a long history in nuclear physics. The technology has its origins in the use of cold traps for maintaining a vacuum, which is required to prevent beam loss and for generating high voltages used in acceleration....

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...