Introduction to Cryogenics

Ph. Lebrun
Accelerator Technology department, CERN

CAS & ALBA School on Vacuum in Accelerators Platja dAro, Spain 16-24 May 2006

Contents

Introduction Cryogenic fluids Heat transfer & thermal insulation Cryogenic distribution & cooling schemes Refrigeration & liquefaction Cryogen storage & transport Thermometry

 cryogenics, that branch of physics which deals with the production of very low temperatures and their effects on matter
Oxford English Dictionary
2nd edition, Oxford University Press (1989)

cryogenics, the science and technology of temperatures below 120 K

New International Dictionary of Refrigeration
3rd edition, IIF-IIR Paris (1975)

Characteristic temperatures of cryogens

Cryogen Methane Oxygen Argon Nitrogen Neon Hydrogen Helium (*): Point Triple point [K] 90.7 54.4 83.8 63.1 24.6 13.8 2.2 (*) Normal boiling point [K] 111.6 90.2 87.3 77.3 27.1 20.4 4.2 Critical point [K] 190.5 154.6 150.9 126.2 44.4 33.2 5.2

Cryogenic transport of natural gas: LNG

130 000 m3 LNG carrier with double hull

Invar tanks hold LNG at ~110 K

Densification, liquefaction & separation of gases

Ariane 5
25 t LH2, 130 t LO2

Space Shuttle
100 t LH2, 600 t LO2

What are low temperatures?

Entropy and temperature
the entropy of a thermodynamical system in a macrostate corresponding to a multiplicity of microstates is S = kB ln adding reversibly heat dQ to the system results in a change of its entropy dS with a proportionality factor T T = dQ/dS high temperature: heating produces small entropy change low temperature: heating produces large entropy change

1 K is equivalent to 10-4 eV or 10-23 J thermal energy

a temperature is low when kBT is small compared with the characteristic energy of the process considered cryogenic temperatures reveal phenomena with low characteristic energy and enable their application

Characteristic temperatures of low-energy phenomena

Phenomenon Debye temperature of metals High-temperature superconductors Low-temperature superconductors Intrinsic transport properties of metals Cryopumping Cosmic microwave background Superfluid helium 4 Bolometers for cosmic radiation Low-density atomic Bose-Einstein condensates Temperature few 100 K ~ 100 K ~ 10 K < 10 K few K 2.7 K 2.2 K <1K ~ K

Cooling of superconducting devices

Characteristic temperatures of low-energy phenomena

Phenomenon Debye temperature of metals High-temperature superconductors Low-temperature superconductors Intrinsic transport properties of metals Cryopumping Cosmic microwave background Superfluid helium 4 Bolometers for cosmic radiation Low-density atomic Bose-Einstein condensates Temperature few 100 K ~ 100 K ~ 10 K < 10 K few K 2.7 K 2.2 K <1K ~ K

Vapour pressure at cryogenic temperatures

1.E+04 1.E+03 1.E+02 1.E+01 1.E+00 1.E-01 1.E-02 Psat [kPa] 1.E-03 1.E-04 1.E-05 1.E-06 1.E-07 1.E-08 1.E-09 1.E-10 1.E-11 1.E-12 1 10 T [K] 100 1000 He H2 Ne N2 Ar O2 CH4 CO2 H2O

Characteristic temperatures of low-energy phenomena

Phenomenon Debye temperature of metals High-temperature superconductors Low-temperature superconductors Intrinsic transport properties of metals Cryopumping Cosmic microwave background Superfluid helium 4 Bolometers for cosmic radiation Low-density atomic Bose-Einstein condensates Temperature few 100 K ~ 100 K ~ 10 K < 10 K few K 2.7 K 2.2 K <1K ~ K

Contents

Introduction Cryogenic fluids Heat transfer & thermal insulation Cryogenic distribution & cooling schemes Refrigeration & liquefaction Cryogen storage & transport Thermometry

Useful range of cryogens

Helium Hydrogen Neon Nitrogen Argon Oxygen 0 20 40 60 80 T [K] 100 120 140 160 180 Below Patm Above Patm

Properties of cryogens compared to water

Property Normal boiling point Critical temperature Critical pressure Liq./Vap. density (*) Heat of vaporization (*) Liquid viscosity (*) (*) at normal boiling point [J.g-1] [Pl] [K] [K] [bar] He 4.2 5.2 2.3 7.4 20.4 3.3 N2 77 126 34 175 199 152 H2O 373 647 221 1600 2260 278

Vaporization of normal boiling cryogens under 1 W applied heat load

Cryogen Helium Nitrogen

[mg.s-1] 48 5

[l.h-1] (liquid) 1.38 0.02

[l.min-1] (gas NTP) 16.4 0.24

Amount of cryogens required to cool down 1 kg iron

Latent heat and enthalpy of gas 0.75 liter 0.12 litre 0.29 litre

Using LHe from 290 to 4.2 K LHe from 77 to 4.2 K LN2 from 290 to 77 K

Latent heat only 29.5 litre 1.46 litre 0.45 litre

Phase diagram of helium

10000
SOLID

1000 Pressure [kPa]

LINE
He II He I

SUPERCRITICAL CRITICAL POINT SATURATED He I

100
PRESSURIZED He II (Subcooled liquid)

10

VAPOUR SATURATED He II

1 0 1 2 3 Temperature [K] 4 5 6

Helium as a cooling fluid

Phase domain Advantages
Fixed temperature High heat transfer Monophase Negative J-T effect Low temperature High conductivity Low viscosity

Drawbacks
Two-phase flow Boiling crisis Non-isothermal Density wave instability Second-law cost Subatmospheric

Saturated He I Supercritical

He II

Contents

Introduction Cryogenic fluids Heat transfer & thermal insulation Cryogenic distribution & cooling schemes Refrigeration & liquefaction Cryogen storage & transport Thermometry

Typical heat transfer coefficients at cryogenic temperatures

Heat conduction in solids

T2 Qcon dT S
Fouriers law:
Qcon = k (T ) S dT dx

k(T): thermal conductivity [W/m.K]

dx

Integral form:
k(T) dT

Qcon

S T2 = k(T) dT L T1

: thermal conductivity integral [W/m]

T1

Thermal conductivity integrals for standard construction materials are tabulated

Thermal conductivity integrals of selected materials [W/m]

From vanishingly low temperature up to OFHC copper DHP copper 1100 aluminium 2024 aluminium alloy AISI 304 stainless steel G-10 glass-epoxy composite 20 K 11000 395 2740 160 16.3 2 80 K 60600 5890 23300 2420 349 18 290 K 152000 46100 72100 22900 3060 153

Non-metallic composite support post with heat intercepts

5 K cooling line (SC He) Aluminium intercept plates glued to G-10 column Aluminium strips to thermal shield at 50-75 K

Thermal radiation
Qrad1
Wiens law
Maximum of black body power spectrum max.T = 2898 [m.K] Black body

T1 1

T2 > T1 Qrad2 2

Stefan-Boltzmanns law

Qrad = A T4 = 5.67 x 10-8 W/m2.K4

(Stefan Boltzmanns constant) Qrad = A T4 emissivity of surface Qrad = E A (T14 T24) E function of 1, 2, geometry

Graybody Gray surfaces at T1 and T2

Emissivity of technical materials at low temperatures

Radiation from 290 K Surface at 77 K Stainless steel, as found Stainless steel, mech. polished Stainless steel, electropolished Stainless steel + Al foil Aluminium, as found Aluminium, mech. polished Aluminium, electropolished Copper, as found Copper, mech. Polished 0.34 0.12 0.10 0.05 0.12 0.10 0.08 0.12 0.06 Radiation from 77 K Surface at 4.2 K 0.12 0.07 0.07 0.01 0.07 0.06 0.04 0.06 0.02

Residual gas conduction

T1 d
Viscous regime
At high gas pressure molecule << d Classical conduction Qres = k(T) A dT/dx Thermal conductivity k(T) independant of pressure

T2
molecule : mean free path of gas molecules

Molecular regime
At low gas pressure molecule >> d Kennards law Qres = A (T) P (T2 T1) Conduction heat transfer proportional to pressure, independant of spacing between surfaces depends on gas species Accommodation coefficient (T) depends on gas species, T1, T2, and geometry of facing surfaces

Multi-layer insulation (MLI)

Complex system involving three heat transfer processes QMLI = Qrad + Qsol + Qres With n reflective layers of equal emissivity, Qrad ~ 1/(n+1) Due to parasitic contacts between layers, Qsol increases with layer
density Qres due to residual gas trapped between layers, scales as 1/n in molecular regime Non-linear behaviour requires layer-to-layer modeling Typical data available from (abundant) literature Measure performance on test samples

In practice

Typical heat fluxes at vanishingly low temperature between flat plates [W/m2]
Black-body radiation from 290 K Black-body radiation from 80 K Gas conduction (100 mPa He) from 290 K Gas conduction (1 mPa He) from 290 K Gas conduction (100 mPa He) from 80 K Gas conduction (1 mPa He) from 80 K MLI (30 layers) from 290 K, pressure below 1 mPa MLI (10 layers) from 80 K, pressure below 1 mPa MLI (10 layers) from 80 K, pressure 100 mPa 401 2.3 19 0.19 6.8 0.07 1-1.5 0.05 1-2

Cross-section of LHC dipole cryostat

Vapour cooling of necks and supports with perfect heat exchange

Cross-section A . m vapour flow Cp(T)

Assuming perfect heat exchange between solid and gas, i.e. Tsol(x)=Tgas(x)=T(x):

& Qcon = Qbath + m Cp(T) (T Tbath )

x T Qcon T

k (T ) A

dT & = Qbath + m Cp(T) (T Tbath ) dx

Cp(T): Specific heat of vapour k(T) : Thermal conductivity of the support

Tbath Qbath LHe

Qbath can then be calculated by numerical integration for : - different cryogens, - different values of aspect ratio L/A - different values of vapour flow

Heat reaching the cold end of a stainless steel neck

Qbath [W]

Vapour cooling flow: A: 1 g/s B: 0.1 g/s C: 10-2 g/s D: 10-3 g/s F: no flow

Vapour cooling of necks and supports with perfect heat exchange in self-sustained mode
A particular case of gas cooling is the self-sustained mode, i.e. He vapour flow is generated only by the residual heat Qbath reaching the bath. Then:

& Qbath = L v m

(Lv: latent heat of vaporization)

Given the general equation

k (T ) A

dT & = Qbath + m Cp(T) (T Tbath ) dx

And after integration, we finally have:

Qbath

A Tambient K(T) = dT Cp(T) L Tbath 1 + (T T ) bath Lv

Attenuation factor w.r. to pure conduction

Reduction of heat conduction by self-sustained helium vapour cooling

Effective thermal conductivity integral from 4 to 300 K ETP copper OFHC copper Aluminium 1100 Nickel 99% pure Constantan AISI 300 stainless steel Purely conductive regime [W.cm-1] 1620 1520 728 213 51.6 30.6 Self-sustained vapour-cooling [W.cm-1] 128 110 39.9 8.65 1.94 0.92

Vapour cooling of necks and supports with imperfect heat exchange

Cross-section A . m vapour flow Cp(T) Q+dQ dQ x Q T

& dQ = f m Cp(T) dT
With f, the efficiency of the heat transfer In steady state, the heat balance equation becomes:

x+dx

T+dT

dT dT d & k(T) A = f m Cp(T) dx dx dx

Tbath

Qbath

LHe

Numerical integration for solving this equation

Vapor-cooled current leads

Cross-section A Current I k(T) (T) Q+dQ dQ x Source:
(T) I2 dx A

(T): electrical resistivity & dQ = f m Cp(T) dT

In steady-state, heat balance equation:

. m vapour flow Cp(T)

x+dx

T+dT T

d dT dT (T) I2 & k(T) A dx f m Cp(T) dx + A = 0 dx Solid Vapour Joule conduction cooling heating
Assuming the material of the lead follows the Wiedemann-Franz-Lorenz (WFL) law: k(T) (T) = L 0 T L0: Lorenz number (2.45 10-8 W..K-2) Then numerical integration

Tbath Qbath LHe

Heat load of optimized current lead

Uncooled 47 W/kA

Material obeying the WFL law

Minimum residual heat load 1.04 W/kA

Beating the WFL law: HTS current leads

The WFL law essentially states that good electrical conductors are also good thermal conductors Current leads need good electrical conductors with low thermal conductivity Superconductors are bad thermal conductors with zero resisitivity Build current lead with superconductor up to temperature as high as possible, i.e. HTS

HTS vs. normal conducting current leads

Type Resistive HTS (4 to 50 K) Resistive (above) 0.1

Heat into LHe Total exergy consumption

[W/kA]

1.1

[W/kA]

430

150

Electrical power from [W/kA] grid

1430

500

Contents

Introduction Cryogenic fluids Heat transfer & thermal insulation Cryogenic distribution & cooling schemes Refrigeration & liquefaction Cryogen storage & transport Thermometry

Transport of refrigeration in large distributed cryogenic systems

0.5
Temperature difference [K] Pressurised He II Saturated LHe II He I

0.4
SSC (HEB)

0.3
SSC (main Ring)

0.2
UNK

0.1 0

LHC Tevatron LEP2 Tore Supra HERA TESLA

Distance [km]

Cryogenic distribution scheme: design issues

Monophase vs. two-phase
temperature control hydrostatic head & flow instabilities

Pumps vs. no pumps

efficiency & cost reliability & safety

LN2

cooldown and/or normal operation capital & operating costs of additional fluid safety in underground areas (ODH)

Lumped vs. distributed cryoplants Separate cryoline vs. integrated piping Number of active components (valves, actuators) Redundancy of configuration

Tevatron distribution scheme

Central helium liquefier, separate ring cryoline and satellite refrigerators

HERA distribution scheme

Central cryoplant and separate ring cryoline

RHIC distribution scheme

Central cryoplant and piping integrated in magnet cryostat

LHC distribution scheme

Pt 5 Pt 4 Pt 6
Beam Screen

Typical LHC Cross-section

Vacuum Vessel

Heat Exchang

8 x 18 kW @ 4.5 K 1'800 SC magnets 24 km and 20 kW @ 1.9 K 36'000 tons @ 1.9 K 96 tons of He

Pt 2 Pt 1 Pt 8 Pt 7

Superconducting Coil Thermal Shield Radiative Insulation Header E Line C'

1.8 K Supply

Pt 3

Support Post

Header D Header B

Main Dipole Cryostat

Header C

Cryogenic Distribution Line

Header F

Cryogenic plant

Cryoplants at five points, separate ring cryoline

Contents

Introduction Cryogenic fluids Heat transfer & thermal insulation Cryogenic distribution & cooling schemes Refrigeration & liquefaction Cryogen storage & transport Thermometry

Thermodynamics of cryogenic refrigeration

T0= 300 K Q0 R Qi Ti
Hence, W T0 First principle [Joule]

Q 0 = Qi + W
Q 0 Qi T0 Ti

W : mechanical Second principle [Clausius] work

(= for reversible process)

Qi Qi Ti

which can be written in three different ways: introducing entropy S as Carnot factor

1 W T0 Si Qi 2 3

Si =

Qi Ti

T W Qi 0 1 T i

W Ei

introducing exergy E as

T Ei = Qi 0 1 T i

Minimum refrigeration work

Consider the extraction of 1 W at 4.5 K, rejected at 300 K The minimum refrigeration work (equation 2) is:

T 300 Wmin = Qi 0 1 = 1 1 = 65.7 W T 4.5 i

In practice, the most efficient helium refrigerators have an efficiency of about 30% w.r. to the Carnot limit.

Wreal =

Wmin 65.7 = = 220 W 0.3

C.O.P. of large cryogenic helium refrigerators

500

400

C.O.P. [W/W @ 4.5K]

300

200

100

Carnot

TORE SUPRA

RHIC

TRISTAN

CEBAF

HERA

LEP

LHC

Refrigeration cycles and duties

Introduction to the T-S diagram
T B A Q S, entropy

Thermodynamic transformation from A to B, if reversible:

Q = T dS
A

To make a refrigeration cycle, need a substance, the entropy of which depends on some other variable than temperature
T2 T D Q2 T1 A Q1 S B C

Pressure of gas: Compression/expansion cycle Magnetization of solid: magnetic refr. cycle

Q1: heat absorbed at T1 Q2: heat rejected at T2

Refrigeration cycle A B C D

T-S diagram for helium

25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 Temperature [K] 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 Entropy [J/kg.K]
H= 30 J/g 40 50 100 50 20 10 5 10 5 2 110 100 1 0.5 0.2 P= 0.1 MPa 90 80 70 = 2 kg/m 60 120 130 140

Elementary cooling processes on T-S diagram

T P1

P2 (< P1)

B1

B3

isobar (heat exchanger)

B'2 B2

isenthalpic (Joule-Thomson valve) adiabatic (expansion engine) isentropic S

Brazed aluminium plate heat exchanger

Cryogenic turbo-expander

Maximum Joule-Thomson inversion temperatures

Cryogen Helium Hydrogen Neon Air Nitrogen Oxygen Maximum inversion temperature [K] 43 202 260 603 623 761

While air can be cooled down and liquefied by JT expansion from room temperature, helium and hydrogen need precooling down to below inversion temperature by heat exchange or work-extracting expansion (e.g. in turbines)

Two-stage Claude cycle

E1

T1

Process cycle & T-S diagram of LHC 18 kW @ 4.5 K cryoplant

Pa Pa M 4 0. 0. 1 M M Pa

E3

E4 20 K - 280 K loads (LHC current leads)

T2

LN2 Precooler 50 K - 75 K loads (LHC shields)

201 K T1 from LHC loads

E6

T3

T2 75 K
E7

T3
T4

E8

49 K 32 K

LHC shields

Adsorber E9a

T4 20 K

E9b

13 K 10 K
T5 T7

T5

T7

from LHC loads 9K

4.5 K - 20 K loads (magnets + leads + cavities)

E10

T6
M Pa

T8 4.4 K To LHC loads

E12 T6 E13 T8

0.

E11

1.

LHC 18 kW @ 4.5 K helium cryoplants

33 kW @ 50 K to 75 K 23 kW @ 4.6 K to 20 K 41 g/s liquefaction 4 MW compressor power C.O.P. 220-230 W/W @ 4.5 K

Air Liquide Linde

Oil-injected screw compressor

Compressor station of LHC 18 kW@ 4.5 K helium refrigerator

Carnot, Stirling and Ericsson cycles

Operation of a Gifford-McMahon cryocooler (Ericsson cycle)

Two-stage Gifford McMahon cryocooler

CRYOMECH PT407 & CP970 compressor ~ 0.7 W @ 4.2 K & 25 W @ 55 K

Contents

Introduction Cryogenic fluids Heat transfer & thermal insulation Cryogenic distribution & cooling schemes Refrigeration & liquefaction Cryogen storage & transport Thermometry

Specific cost of bulk He storage

Type Gas Bag MP Vessel HP Vessel Liquid Pressure [MPa] 0.1 2 20 0.1 Density [kg/m3] 0.16 3.18 29.4 125 Dead volume [%] 0 5-25 0.5 13 Cost [CHF/kg He] 300(1) 220-450 500(2) 100-200(3)

(1): Purity non preserved (2): Not including HP compressors (3): Not including reliquefier

Bulk helium storage solutions

11000 gallon liquid container

2 MPa gas tanks

20 MPa gas cylinders

Contents

Introduction Cryogenic fluids Heat transfer & thermal insulation Cryogenic distribution & cooling schemes Refrigeration & liquefaction Cryogen storage & transport Thermometry

Definition of ITS90 in cryogenic range

Triple points H2 Ne O2 Ar Hg H2O

Pt resistance thermometer

He 4 gas thermometer

He 3 gas thermometer

He vapour pressure

0,1

10 Temperature [K]

100

1000

Primary fixed points of ITS90 in cryogenic range

Fixed point H2 triple point Ne triple point O2 triple point Ar triple point Hg triple point H2O triple point (*) exact by definition Temperature [K] 13.8033 24.5561 54.3584 83.8058 234.3156 273.16 (*)

From temperature sensor to practical thermometer

Ge RhFe wire RhFe thin film Cernox Carbon A-B Carbon TVO CBT

1cm

Practical temperature range covered by cryogenic thermometers

Chromel-constantan thermocouple Au-Fe thermocouple

Pt resistance

Rh-Fe resistance

CLTS Allen-Bradley carbon resistance Cernox

Ge resistance
1 10 100

Te mpe rature [K]

Some references
K. Mendelssohn, The quest for absolute zero, McGraw Hill (1966) R.B. Scott, Cryogenic engineering, Van Nostrand, Princeton (1959) G.G. Haselden, Cryogenic fundamentals, Academic Press, London (1971) R.A. Barron, Cryogenic systems, Oxford University Press, New York (1985) B.A. Hands, Cryogenic engineering, Academic Press, London (1986) S.W. van Sciver, Helium cryogenics, Plenum Press, New York (1986) K.D. Timmerhaus & T.M. Flynn, Cryogenic process engineering, Plenum Press, New York (1989) Proceedings of CAS School on Superconductivity and Cryogenics for Particle Accelerators and Detectors, Erice (2002) U. Wagner, Refrigeration G. Vandoni, Heat transfer Ph. Lebrun, Design of a cryostat for superconducting accelerator magnet Ph. Lebrun & L. Tavian, The technology of superfluid helium Proceedings of ICEC and CEC/ICMC conferences

Refrigerator
Compressor HP T0= 300 K Cold Box LP HP T0= 300 K

Liquefier
Compressor LP

Cold Box

T1= 4.5 K LOAD

T

T1= 4.5 K Q1 LHe LOAD Q1

T 300 K

isobar (1.3 bar) 18.8 J.g-1 R Q1 23.1 4.2 -1 -1 J.g .K J.g-1.K-1 S 1543 J.g-1

18.8 J.g-1 4.5 K

Q1 4.2 J.g-1.K-1

4.5 K
S

Thermodynamic equivalence between refrigeration and liquefaction

What is the isothermal 4.5 K (T1) refrigeration equivalent to 1 g.s-1 liquefaction of helium? & & Wmin.lique = mlique (T0 S Q1 R )

& mlique = 1 g.s 1, T0 = 300 K, S = 27.3 J.g-1.K -1, Q1 = 18.8 J.g1, R = 1543 J.g1
& Wmin.lique = 6628 W
Write that the same amount of work is used to produce isothermal refrigeration at 4.5 K: & T & Wmin.refrig = Q1 0 1 T & Q1 = 100 W 1 & & W =W = 6628 W
min.refrig min.lique

For refrigerators/liquefiers with the same efficiency:

1 g.s 1 LHe 100 W @ 4.5 K

Stirling and pulse-tube cryocoolers

Mini pulse-tube cryocoolers

ESA MPTC development model 1W @ 77K

CEA/SBT coaxial PTC 6W @ 80K