Design and development of a helium injection system to improve external leakage detection during liquid nitrogen immersion tests

The testing of assemblies for use in cryogenic systems commonly includes evaluation at or near operating (therefore cryogenic) temperature. Typical assemblies include valves and pumps for use in liquid oxygen-liquid hydrogen rocket engines. One frequently specified method of cryogenic external leakage testing requires the assembly, pressurized with gaseous helium (GHe), be immersed in a bath of liquid nitrogen (LN₂) and allowed to thermally stabilize. Component interfaces are then visually inspected for leakage (bubbles). Unfortunately the liquid nitrogen will be boiling under normal, bench-top, test conditions. This boiling tends to mask even significant leakage.One little known and perhaps under-utilized property of helium is the seemingly counter-intuitive thermodynamic property that when ambient temperature helium is bubbled through boiling LN₂ at a temperature of −195.8 °C, the temperature of the liquid nitrogen will reduce.This paper reports on the design and testing of a novel proof-of-concept helium injection control system confirming that it is possible to reduce the temperature of an LN₂ bath below boiling point through the controlled injection of ambient temperature gaseous helium and then to efficiently maintain a reduced helium flow rate to maintain a stabilized liquid temperature, enabling clear visual observation of components immersed within the LN₂. Helium saturation testing is performed and injection system sizing is discussed.     

Cryogenic design and operation of liquid helium in an electron bubble chamber towards low energy solar neutrino detectors

We are developing a new cryogenic neutrino detector: electron bubble chamber, using liquid helium as the detecting medium, for the detection of low energy p-p reaction neutrinos (<420 keV), from the Sun. The program focuses in particular on the interactions of neutrinos scattering off atomic electrons in the detecting medium of liquid helium, resulting in recoil electrons which can be measured. We designed and constructed a small test chamber with 1.5 L active volume to start the detector R&D, and performed experimental proofs of the operation principle. The test chamber is a stainless steel cylinder equipped with five optical windows and ten high voltage cables. To shield the liquid helium chamber against the external heat loads, the chamber is made of double-walled jacket cooled by a pumped helium bath and is built into a LN₂/LHe cryostat, equipped with 80 K and 4 K radiation shields. A needle valve for vapor helium cooling was used to provide a 1.7-4.5 K low temperature environments. The cryogenic test chamber has been successfully operated to test the performance of Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) in He and He + H₂ at temperatures in the range of 3-293 K. This paper will give an introduction on the cryogenic solar neutrino detector using electron bubbles in liquid helium, then present the cryogenic design and operation of liquid helium in the small test chamber. The general principles of a full-scale electron bubble detector for the detection of low energy solar neutrinos are also proposed.     

Operational Characteristics of the 200-m Flexible Cryogenic Transfer System

A proper cryogenic environment is essential for the operation of superconducting devices. A test area for the superconducting radio-frequency modules (SRF) has been established in the RF laboratory at National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in Taiwan; these modules require much liquid helium during conditioning and performance tests; a cooling capacity of 120 W is expected for the acceptance test of the SRF module. The cryogenic environment of the test area is completed on transferring the liquid helium over a remarkable length of 205 m from the two cryogenic plants at Taiwan Light Source, with a valve box located at each end to control and to measure the cryogenic flow. Flexible cryogenic transfer lines of concentric four-tube type are chosen for both the supply of liquid helium and the return of cold helium gas. Functional examination of this long transfer system was first achieved with a 500-L Dewar in the radio-frequency laboratory; an SRF module was then installed in the test area for practical operation. The primary concern about the cryogenic transfer system is the heat loss; a measurement technique based on the principle of thermodynamics is developed and proposed herein. With the available sensors inside the valve boxes and the heaters inside the 500-L Dewar and the test SRF module, this technique has proved promissing from the measured results.     

超流氦低温系统发展及涡轮冷压缩机的应用

2 K下大型氦低温系统已采用离心式涡轮冷压缩机在低温低压下对饱和液氦槽减压操作,以获得超流氦或过冷氦.介绍了2K温度级超流氦制冷机发展情况和涡轮冷压缩机在氦制冷系统中的应用,以及中国科学院等离子体物理研究所EAST超导托卡马克氦低温制冷机中过冷氦的制取过程.     

BEPC-Ⅱ低温系统的氦气净化技术

氦气净化技术是国家大科学工程北京正负电子对撞机重大改造(BEPC-Ⅱ)中低温系统的关键技术之一.在充分调研国内外大型低温系统氦气净化技术的基础上,结合自身情况,创造性提出氦气储罐内部处理及真空置换方案,一次性充入氦气,将储罐内氦气不纯度控制在40 vpm之内,同时辅之以80 K外置低温吸附器对氦气储罐内以及冷箱和超导设备端的氦气进行净化.高效而又经济的解决了BEPC-Ⅱ低温系统中的氦气纯度问题,成功地进行了制冷机的验收测试和超导设备的调试及运行.     

Cryogenic helium gas circulation system for advanced characterization of superconducting cables and other devices

A versatile cryogenic test bed, based on circulating cryogenic helium gas, has been designed, fabricated, and installed at the Florida State University Center for Advanced Power Systems (FSU-CAPS). The test bed is being used to understand the benefits of integrating the cryogenic systems of multiple superconducting power devices. The helium circulation system operates with four sets of cryocooler and heat exchanger combinations. The maximum operating pressure of the system is 2.1 MPa. The efficacy of helium circulation systems in cooling superconducting power devices is evaluated using a 30-m-long simulated superconducting cable in a flexible cryostat. Experiments were conducted at various mass flow rates and a variety of heat load profiles. A 1-D thermal model was developed to understand the effect of the gas flow parameters on the thermal gradients along the cable. Experimental results are in close agreement with the results from the thermal model.     

Key features of the KSTAR helium refrigeration system

KSTAR is a fully superconducting (SC) tokamak consisting of 30 magnet coils made of Nb₃Sn and NbTi. To keep the SC magnets at proper operating conditions, all cold components of KSTAR such as the SC bus-lines, current leads, and thermal shields must be maintained at the respective cryogenic temperatures by using a helium refrigeration system (HRS). The main components of the HRS can be classified into the warm compression system (WCS) and the cryogenic systems according to their operating temperature levels. The HRS had been manufactured, installed and commissioned until March 2008 and has been operated for KSTAR campaign since then. In this paper, the result of the commissioning, operation and reliability record of the KSTAR HRS will be presented.     

EAST超导托卡马克热负荷波动对低温系统液氦槽的影响

EAST超导托卡马克的纵场和极向场磁体均采用NbTi超导材料,由3.8 K超临界氦冷却.在托卡马克实验运行时,极向场的放电脉冲和等离子体破裂产生的交流损耗带来的热负荷增加,经过超临界氦流带到低温系统控制阀箱内的液氦槽和过冷槽,造成槽内的液氦蒸发量增加.蒸发的氦回到制冷机中,从而影响制冷机的稳定运行.通过对实际超临界管道和液氦槽、过冷槽中换热过程建立换热模型,进行热工分析,分析液氦槽和过冷槽中的压力等参数的变化,指导低温系统的设计.     

Development of a facility for fatigue and fracture testing of stainless steels at liquid helium temperature

A facility for fracture toughness testing of stainless steel base metal and welds in liquid helium has been developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to qualify material selected for the mirror fusion programme. The purpose of the test facility is to perform fracture toughness tests (J_lc) on candidate materials in an environment simulating the superconducting ‘mirror’ magnet. This paper discusses the design, development and implementation of the cryogenic test system as well as a brief interpretation of the data.     

一种用于冲击压缩实验的液氦温度低温靶

介绍了研制的一种液氦温度低温靶靶体。该靶体具有独立真空夹层与气冷屏,采用连续流减压降温的液氦制冷方式,在约100 Pa真空环境下,获得了稳定的4.2 K制冷温度。它可以用于氦等气体样品的冲击压缩实验。     

ITER 10kA高温超导电流引线测试装置低温系统的研究

为ITER CC 10 kA高温超导电流引线服务的低温性能测试装置已研制完成,并成功运行。其低温系统主要由500W/4.5 K氦制冷机,真空杜瓦,低温组件(低温阀门,过冷槽,管道加热器,热防护层),汽化器及低温传输管线等部分组成。本文对真空杜瓦和过冷槽进行设计,并讨论该低温系统的冷却流程方案,最后通过电流引线10 kA稳态实验结果对低温系统的运行效果进行分析,结果表明该低温系统运行稳定,能满足ITER CC电流引线的测试需要。     

Main problems encountered in the study of cryogenic generators

There is general agreement worldwide on the basic structure of cryogenic generators, with a hot stator and a rotor with superconducting field winding at very low temperature (4 to 5 K). The main problems arising from cryogenic generator development especially concern the rotor: the problem of the electromagnetic and mechanical behaviour of the shield required for protecting the superconductor against the induction changes associated with any possible disturbances; the problem of the superconductor and helium cooling system behaviour associated with the particular operating conditions of a cryogenic generator; the problem of structural materials; technological problems arising from helium admission in the rotor. At the present stage of studies, one can positively state that the cryogenic generator is feasible, but its competitiveness with respect to conventional generators has not been established. It is obvious that its chances of development could be greatly increased if a certain number of parallel research efforts succeeded in the following fields: development of superconductors with a high critical temperature; development of structural materials, both metallic and non-metallic; reduction of refrigerator costs; and increased reliability.     

A vibration free cryostat using pulse tube cryocooler

This paper introduces a new vibration free cryostat cooled by liquid helium and a 4 K pulse tube cryocooler. The cryogenic device mounts on the sample cooling station which is cooled by liquid helium. The boil off helium is recondensed by the pulse tube cryocooler, thus the cryostat maintains zero boil off. There is no mechanical contact between the cryogenic part of the cryocooler and the sample cooling station. A bellows is used to isolate the vibration which could transfer from the cryocooler flange to the cryostat flange at the room temperature. Any vibrations generated by the operation of the cryocooler are almost entirely isolated from the cryogenic device. The cryostat provides a cooling capacity of 0.65 W at 4.21 K on the sample cooling station while maintaining a vapor pressure of 102 kPa. The sample cooling station has a very stable temperature with oscillations of less than ±3 mK during all the operations. A cryogenic microwave oscillator has been successfully cooled and operated with the cryostat.     

Flow field analysis of high-speed helium turboexpander for cryogenic refrigeration and liquefaction cycles

Turboexpander constitutes one of the vital components of Claude cycle based helium refrigerators and liquefiers that are gaining increasing technological importance. These turboexpanders which are of radial inflow in configuration are generally high-speed micro turbines, due to the low molecular weight and density of helium. Any improvement in efficiency of these machines requires a detailed understanding of the flow field. Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis (CFD) has emerged as a necessary tool for the determination of the flow fields in cryogenic turboexpanders, which is often not possible through experiments.In the present work three-dimensional transient flow analysis of a cryogenic turboexpander for helium refrigeration and liquefaction cycles were performed using Ansys CFX®, to understand the flow field of a high-speed helium turboexpander, which in turn will help in taking appropriate decisions regarding modifications of established design methodology for improved efficiency of these machines. The turboexpander is designed based on Balje's n_sd_s diagram and the inverse design blade profile generation formalism prescribed by Hasselgruber and Balje. The analyses include the study of several losses, their origins, the increase in entropy due to these losses, quantification of losses and the effects of various geometrical parameters on these losses. Through the flow field analysis it was observed that in the nozzle, flow separation at the nozzle blade suction side and trailing edge vortices resulted in loss generation, which calls for better nozzle blade profile. The turbine wheel flow field analysis revealed that the significant geometrical parameters of the turbine wheel blade like blade inlet angle, blade profile, tip clearance height and trailing edge thickness need to be optimised for improved performance of the turboexpander. The detailed flow field analysis in this paper can be used to improve the mean line design methodology for turboexpanders used in helium refrigeration and liquefaction cycles.     

Investigation of helium injection cooling to liquid oxygen under pressurized condition

Sub-cooling of cryogenic propellant by helium injection is one of the most effective methods for suppressing bulk boiling and keeping sub-cooled liquid oxygen before rocket launch. Compared with the helium injection cooling under atmospheric condition, helium injection cooling under pressurized condition has advantage that it can greatly reduce re-warming time of the sub-cooled liquid oxygen. Helium injection cooling under pressurized condition is characterized by cooling of initially sub-cooled cryogenic liquid, which is significantly different from that of the atmospheric condition where liquid oxygen usually exists at saturated condition. In this paper, we discuss the characteristics of helium injection cooling under pressurized condition, with the associated physical understanding of the process. Experimental results are presented along the simulations of variously combined system parameters based on the finite heat transfer and instantaneous diffusion mass transfer model. A non-dimensional parameter for identifying the cooling regime is conceived. The critical values of the non-dimensional parameters and injected helium temperatures are also estimated.     

ADS 2K低温系统超流氦换热特性研究

以ADS 2K低温系统为研究平台,分析了恒温器结构参数中上升管与峰值热量的关系,测量了超导腔液氦池中不同工作温度下的超流氦峰值热量,最后给出了恒温器上升管的设计方法,并验证了ADS低温恒温器上升管设计的合理性。     

低温阀热锚位置优化及漏热分析

气动低温调节阀是大型氦低温系统中最重要的执行机构,工作在极低温状态下(液氢/液氦温区:20—4 K),低温漏热量是其最重要的技术参数之一。通过在低温阀外管焊接77 K热锚,可以有效降外管的漏热量损失。通过引入热力完善度,优化热锚在外管的相对位置,结果显示:热锚安装的最佳相对位置为0.40,此时外管在4 K温区相对漏热量损失减少了82.5%。     

Economical Running of BEPCII Cryogenic System

BEPCII cryogenic system consists of a cavity cooling loop and a magnet cooling loop. Although the magnet cooling loop has lower heat load than the cavity cooling loop, it needs much more helium mass flow since only sensible heat of the supercritical helium is used to cool the SCQ magnets. As a result, excess liquid helium exists in the return line of the magnet cooling loop and should be evaporated by electrical heater, leading to a waste of cooling power. This paper discusses several solutions for operating the system economically.     

低温氦气体轴承透平膨胀机实验系统设计

设计了一套氦透平膨胀机实验系统,该系统可以用来对工作在液氢—常温区范围内的不同规格的氦透平膨胀机进行性能测试,还可以用于开展以氦为工质的低温环境下透平膨胀机实验研究,以期掌握氦透平膨胀机的关键技术并进一步提高氦透平膨胀机的性能。     

空间红外天文观测中低温制冷系统分析

基于红外天文卫星中探测器组件和光学部分极低工作温度的需求,结合近来发射的2颗卫星(SIRTF和ASTRO-F),分析了红外天文卫星中的低温系统,给出了总体制冷方案和低温系统有效载荷示意框图,通过三级复合制冷方式,最大程度地降低超流氦用量,延长卫星工作寿命.针对超流氦制冷在空间应用时的特殊性,阐述了气液相分离、质量监测、...