CRYOGENICS &

ITS APPLICATIONS
PRESENTED BY
JAYAPRASATH G
18ME1031, 3RD YEAR
Introduction:

 CRYOGENICS originated from KRYOS means cold or freeing and GENES

means born or produced.
 Study of the production and behaviour of materials at low temperature.
 In other words, Cryogenics typically involves a deep freezing process
 Low temperature environment is termed as cryogenic environment when the
temperature is below the point at permanent gases starts to liquefy.
 These gases at very low temperature known as Cryogenic fluids or cryogens.
 Liquid nitrogen is the most commonly used element in cryogenics .
Production of Low Temperatures

• Heat Conduction: When two bodies are in contact, heat flows from the
higher temperature body to a lower temperature body. Conduction can occur
between any and all forms of matter. E.g. Cooling of samples in cryogenic
temperatures.
Evaporative Cooling
• Atoms and molecules in the gaseous state are moving faster than the atoms
and molecules in the liquid state.
• Atoms or molecules acquire surface energy to enter the gaseous state.
• temperature of the remaining liquid drops.
• temperature of a liquid lowered by encouraging the process of evaporation.
• It can used to reduce the liquid nitrogen temperature to its freezing point.
 Cooling by Rapid Expansion

• Temperature change of a real gas when it is forced to valve or porous plug

• This process is known as Throttling or Joule Thomson process.
• High pressure gas on one side of the valve drops to the low pressure
• Ordinary household refrigerators and air conditioners work on this principle
using freon.
• Cryogenic refrigerators work on the same principle but uses cryogenic gases
such as helium .
 Applications of Cryogenics

CRYOGENIC ROCKET ENGINE:

• A cryogenic rocket engine uses a cryogenic fuel or oxidizer that is its fuel
or oxidizer are gases liquefied.
• Lox oxidizer and LH2 fuel combination is used .
• Liquid oxygen Temperature is -183 Celsius and hydrogen below -253
Celsius.
• They generate thrust by impulse carrier at high speed.
• Chemical energy Kinetic Energy
Principle behind the Cryogenic Engine

Law of
Newton Third conservation
law of motion of linear
momentum.
Typical Diagram of Cryogenic Rocket Engine
Components of Cryogenic Rocket engine.
Gas generator :
• Hot gases that drives the turbo.
• By pass of propellants fed to produce the energy
Turbo Pumps:
• Rotates at a speed of 14000 rpm.
• Connected by the turbine
• This unit is known as Turbo pump
Injector :
• Pumps out the fuel from turbo to combustion chamber.
• Ensures the stability of the chamber
• Challenging part of cryogenic engine
Combustion chamber:
• Fuel and oxidizer combination take place
• Fuel droplets enter the thrust chamber at high velocity and oxidizer too.
• Increase of pressure up to 2500Kpa with release of thrust 15000lb
• move towards the nozzle where the v = 1/A.
• Temperature about 3000-4000Celsius.
• Achieving of more thrust is possible
Nozzle:
• Conv-Diver nozzle is present.
• Expand the combustion gases by burn the propellants.
• Gas exit the nozzle at supersonic velocities.
• Pressure generated in cc used to increase thrust.
Working of Cryogenic Rocket Engine
• Cryogenic Engines designed for liquid fuels at very low temperatures otherwise they
would be gas at normal temperatures.
• Rocket engines has to burn highly combustible fuel to get definite amount of thrust.
This can be achieved by using different valves and components.
• Pumps are provided to increase the pressure and temperature of LH2 and Lox.
• Running of pumps achieved by adding turbine which operates on expanded hydrogen.
• Then the hot gas is sent to cc. This is known as EXPANDER CYCLE but LH2 cannot
be pumped at higher speed.
• By introducing Gas generator here propellants are burned and its high speed exhaust
are used to run the turbine. This is known as GAS GENERATOR CYCLE however
this is not efficient as some exhaust energy is totally lost.
• It can be increased by diverting exhaust from turbine to cc. small amount of oxygen is used for burning
hydrogen and it increases the pressure and temperature and then mixture is burned into cc. this is known
as STAGED COMBUSTION CYCLE.
• Increases the thrust and specific impulse.
• It needs very expensive components withstanding the high pressure and temperature.
• High pressure gases comes from cc are accelerated to higher velocities via conv-div nozzles.
CHALLENGES:
• Thermal Insulation
• Diffusion of hydrogen in tank
Cryogenics in Medical Field
Cryosurgery – Surgical
removal of tumors and
abnormal tissues using extreme
cold temperature by liquid
nitrogen, carbon dioxide or
argon.

For internal tumours, LN2 is

circulated through a hollow
instrument called Cryoprobe. It
produces a tip surface
temperature of -70C. Tissue in
contact with tip cools rapidly and
forms an ice ball.
Cryogenics in Manufacturing Field

Cryogenic Machining – Method of cooling the cutting tool

and/or part during the machining process and it replaces the
oil-based CLF with Cryogenic CLF to the local Cutting
region.
Cryogenic treatment works on Reamers, Tool bits, Tool
punches, carbide drills reciprocating blades, Dies and cutting
tools.
Cryogenic Hardening – Cryogenic treatment , the material is
cooled to -185 Celsius usually using LN2.
Cryogenics in Electric field

• Overhead Cables are difficult to transmit power, so underground cables are

used. But the underground cables are get heated, leading to waste of power
• Superconductors could be used to increase power, throughput require cryogenic
liquids such as nitrogen or helium to cool special alloy containing cables to
increase power transmission.
• SQUID are used in sensitive digital magnetometers and voltmeters.
• Super conducting electric motors are constructed approaching zero electric
loses
 Cryogenics in Food Industry
• Cryogenic freezing is used to freeze food at an extremely fast rate.
• The food is immersed in LN2.
• The liquid nitrogen boils around the food at a temperature of -196 C and
extracts a large amount of heat.
 LIMITATIONS OF CRYOGENICS
• COLD EMBRITTLEMENT

• SKIN AND EYE HAZARDS

• HANDLING
THANK YOU
JAYAPRASATH G