Cryogenics

At a Glance

Compiled by
Mohananand Jadhav
CrTD, BARC
Contents
• What is cryogenics?
• Cryogenic applications
• Helium
• Cryogenics at DAE and around
• Miscellaneous
 What is cryogenics 10000

1000
HIGH TEMPERATURE

CRYOGENICS
100

717 K
10
HELIUM

KELVIN
349 K
273.15 K
CRYO-BIOLOGY LOW TEMPERATURE SUB-ATMOSPHERIC
123 K 1 HELIUM

MAGNETIC
0.1 REFRIGERATION

DILUTION
.01
REFRIGERATION
CRYOGENICS

CRYO-PHYSICS .001
2.17 K
Some History 10000

103
Faraday, 1000

chlorine 1823
02
102 N2
CRYOGENICS
100
H2
101
Low T

4He Kamerlingh-
Onnes 10
HELIUM

KELVIN
3He
100 SUB-ATMOSPHERIC
1 HELIUM

10-1 MAGNETIC
0.1 REFRIGERATION
Ultra-low T

10-2 DILUTION
.01
REFRIGERATION

10-3
.001
10-4

10-5
1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
Applications
10000

1000

CRYOGENICS
100

10
HELIUM

KELVIN
SUB-ATMOSPHERIC
1 HELIUM

MAGNETIC
0.1 REFRIGERATION

DILUTION
.01
REFRIGERATION

.001
Superconductivity LN2

LN2

FORMER
DIELECTRIC HTS
JACKET
TRANSMISSION LINES
American Superconductor and Consolidated Edison

Meissner effect
TC (K) HC (T) Type
Diamond:B 11.4 4 II
α-Hg 4.15 0.04 I
Nb 9.26 0.82 II
Sn 3.72 0.03 I
Nb3Sn 18.3 30 II
NbTi 10 15 II
YBCO 95 120–250 II
BSCCO 104
HBCCO 135
HgTlBaCaCuO 164
H2S @ 155 GPa 203

HTS TRANSFORMER
SMES
 Helium The two helium isotopes have the lowest boiling points of all
known substances, 3.2 K for 3He and 4.2 K for 4He.

100 16000 4.00E-06

100
90

 14000 3.50E-06
80
12000 10 3.00E-06
70 
% of total density

Viscosity (Pa-s)
P (bar a)
10000 2.50E-06
Cp(J/Kg-K)

60
50 8000 1 2.00E-06
 

40 6000 1.50E-06
30 0.1 1.00E-06
4000
20
 5.00E-07
2000
10
0.01 0.00E+00
0 0
0.8 2.8 4.8 0 1 2 3 4 5
0.8 1.3 1.8 2.3 0 1 2 3 4 5
T (K) T(K)
T(K) T(K)
Cryogenics at CrTD
Cryogenics RRCAT

Novel System for Transportation of Fruits and

vegetables for Indian Farmers
India’s First Indigenously
Developed Helium
Liquefier(RRCAT)

GM Cooler
Cryogenics VECC
Requirement: 10 g/sec
117 Watts at 4.5
Plant 160 Watts at 4.5 K ,
50 lit/hr in liquefier mode
without LN2
200 Watts at 4.5 K , 100
lit/hr in liquefier mode
with LN2precooling

Cross-section of VECC SCC showing beam chamber.

Indigenous development of a millikelvin refrigerator

at VECC, Kolkata
IPR and ITER

SST-1 (tokamak)

UHV : 10-7 and 10-12 mbar

Cryo-pump without shield

Isotope separation

Scalable and efficient separation of hydrogen

isotopes using graphene-based electrochemical
pumping
LIGO and KAGRA.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect
cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool.
The Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector ( Large Scale Cryogenic Gravitational Wave Telescope), gravitational wave studies

Strain Gauge = 1⁄10

~10 
Metallic Materials
Safety
• Cryogens can condense Oxygen from
• Cold contact burns
the atmosphere
• Asphyxiation
• Don’t use open flames around
• Pressure build-up and explosion cryogens
• Oxygen enrichment and explosion
• Heavy dewars
• Wear appropriate eyewear
• Safety goggles when pouring
• Face shield for pressurized systems
• Wear loose-fitting gloves
• Contact with cold metal surfaces is the most
dangerous
 Safety
• Don’t use cryogens in unventilated spaces
• Large liquid to gas expansion ratio (1:800)
• 5m x 5m x 5m room = 125000 L would only
require 150 L of cryogenic fluid
• Cold N2 and He are heavier than air
• Watch out for low spaces like STM pit
• Don’t use elevators for small dewars
• Take a separate elevator for large dewars