Cryogenics

C ryogenics

Presented by:

G.Keerthana A.Manohari

3 rd B.Tech, Mechanical, 3 rd .B.Tech Mechanical

J.B.I.E.T, J.B.I.E.T,

gkeerthi_hyd@yahoo.co.in manohariabbineni@yahoo.co.in

ABSTRACT

The word "cryogenics" comes from two Greek words; "kryos", which means cold or freezing, and
"genes" meaning born or produced. The branch of physics that studies the phenomena that occur
at very low temperatures .cryogenics is Science of very low temperatures (approaching absolute
zero), including the production of very low temperatures and the exploitation of special properties
associated with them, such as the disappearance of electrical resistance (superconductivity). . The
word cryogenics literally means "the production of icy cold".C ryogenics is another one of those
areas that people have heard about, but have a tough time defining. It is a very important area in
basic science, engineering, food, metallurgy and manufacturing, to name but a few.

INTRODUCTION

It deals with cold and colder, essentially everything below about -150°C or 123 K. In this range,
the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) has seven fixed, primary defining points.
Indeed, one of the features of ITS-90 was the extension of the low end of the scale from the
previous lower limit of 13.81 K (-259.43°C ), the low limit of IPTS-68, to 0.5 K (-272.65°C ).

Most people associate this region with liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen, some even with liquid
hydrogen and liquid helium, for these are some of the gases used as cooling agents or propellents
in many space vehicle rocket engines. Much of the work reported in the popular press does indeed
revolve around work in these areas, e.g. 77 K to 4 K. There are many many faces to cryogenics
from the liquid oxygen plant next to a steel mill ( that condenses oxygen from the air and supplies
to the Basic Oxygen furnaces for making steel) to the special research apparatus used in studying
materials properties at temperatures below that of liquid Helium.

Cryogenic processing:
The field of cryogenics advanced during World War II when scientists found that metals frozen to
low temperatures showed more resistance to wear. Based on this theory of cryogenic hardening,
the commercial cryogenic processing industry was founded in the sixties by Ed Busch. With a
background in the heat treating industry, Mr. Busch founded a company in Detroit called C ryoTech
in 1966 and experimented with the possibility of increasing the life of metal tools to anywhere
between 200%-400% of the original life expectancy using cryogenic tempering instead of heat
treating. The theory was based on how heat-treating metal works (the temperatures are lowered
to room temperature from a high degree causing certain strength increases in the molecular
structure to occur) and supposed that continuing the descent would allow for further strength
increases. Using liquid nitrogen, C ryoTech formulated the first early version of the cryogenic
processor. Unfortunately for the newly-born industry, the results were unstable, as components

sometimes experienced thermal shock when they were cooled too fast. Some components in early
tests even shattered because of the ultra-low temperatures. In the late twentieth century, the field
improved significantly with the rise of applied research, which coupled computers to the cryogenic
processor in order to create more stable results .

STIRLING CRYOGENICS:

C ryogenic technology is concerned with producing very low temperatures. The cryogenic limit
starts from the range 80 - 120 K in which nitrogen becomes a liquid, all the way down to 2 - 4 K.
The device that produces these low temperatures is called a cryocooler. The principle of operation
of a cryocooler is similar to a refrigerator, except that the gas-liquid phase change essential for a
commercial refrigerator is not permitted here, since most refrigerants solidify at the low
temperatures of interest. C ryocoolers normally utilize pressurized helium as the working fluid,
which does not undergo a phase change down to 4 K. The isotope HeII condenses at a lower
temperature of 2.2 K, displays superfluidity and can also be used as a working fluid for cryogenic
applications.

The Stirling cycle is thermodynamically appropriate for producing low temperatures without
requiring a phase change in the working fluid. Stirling cycles are increasingly being used in
specialized applications related to cooling, heating and power generation. Stirling devices are
structurally simple, easier to maintain and hence have a high reliability. Therefore, rapid advances
are presently seen in cycles applied to cooling devices for Infrared sensors and mirrors used in
space, liquefaction and separation of gases and electronic devices that exploit superconductivity.

C onsider a Stirling cycle running as a refrigerator, drawing work input from an electric motor and
in turn producing a cold space by pumping thermal energy out of it into the ambient. The working
fluid is a gas that is filled in a portion of a cylindrical tube bounded on both ends by two pistons. In
practice, the pistons are kinematically coupled

in the sense that one is a driver and the other, a follower. The driven piston is called a displacer.
In the central portion of the tube, a densely-packed collection of mesh screens called a
regenerator is placed. On each side of the regenerator, two heat exchangers are mounted,
serving as heat sources and sinks of the thermodynamic cycle. One of the heat exchangers
pumps heat into the gas from a lower temperature ambient (the cold space) and the other rejects
beat from the gas to the normal environment. The piston demarcates the point on the system
boundary where work is given to the gas; in practice, the displacer can be replaced by a gas
column piston. The regenerator acts as a thermal sponge, absorbing energy into its solid phase
when exposed to the hot gas and releasing it to the cold gas at a later stage in the cycle. Inside
the regenerator, there is a distribution from the ambient to the cold space temperature. The
motion of the gas at any point in the tube is close to sinusoidal. However, a steady temperature
distribution is obtained in the regenerator during continuous operation of the cryocooler. The
cooling effect is produced when high pressure cold gas undergoes further expansion in the
device.The Stirling cycle described above is quite similar to the Joule-Brayton cycle that is
employed in gas turbines, except that the regenerator is a necessary component in the former.
Regenerators are also used in gas turbine cycles but they are used to extract waste heat from
exhaust gases in order to improve the cycle efficiency. In contrast, the regenerator enables the
Stirling cycle to be completed and forms a primary part of the system (Figure 1)

The importance of cryocoolers in low-temperature electronics has been sensed by the space
research organization of our country. The liquid nitrogen bottles previously employed are being
phased out and the satellites are supplied with Stirling coolers. This has led to a significant
increase in the life of the satellites.

Research is currently in progress to improve the performance-to-weight ratio of the Stirling cooler
primarily by reducing its size and weight. Increasing the piston speeds leads to a mismatch
between the cycle operation and the regenerator time constant. Large temperature differentials in
the cooler lead to the production of thermoacoustic waves and hence to a loss of performance
(Figure 2). In contrast, cryocoolers having all the components of a Stirling cycle but based on
principles of thermoacoustics have also been reported (Figure 3). One of the most significant
proposals has been the elimination of the displacer itself, in turn replaced by a gas pulse that
undergoes oscillatory motion in the tube (Figure 4). Pulse- tube cryocoolers of this type have been
tested on the laboratory scale. Figure 5 is a conceptual cryocooler with no pistons, and hence no
moving parts, the process of compression and expansion being completed by two gas pulses on
each side of the regenerator. The gas pulses are to he produced by impulsive beating and cooling
of the tube at each end. This cooler when developed will represent the ultimate miniaturization
that is possible in the field of Stirling cryogenics.

. Production of low temperatures:

C ryogenic temperatures are achieved either by the rapid evaporation of volatile liquids or by the
expansion of gases confined initially at pressures of 150 to 200 atmospheres. The expansion may
be simple, that is, through a valve to a region of lower pressure, or it may occur in the cylinder of
a reciprocating engine, with the gas driving the piston of the engine. The second method is more
efficient but is also more difficult to apply.

Low temperatures can be produced by the Joule–Thomson effect (cooling a gas by making it do
work as it expands). Gases such as oxygen, hydrogen, and helium may be liquefied in this way,
and temperatures of 0.3 K can be reached. Further cooling requires magnetic methods; a
magnetic material, in contact with the substance to be cooled and with liquid helium, is magnetized
by a strong magnetic field. The heat generated by the process is carried away by the helium.
When the material is then demagnetized, its temperature falls; temperatures of around 10 -3 K
have been achieved in this way. Much lower temperatures, of a few billionths of a kelvin above
absolute zero, have been obtained by trapping gas atoms in an ‘optical molasses' of crossed laser
beams, which slow them down. At temperatures near absolute zero, materials can display unusual
properties. Some metals, such as mercury and lead, exhibit superconductivity. Liquid helium loses
its viscosity and becomes a ‘superfluid' when cooled to below 2 K; in this state it flows up the sides
of its container.

Cryogenic hardening:

It is a heat treatment in which the material is cooled to cryogenic temperatures, usually using
liquid nitrogen. It can have a profound effect on the mechanical properties of certain steels,
provided their composition and prior heat treatment are such that they retain some austenite at
room temperature. It is designed to increase the amount of martensite in the steel's crystal
structure, increasing its strength and hardness, sometimes at the cost of toughness.

The transformation from austenite to martensite is mostly accomplished through quenching, but in
general it is driven farther and farther toward completion as temperature decreases. In higher-
alloy steels such as austenitic stainless steel , the onset of transformation can require
temperatures much lower than room temperature. More commonly, an incomplete transformation
occurs in the initial quench, so that cryogenic treatments merely enhance the effects of prior
quenching.

It should be noted that the transformation between these phases is instantaneous and not at all
dependent upon diffusion , and also that this treatment causes more complete hardening rather
than moderating extreme hardness, both of which make the term " cryogenic tempering "
technically incorrect.

Hardening can also be accomplished by cold work at cryogenic temperatures. The defects
introduced by plastic deformation at these low temperatures are often quite different from the
dislocations that usually form at room temperature, and produce materials changes that in some
ways resemble the effects of shock hardening . While this process is more effective than
traditional cold work, it serves mainly as a theoretical test bed for more economical processes
such as explosive forging .

Many alloys that do not undergo martensitic transformation have been subjected to the same
treatments as steels--that is, cooled with no provisions for cold work. If any benefit is seen from
such a process, one plausible explanation is that thermal expansion causes minor but permanent
deformation of the material.

CRYOGENIC TREATMENT:

C ryogenics, or deep freezing is done to make sure there is no retained Austenite during
quenching. When steel is at the hardening temperature, there is a solid solution of C arbon and
Iron, known as Austenite. The amount of Martensite formed at quenching is a function of the
lowest temperature encountered. At any given temperature of quenching there is a certain
amount of Martensite and the balance is untransformed Austenite. This untransformed austenite is
very brittle and can cause loss of strength or hardness, dimensional instability, or cracking.

Quenches are usually done to room temperature. Most medium carbon steels and low alloy steels
undergo transformation to 100 % Martensite at room temperature. However, high carbon and high
alloy steels have retained Austenite at room temperature. To eliminate retained Austenite, the
temperature has to be lowered .

In C ryogenic treatment the material is subject to deep freeze temperatures of as low as -185°C (-
301°F), but usually -75°C (-103°F) is sufficient. The Austenite is unstable at this temperature, and
the whole structures become Martensite. This is the reason to use C ryogenic treatment.

Fuels

Another use of cryogenics is cryogenic fuels. C ryogenic fuels, mainly oxygen and hydrogen, have
been used as rocket fuels. For example, NASA's workhorse space shuttle uses cryogenic oxygen
and hydrogen fuels as its primary means of getting into orbit .

C ryogens, like liquid nitrogen , are further used for specialty chilling and freezing applications.
Some chemical reactions, like those used to produce the active ingredients for the popular statin
drugs, must occur at low temperatures of approximately -100 0 C . Special cryogenic chemical
reactors are used to remove reaction heat and provide a low temperature environment. The
freezing of foods and biotechnology products, like vaccines, requires nitrogen in blast freezing or
immersion freezing systems.

Special Sensors for Cryogenic Temperatures:

Many of the more commonly used temperature sensors are also used for work at cryogenic
temperatures, e.g. most thermocouples, platinum RTDs, silicon diodes and special thermistors.
However, in the very low reaches of the temperature scales, there are some unique
measurements made. Not only are they all very cold, but there are situations when the
temperature sensor is immersed in a strong magnetic field and/or a radio-frequency field. This
gives rise to a need not only for sensors that can measure at very, very low temperatures, but
also sensors that are not affected by the presence of a magnetic field or a radio-frequency
electromagnetic field superimposed on a magnetic field.

Some of the sensors covered are

• Silicon Diodes

• Platinum RTDs

• Gallium Aluminum Arsenide Diodes

• Germanium RTDs

• Ruthenium Oxide RTDs

• Gallium Arsenide Diodes

• Rhodium-Iron RTDs

• Thermocouples

• C apacitance Sensors

• C hromel®/Gold Thermocouples

• Proprietary RTDs .

Deep Cryogenic Processing Advantage :

• Increased resistance to abrasive wear

• Increased durability

• Increased tensile strength, toughness and stability

• Decreases residual stresses in tool steels

• Decreases brittleness

• C hanges the materials entire structure, not just the surface

Some uses of Cryogenics:

Liquified gases, generation, storage and handling

• Physics research

• Hall Effect/Magnet Studies

• Materials and metallurgical research

• Thermal Gravimetric Analysis

• Radio Astronomy

• C eramics research

• C arbon research

• Fuels research

• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)

• C ooling of special optical, x-ray and electron detectors

• Flash freezing of food products

• Vacuum degasing, processing, and testing

• Low temperature research

• Semiconductor laser development

• Superconductor research & development

• Tritium liquification

• Nuclear physics detectors

• Drill Bits , Reamers, End Mills, Progressive

Dies, Punch Dies, Press Dies, Forge Dies, Hammer Mills, Extruders, Granulators, C ircular Slitters,
C utters, Gears, Hobs, Shear Blades ...and Many Other High Wear Parts.

APPLICATIONS:

C ryogenics has several practical applications. C ryotherapy is a process used in eye surgery, in
which a freezing probe is briefly applied to repair a break in the retina. Electronic components
called Josephson junctions , which could be used in very fast computers, need low temperatures
to function. Magnetic levitation ( maglev ) systems must be maintained at low temperatures. Food
can be frozen for years, and freezing eggs, sperm, and pre-embryos is now routine.

CONCLUSION:

The areas of cryogenic application appears to be endless. It varies from basic research to food
preservation, power generation to fishries and petro-chemical complexes, liquid natural gases to
steel industries, cryo-surgery to nuclear magnetic resonance, structural studies, magnetic
resonance imaging to mineral industry, cryo-preservation of human blood and other organs to
high-energy physics and it goes on. The area of cryogenics is a fascinating one and the quest for
achieving lower and lower temperature has never stopped. Scientists have been trying to get
absolute zero or 273 degree C elsius below the ice point known as zero Kelvin, which is
theoretically unachievable. However, it is amazing that scientists involved research in this area
have gone down to nano and pico Kelvin temperatures, which is almost, but not exactly absolute
zero.

References:

www.howstuff.com.

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