1

Module 1

Qn, What is CRYOGENICS? (4 marks)

Kryo – Very cold (frost)

Genics – to produce
“Science and art of producing very cold”
Cryogenics is the science and technology associated with generation of low
temperature below 123 K.
Accepted by National bureau of Standards, Colorado.

Qn. History of cryogenics? (10 marks)

Qn. What are the various field of Application of Cryogenics? (10 Marks)

 Space (4 marks)
Rocket Propulsion
 UDMH,MMH(SI<300)
 Cryogenic engines are powered by cryogenic propellants
 Liquid Hydrogen is used as a fuel to propel the rocket.
 Liquid Oxygen is used as an oxidizer.
2

Cooling of Infra-Red (IR) sensor

 Cooling of IR detectors, Telescopes, Cold probes etc.
 Development of miniature and small cryo coolers for satellites for an
improved accuracy and reliability of earth observation.
 Space simulations chambers are realistic environment for air/space craft.
The cold space is simulated at cryogenic temperatures by use of LN2.
 The levels of vacuum required in space simulation chambers are very
high.
 This is achieved by the use of cryo pumps and turbo molecular pumps.
 Mechanical (4 marks)
Magnetic Separation
 Magnetic separation technique is used in variety of applications
like enhancing the brightness of kaolin, improving the quality of
ultra-high purity quartz etc.- Superconducting Magnet ensures
proper separation.
Heat Treatment:
 The lives of the tools die castings & their dies, forgings, jigs &
fixtures etc, increase when subjected to cryogenic heat treatment.
 The life of guitar strings increases by 4 to 5times with no need for
tuning.
Cryogenic recycling:
 Turns the scrap into raw material by subjecting it to cryogenics
temperatures. This is mostly used for PVC, rubbers.
 Medicine (10 marks)
Cryo Surgery (4 marks)
 When a live tissue is frozen and maintained for sometime in a frozen
state, the blood supply to this tissue is stopped and it dies due to
lack of oxygen.
 When thawed the tissue turns into a blister and is slowly
eliminated either by dropping off as scab or getting excreted.
 Cryosurgery is a technique in which the harmful tissues are destroyed by
freezing them to cryogenic temperature.
 Cryosurgery has shorter hospital stay, less blood loss, and small recovery time.
 It is generally used in
patients with localized
prostate and kidney cancer,
skin disorders, retinal
problems, etc.
 Skin (cancer)
 Eye (removal of cataracts)

 Brain (Parkinson’s disease)

 Gynaecology
3

 Internal surgery
 Advantages of Cryo surgery (4 marks)
 Lower chances of infection
 Smaller or no incision
 Shorter or no hospital stay
 Better cosmetic quality
 Cell Preservation(4 marks)
 Cells and tissues can be kept indefinitely in a state of suspended
animation by storing in liquid nitrogen; but cell death takes place
during freezing and thawing.
 The mechanism of cell death is fully understood, but related to
formation of extracellular/ intercellular ice crystals, migration of
water across the cell membrane and to changes in the salt
concentration in the intracellular fluid.
 Systems are developed to preserve blood cells, plasma cells,
human organs and animal organs at cryogenic temperatures.

 Still some cells can be frozen and thawed with high viability rate by:
 Following a strict temperature – time protocol.
 Adding certain chemicals like glycerol .
 Applications (4 marks)
 Human erythrocytes and platelets
 Bull sperms
 Cattle and other livestock embryos
 Eye cornea and skin
 Many bacteria and fungi
4

Food Processing (4 marks)

 Preserving food at low temperature is a well-known technique.

 Cooling of sea foods, meat (sea export), and milk products for long time
preservation is achieved by use of LN2.
 Freezing of marine products
 Faster cooling
 (cryo freezing, all cells are cooled simultaneously, water in the
material is frozen not the surroundings)
 Smaller ice crystals
 Low drip loss
 Better taste and flavor
 Individual Quick Freezing
 No additional freezing load
 Better consumer acceptance
 Simpler and lighter equipment

 Transportation of frozen foods

 Liquid N2 is sprayed on the top of the cabin
 Simpler and lighter equipments
 Better temperature control
5

(4 marks)
 Gas Industry (4 marks)

 Production of industrial gases-Cryogenic liquefaction and distillation of

air
 The transportation of gases across the world is done in liquid state. This is
done by storing the liquid at cryogenic temperature.
 The use of inert gases in welding industry has initiated higher demand for
gas production in the recent past.
 Cryogens like LOX, LH2 are used in rocket propulsion while LH2 is being
considered for automobile(H2,20mcrJ).
 Liquid nitrogen is used as pre-coolant in most of the cryogenic systems.
 Steel industry – Oxygen is used in the production of steel. Basic Oxygen Furnace
(BOF)uses oxygen instead of air.
 Nitrogen and argon are primarily used to provide an inert atmosphere in
chemical, metallurgical and welding industries.
 Super Conductivity(4 marks)
The Super conducting magnets for both NMR and MRI machines (used for
body scanning) are cooled by liquid Helium.
Maglev Locomotion
 Maglev Train runs on the principle of Magnetic Levitation.
 The train gets levitated from the guide way by using
electromagnetic forces between superconducting magnets
on the vehicle and coils on the ground.
 This results in no contact motion and therefore no friction
6

 High Energy Physics(4 marks)

 CERN is an Europe founded in 1954.
 It consists of a 27Km accelerator ring with four detectors.
 All the magnet systems (SC) and its accessories are kept at 1.9 K using the liquid
Helium.
 A liquid nitrogen layer (77 K) is used as shielding for liquid helium.
 It is an experiment seeking answers to Big Bang theory and collision of atomic
particles.
 ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is an engineering
project for nuclear fusion reactor.
 The superconducting magnets are maintained at 4 K by liquid helium.
 The experiments are carried out to enable mankind to generate energy for
future.
 Vacuum Technology (4 marks)
 Vacuum can be created in two ways;
 Removal of gases from the vessel.
 Immobilization of gas molecules by;
 Freezing
 Adsorption on a matrix
 Cryo pumps produce vacuum by,
 Freezing of H2O, CO2 at T=80K
 Freezing of N2, O2, Ar at T= 4 to 20K
 Adsorbing He, H2 on activated charcoal at T= 4 to 20K

 Advantages
 Extremely clean vacuum
 High pumping speed
 Moderate cost
 Applications
 Manufacture of electronic chips
 SQUIDS & other SC devices
 Space simulations chambers

Qn. Properties of materials at cryogenic temperature? (10 marks)

7
8

*Mechanical properties of material at cryogenic temperature? (10marks)

YIELD & ULTIMATE STRENGTH (4marks)

 The Ultimate and Yield strengths of the material largely depend on the
movement of dislocations.
 At lower temperatures, the internal energy of atoms is low.
 As a result, the atoms of the material vibrate less vigorously with less
thermal agitation.
 When these agitations are low, the movement of dislocations is hampered.
 It requires a very large stress to tear the dislocations from their
equilibrium positions.
 Therefore, materials exhibit high yield and ultimate strengths at low
temperatures.

FATIGUE STRENGTH (4marks)

 Materials exhibit fatigue failure when they are subjected to fluctuating

loads.
9

 These failures can happen even if the stress applied is much lower than
the ultimate stress values
 Fatigue strength of a material is the stress at which the specimen fails
after a certain number of cycles.

 Any fatigue failure begins with a micro crack initiation.

 At low temperatures, a large stress is required to stretch the crack due to
increase in ultimate strength.
 Therefore, like the ultimate strength, the fatigue strength increases as the
temperature decreases .
 In order to avoid fatigue failure, when a specimen is subjected to
fluctuating loads, the working stress is maintained below a certain value
called as Endurance Limit.
 Beryllium – Copper alloy is used in Fatigue Strength manufacturing of
flexure bearings. The working stress is kept below the endurance limit to
avoid fatigue failure.

 IMPACT STRENGTH(4marks)
 Charpy and Izod tests are used to measure the resistance of a
material to impact loading.The energy absorbed when the material
is fractured suddenly by a force is the measure of impact
strength.In both these tests, the difference in the height attained
by the hammer pendulum after the impact (loss in potential
energy), determines the impact strength of specimen.
10

The impact strength of a material is largely governed by its lattice

structure.
 At low temperatures, the materials with Body Centered Cubic
(BCC) lattice, break easily.
 This is due to reasons mentioned earlier on the slip planes and
movement of dislocations..As a result, the materials with BCC
lattice are not preferred for low temperature applications.
 The materials with Face Centered Cubic (FCC) or Hexagonal lattice
have more slip planes.
 These slip planes assist in plastic deformation (rather than
breaking) and hence increase the impact strength of material even
at low Impact Strength temperatures.
 The materials with FCC and HCP lattices are preferred for
cryogenic applications.
 DUCTILITY (4 marks)
A material which elongates more than 5% of the original length before
failure is called as ductile material.When a specimen is subjected to
simple tensile test, ductility is given as the measure of Percentage
elongation in the length of specimen at the failure (or) Percentage
reduction in cross sectional area of the specimen at the failure.
11

 HARDNESS (4 marks)
 Hardness is the measure of depth of the standard indentation made on
the surface of the specimen by a standard indenter.
 Common hardness tests inlcude
 Brinell test
 Vickers test
 Rockwell test
 Hardness is directly proportional to the ultimate stress of a material.
Hence, it follows the same trend, i.e. increases as the temperature is
decreased.
 ELASTIC MODULI (4 marks)
 The three commonly used elastic moduli are
• Young’s Modulus
• Shear Modulus
• Bulk Modulus
 With the decrease in temperature, the disturbing vibrations and
thermal agitation of molecules decrease
 These will increase the inter-atomic forces and thereby, reducing
the strain at low temperatures
12

NON-METALS (PLASTICS) (4marks)

 Plastics or polymers are made of long chains of molecules.

 Each molecule has thousands of atoms held together and arranged in
tangled arrays.
 The intermolecular forces that unite the different polymer molecules are
van der Waals force.

Qn. Properties of plastics @ cryogenic temperature (10 marks)

 The effect of stress on Plastics or Elastomers is very less as compared to metals.

 These solids yield partly by uncoiling the long chain of molecules and sliding
over one another.
 This motion is facilitated by the thermal energy possessed by the molecules.
 At low temperatures, material deformation is more difficult due to decrease in
thermal energy.

TENSILE STRENGTH(PLASTICS)
13

MATERIAL PROPERTIES (10 marks)

 THERMAL EXPANSION/CONTRACTION
 SPECIFIC HEAT OF SOLIDS
 THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
THERMAL EXPANSION (4marks)
Reduction (contraction) in the dimensions of a material occur when cooled to low
temperatures.

SPECIFIC HEAT OF SOLIDS (4marks)

 Einstein treated the solid as a system of simple harmonic oscillators. It was assumed
that, all the oscillators are of same frequency.
 Debye treated solid as an infinite elastic continuum and considered all the possible
standing waves in the material.
 A parabolic frequency distribution was derived for the atoms vibrating in lattice.
 He presented a model to compute lattice heat capacity per mole, which accounts for
all the vibration frequencies of all the lattice points.
 The Debye model gives the following expression for the lattice heat capacity per
mole.

 x is a dimensionless variable.
 θD is called as Debye Characteristic Temperature.
14

 In the equation, only the value of θD changes from material to material.

 At high temperatures (T > 2θD), specific heat obtained from the above equation
approaches 3R.
 This is called as Dulong and Petit Value.
 At low temperatures (T < θD/12), the Debye function approaches a constant value

of D(0) =4π4/5.
 The variation is a cubic equation in absolute temperature at very low temperatures.

Specific heat Curve

 The variation of Cv/R with T/θD is as shown.

 In general, the specific heat decreases with
the decrease in temperature.

Calculation of Cv (4 marks)

 The calculation of Cv for a particular

material at a particular temperature, T,
involves the following procedure.
 Refer the table and find the θD.
 Calculate T/θD and interpolate the value on the graph to obtain Cv/R.
 Cv can be known by multiplying it with R.
 If the value of T/θD is less than 1/12, correlation can be used to evaluate the Cv
value directly.

Thermal Conductivity in solids (4marks)

 In a cryostat, the solid members made of a metal or a non metal conduct heat
from high temperature to low temperature.
 For these members, the thermal conductivity, kT, should be as low as possible to
minimize the heat loss.
 On the other hand, for achieving best heat
transfer of cold generated, copper can be
used as a medium due to its very high
thermal conductivity.
 Thermal conductivity, kT, is the property of
a material which indicates its ability to
conduct heat.
15

In general, kT decreases with the decrease in the temperature.


However, for pure metals the variation is slightly different from that of impure

metals and alloys.
 Pure Metals (4 marks)
 The Electron and Phonon motion cause heat conduction.The contribution of
electron motion to heat conduction is predominant above LN2 temperature. At
temperature below LN2, phonon motion is predominant.
 Conduction depends on the product of electronic specific heat and mean free
path.This product being a constant above LN2, the kT remains constant above
LN2.
 As the temperature is lowered, phonon contribution increases and kT varies as
1/T2.It reaches a high value until the mean free path of the electrons equals to
the dimensions of test specimen. When this condition is reached, the surface
exhibits a resistance causing the kT to decrease with the further drop in the
temperature
 Impure & Alloy Metals(4 marks)
 Electron and phonon motion are of same magnitude in impure and alloy metals.
The impure metals have imperfections like grain boundaries and dislocations An
additional scattering of electrons occur due to grain boundaries and dislocations
which is proportional to T3 and T2 respectively, at temperatures lower than θD.

Qn. What are the Electric & Magnetic Properties of material at cryogenic
temperature? (10 marks)

Electrical Conductivity (4 marks)

 It is defined as the electric current per unit cross sectional area divided by the
voltage gradient in the direction of the current flow.
Electrical Resistivity(4 marks)
 It is the reciprocal of electrical conductivity.
 Decreasing the temperature decreases the vibration
energy of the ions.
 This results in smaller interference with electron
motion.
 Therefore, electrical conductivity of the metallic
conductors increases at low temperature.
 Electrical resistivity ratio is defined as

 The variation of electrical resistivity ratio for some commonly

used materials is as shown.
 This ratio for a material decreases with the decrease in the
temperature.
16

Super Conductivity (4 marks)

The electrical resistance of a material
decreases with the decrease in the temperature. Few of
the materials, when cooled to lower temperatures, the
resistance suddenly drops to zero at a particular
temperature. In 1911, Onnes discovered the
phenomenon of Superconductivity. During his
investigation on mercury, he observed that the
resistance dropped to zero at 4.2 K.

 The state of the SC is governed by three parameters.

Temperature (K),
Current Density (A/mm2)
Magnetic Field (Tesla)
 The shaded region in the figure is enclosed by the
critical values of Tc, Jc and Hc.
 The electrical resistance is due to the scattering of
electron motion through the lattice imperfections like
the presence of impurity and dislocations.
 The first imperfection, that is, the presence of
impurity is a temperature independent factor.
 But the scattering phenomena occurring due to the lattice imperfections
decreases with the decrease in the temperature.
 As a result, the electrical conductivity is more at low temperatures.

 Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer Theory (4 marks)

 Electron being a negatively charged particle, moves easily through the space
between the adjacent rows of positively charged ions.
 This motion is assisted by the electrostatic force which pulls the electrons
inward.
 In SC state, the electrons interact with each other and form a pair. This
interaction is a very low energy process (0.1 eV) called as phonon interaction.
 The electron pair so formed moves easily and the second electron follows the
first electron during the motion.
 As a result, this electron pair travelling
together, encounters less resistance.
 This electron pair is called as a Cooper Pair.
 This theory was first explained by Bardeen,
Cooper, Schrieffer in BCS Theory in the
year 1957.
 They are awarded Nobel Prize in the year
1972 for this theory.
17

 Threshold Field (HT) is related to absolute Temperature (T ) as given below

 H0 is the critical field at zero K, T0 is the critical temperature at zero H.

Qn. Properties of High Tc and Low Tc Materials? (4 marks)

 Superconducting materials are distinguished depending upon the critical
temperature they exhibit.
 Earlier, the materials having transition temperature above 30 K are called as
High Tc or HTS materials.
 Recently this value has been changed to 77 K, due to easy availability of LN2.
 At room temperature, if a material is subjected to a magnetic flux, the flux lines of
force penetrate through the material.
 As soon as the material becomes superconducting, it repels the magnetic flux
lines.
 This phenomenon is called as Meisner Effect and was first discovered by Meisner
and Robert in the year 1933.

 What is Maglev ?(4 marks)

 Maglev Train runs on the principle of Magnetic Levitation. When
YBCO is cooled to temperatures less than 90 K, it turns
diamagnetic. Using the same principle, MAGLEV train gets
levitated from the guide way. This results in no contact motion and
therefore no friction.

Qn. Discuss various properties of cryogenic liquids (10 marks)

Qn. What is Cryogen

 Fluid with normal boiling point less than 123 K.

Liquid Methane

 It boils at 111.7 K.
18

 It can be used as rocket fuel.

 In the form of Compressed natural gas (CNG).

Liquid Neon

 It is a clear, colorless liquid with boiling point at 27.1 K.

 Liquid neon is commercially used as cryogenic refrigerant.
 It is compact, inert and less expensive as compared to liquid helium.

Liquid Nitrogen (LN2)

 Boils at 77.36 K and freezes at 63.2 K.

 Resembles water in appearance - 807 kg/m3 (water – 1000 kg/m3).
 Exists in 2 stable isotopes - N14 & N15 in ratio of 10000: 38.
 Heat of vaporization is 199.3kJ (water -2257kJ/kg) and it is produced by
distillation of liquid air.
 Nitrogen is primarily used to provide an inert atmosphere in chemical and
metallurgical industries.
 It is also used as a liquid to provide refrigeration.
 Food preservation, blood, cells preservation.
 High temperature superconductivity.

Liquid Oxygen (LOX)

 Blue in color – due to long chains of O4.

 Boils at 90.18 K and freezes at 54.4 K.
 Has a density of 1141kg/m3 (water – 1000 kg/m3).
 O2 is slightly magnetic and exists in 3 stable isotopes - O16, O17, and O18 in
ratio of (10000: 4:20).
 Because of the unique properties of oxygen, there is no substitute for oxygen in
any of its uses –widely used in industries and for medical purpose.
 It is largely used in iron and steel manufacturing industry.
 Oxidizer propellant for spacecraft rocket applications.

Liquid Argon

 It is a colorless, inert and non toxic gas.

 It boils at 87.3 K and freezes at 83.8 K.
 It has a density of 1394 kg/m3 (water – 1000 kg/m3).
 Exists in 3 stable isotopes – Ar35, Ar38, Ar40 and in a ratio of (338 : 63 :
100000)
 The property of inertness of argon is used to purge moulds in casting industry.
 It is used in Argon-oxygen decarburization (AOD) process in stainless steel
industry.
 It offers inert atmosphere for welding stainless steel, aluminum, titanium etc
19

Liquid Air

 For practical purpose, it is considered as a mixture of 78% N2 + 21% O2 + 1% Ar

+ others.
 It has a boiling point of 78.9 K and 874 kg/m3 as density (water density - 1000
kg/m3).
 Liquid air was earlier used as pre coolant for low temperature applications.
 Liquid air is primarily used in production of pure nitrogen, oxygen, and rare
gases

Hydrogen

 Hydrogen exists in diatomic form as H2.

 Normal Boiling Point K 20.27
 Normal Freezing Point K 13.95
 Critical Pressure M Pa 1.315
 Critical Temperature K 33.19
 Liquid Hydrogen Density kg/m3 70.79
 Latent Heat kJ/kg 443
 It has three isotopes hydrogen, deuterium and tritium.

 Tritium is radioactive and is unstable with a half-life period as 12.5 years.

 The relative ratio of existence of hydrogen as diatomic molecule (H2) and as
Hydrogen Deuteride (HD) is 3200:1
 Hydrogen exists in two molecular forms – Ortho and Para.

Qn. what is Ortho and Para Hydrogen (4 marks)

 Spin is defined as the rotation

of a body about its own axis.
 An H2 molecule has 2 protons
and 2 electrons.
 The distinction between the
two forms of hydrogen is the
direction of the spin of protons.
 The two protons possess a spin which gives the angular
momentum.
 If the nuclear spins are in same direction for both the protons, it is
Ortho Hydrogen.
20

 If the nuclear spins are in opposite direction for both the protons,
it is Para Hydrogen.

 With the decrease in the temperature, the Ortho hydrogen is converted to the Para
hydrogen. At 300K Ortho 75% and Para 25%.At 20K Ortho 0.179% and Para
99.821%.Para form is a low energy form and therefore heat is liberated during
conversion. Conversion of ortho to para form of hydrogen is an exothermic reaction.
This conversion is a very slow process. In order to make this conversion faster,
catalysts are added.

Qn. What are the general properties of Helium at Cryo temp? (10 marks)

Helium

 Evidence of Helium was first noted by Janssen during solar eclipse of

1868. It was discovered as a new line in the solar spectrum.
 In the year 1895, Ramsay discovered Helium in Uranium mineral called as
Clevite.
 In the year 1908, K. Onnes at Leiden liquefied Helium using Helium gas
obtained by heating Monazite sand procured from India
 Helium is an inert gas and exists in monatomic state.
 Normal Boiling Point K 4.25
 Normal Freezing Point NA
 Critical Pressure M pa 0.227
 Critical Temperature K 5.25
 Liquid Helium Density kg/m3 124.8
 Latent Heat kJ/kg 20.28
 In 1920, Aston discovered another isotope of Helium - He3 in addition to
He4.
 Helium exists in two isotopes.
21

 1. He4 = 2 electrons, 2 protons + 2 neutrons.

 2. He3 = 2 electrons, 2 protons + 1 neutrons
 The percentage of He3 is 1.3 x 10-4 %. So mostly it is He4 (100 %)
 Helium has no temperature and pressure at which solid - liquid – vapor
can co-exist. It means that it has no triple point
 Saturated liquid Helium must be compressed to 25.3 bar to solidify
 As Liquid Helium is further cooled below a particular temperature
(2.17K), a new liquid phase,
 LHe–II, emerges out.
 The two different liquids are called as LHe – I and LHe – II


 These liquid phases are distinguished on the basis of their viscosity. ie

 LHe–I: Normal fluid
 LHe–II: Super fluid
 This phase separation line is called as
Lambda Line
 The point of intersection of phase
separation line with saturated liquid
line is called as Lambda Point.
 LHe – II is called as super fluid because
it exhibits properties like zero viscosity
and large thermal conductivity. This
fluid expands on cooling. Owing to its
low viscosity, the fluid below the
lambda point, LHe – II, flows through
narrow slits and channels very rapidly.
 The variation of specific heat in Liquid
Helium is abrupt and posses a
discontinuity at the lambda Point
 The point is called as lambda point
because shape of the curve resembles
the Greek letter λ
22

 There is no energy involved in lambda transition

Qn. What is a Two fluid Model (4 marks)

 Kapitza et al. stated that viscosity for flow through thin channels is
independent of pressure drop and is only a function of temperature.
 To explain this anomaly, a two fluid model is used

 In the two fluid model, the liquid is assumed to be composed of two fluids,
normal and super fluid.
 Mathematically,
 ρ = ρn + ρs
 ρ - total density
 ρn - normal density
 ρs – super fluid density.
 Temperature dependence of density
below lambda point.

Qn. What is Super fluid Helium? (4 marks)

 Heat transfer in super fluid helium (LHe – II) is very special.

 When the
pressure
above LHe -
23

I is reduced by pumping, the fluid boils vigorously.

 During pumping, the temperature of liquid decreases and a part of
the liquid is boiled away.
 When T < λ point temperature, the apparent boiling of the fluid
stops.
 Liquid becomes very clear and quiet, even though it is vaporizing
rapidly.
 Thermal Conductivity of He – II is so large, that the vapor bubbles
do not have time to form within the body of the fluid before the
heat is quickly conducted to the surface

Qn. Uses Of HELIUM 4 (4 marks)

 The NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) is used by the pharmaceutical industry

to study the molecular structure.
 It has a superconducting (SC) magnet (10 T ~ 25 T) cooled by Liquid Helium
bath.
 The accuracy of measurement increases with the field strength
 The MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machines are used for body scanning.
 The SC magnets for both NMR and MRI machines are cooled by liquid Helium.
 The Super conducting magnet systems at CERN spanning over 27 Km radius are
kept at 1.9 K using the Liquid Helium.
 The low viscosity and high thermal conductivity of Liquid Helium makes the
system more efficient.
 The engineering project ITER has Superconducting magnets maintained at 4 K by
Liquid Helium.
 Helium being a thin and inert gas, is used in leak detection systems.
 It is used as a shielding gas in arc welding to provide an inert atmosphere

Qn.The peculiar properties of Liquid Helium – II

give rise to interesting thermal and mechanical
effects. (10 marks)

o Thermomechanical Effect
o Mechanocaloric Effect
o Fountain Effect
o Rollin Film Effect

 Thermo Mechanical Effect (4 marks)

 This effect was discovered in the year
1938.
24

 Consider a flask filled with super fluid helium (LHe – II) and a heating coil
placed inside a differential container.
 When the heat is applied to the fluid in the inner container, the concentration
of normal fluid increases.
 The Super fluid component tends to move towards this region to equalize the
concentration.
 Super fluid being less viscous can flow rapidly through the narrow channel.
 Normal fluid being more viscous, its flow is impeded by the channel
resistance.
 As a result, due to the induced pressure difference, a pressure head called as
Thermo Mechanical Pressure Head is developed.
 This head is proportionate to the temperature rise of >T in the fluid.

 Mechano Caloric Effect (4 marks)

 It was discovered in the year 1939.
 The apparatus consists of a round flask filled with a fine powder and
Superfluid Helium (LHe – II).
 The flask has an opening at the bottom.
 A resistance thermometer is mounted to
detect the temperature changes,
 The Super fluid Helium (LHe - II) being less
viscous flows through the fine powder
easily.
 As a result, the concentration of normal fluid
increases above the powder.
 Hence, the temperature increases inside the
flask, which is sensed by resistance
thermometer

 Fountain Effect (4 marks)

 Consider an U-tube with a fine capillary as
shown.
 The U-tube is filled with a fine powder and is
immersed in Super fluid Helium (LHe – II)
bath.
 When heat is added to the powder, the
concentration of normal fluid increases due to
rise in the temperature.
 As a result, the Super fluid rushes in, to
equalize the concentration.
25

 Normal fluid, being more viscous cannot flow through the fine powder.
 The inflow of super fluid builds up with time and finally squirts out
through the fine capillary opening at the top.

 Rollin Effect(4 marks)

 This effect is named after Bernard V.
Rollin in the year 1937.
 The Liquid Helium – II exhibits a property
of clinging to the wal of the container
called as Creeping effect
 The thickness of the film is in the order of
30 nm.
 Consider a test tube filled with Liquid
Helium – II.
 When the test tube is lowered into the
Liquid Helium - II bath, the
 Rollin film clings to the tube and
gradually fills the tube.
 On the other hand, if the tube is raised
above the bath level, it empties out slowly.
 The ability of the fluid to flow against gravity is called as Onnes
effect.
 In these films, the capillary forces dominate the gravity and
viscous forces.
 The rate of flow is independent of height of flow or barrier and
difference in level.
 It increases with drop in temperature.
 It is zero at lambda point and becomes constant below 1.5 K.

 Sound Propagation of LHe II (4 marks)

 In LHe – II, at least three different mechanisms of sound can be propagated.
 For temperatures above and below lambda point, propagation of ordinary sound
which is nothing but pressure and density oscillations occurs.
 This is called as First sound.
 Below the lambda point temperature, the Liquid Helium has LHe- I (normal
fluid) and LHe – II (super fluid) components.
 Due to difference in concentrations of these fluids, there exists a temperature
gradient. This gradient causes oscillations of Normal fluid and Super fluid which
are called as Second sound.
 The velocity of Second sound varies from zero at lambda point to 239 m/s at
near 0 K.
 In thin films, the LHe – I component clings to the walls due to the viscous effects.
26

 If only the super fluid component in Second sound oscillates, then it is called as
Third sound.
 This wave motion appears as an oscillation in the thickness of the film. The
velocity of propagation of Third sound is around 0.5 m/s.
 Another form of sound called as Zero sound has been detected recently.
 The research is on to study its characteristics.

Qn, What is Helium – 3 (4 marks)

 It is a non radioactive isotope with two protons and one neutron

 In 1920, Aston discovered another isotope of Helium, He3.
 First liquefaction of Helium – 3 was achieved by Sydoriak et. al. in the year 1948.
 This isotope He - 3 is very rare and is difficult to isolate from He – 4.

 For a given
pressure Liquid He - 3 is more colder than Liquid He – 4.
 LHe - 3 (like LHe - 4) remains liquid under its vapor pressure up to
absolute zero.
 It must be compressed to 28.9 bar at 0.32 K to solidify.
 Helium – 3 has no temperature and pressure at which solid- liquid –
vapor can coexist.
 It means that it has no triple point.
 Liquid He - 3 undergoes a different type of super fluid transition at
approximately 3.2 mK.

Qn. Uses of Helium – 3 (4 marks)

 It is mostly used in Dilution refrigerators to achieve low temperatures.
 It is also used as working fluid in Cryocoolers.
 Temperature close to 1 K are reported with PulseTube Cryocooler.
 The properties are of interest in relation to the theories of quantum
statistical mechanics.
 It is an important isotope in instrumentation for neutron detection.
27

MODULE 2

GAS LIQUEFACTION AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS

Qn. What are the Symbols used in Liquefaction Cycle Schematics (6 marks)

Compressor

 A compressor increases the pressure of the gas. It interacts

with the surroundings in the following ways.
o QR – Heat of compression.
o WC – Work required for compression.

Expander

The expansion is isentropic and during expansion it produces work We.

Heat Exchanger

It can either be a two-fluid type or

triple-fluid type depending upon the
number of inlets and outlets attached
to the HX.

Connecting Flow Lines

The flow of liquid is assumed to be frictionless and there is

no pressure drop during this flow.The direction of the
arrow indicates the flow direction.

Liquid Container

It is assumed that the container is perfectly insulated

from the surroundings

Qn.Which are the Methods of production of Low Temperature (6 marks)

28

o Large systems may be formed by combination of above two methods

o To increase the capacity of the system or
o To reach very low temperatures.
o Arrangements like pre cooling, Joule – Thompson expansion, expansion
devices like reciprocating or turbo expanders may be used in these systems

Qn. Difference between refrigerator and liquefier (4 marks)

 A refrigerator operates in a closed thermodynamic cycle.

 The rate of mass flow is same at any point inside the system.
 The heat is exchanged between the cold end and the object to be
cooled.
 This cold end heat exchanger can also be used to liquefy gases.
 A Liquefier often produces cold liquid that is drawn off from the
system.
 For example, a nitrogen liquefier produces LN2.
 Since the mass is drawn out from Liquefied gas the system, it
operates in an open thermodynamic cycle.
 The mass deficit occurring due to loss of the working fluid is
replenished by a makeup Gas connection.

Qn. what is a Refrigerator cum Liquefier (4 marks)

 Systems can also be used to liquefy gas (liquefier) as well as to cool
the object (refrigerator).
 A cold heat exchanger is used to transfer cold from the liquid
container to the object to be Object cooled.

Qn.What is Joule Thompson Expansion (4 marks)

 From 1st Law of Thermodynamics

 The changes in Heat (Q) and Work (W) are net zero for this
expansion device.
29

 The changes in the velocities and datum levels are very small and can be neglected.
 Mass flows are equal at inlet and outlet sections.

 Hence, a Joule – Thompson expansion is an isenthalpic expansion.

Qn.What is Joule – Thompson Effect? Explain? (10 marks)

 T – p plot for any gas at constant enthalpies are as shown.
 The constant enthalpy line shows a maxima at a particular
temperature.
 The line joining maximas divides the space into Region-1 and
Region-2.
 Consider gas at state A in the region-1 with pressure and
temperature .
 It is expanded from state A to state B at a constant enthalpy.
 This results in increase in temperature of the gas.

 Consider the gas sample at state C in region-2 with pressure and

temperature as shown.
 The gas is expanded from state C to state D at constant enthalpy.
 This decrease in pressure results in drop in temperature.
 The ratio is negative for A →B where as, it is positive for C→D.
 This ratio is called as Joule –Thompson coefficient and this effect
is called as Joule – Thompson Effect (J – T).

Mathematically,
30

 This dividing line is called as Inversion Curve.

 The temperature on the inversion curve at p = 0 is called as Maximum Inversion
Temperature, T inv.
 The initial state of the gas should be inside the region-2 or below T inv to have a
cooling effect.
 For an ideal gas
 It means that the ideal gas does not show any change in temperature
 when it undergoes J – T expansion.
 In order to have cooling effect during the expansion, the initial state of a gas should
lie inside the inversion curve or the initial temperature should be below the
Maximum Inversion Temperature.

Qn.What is Maximum Inversion Temp? (4 marks)

 The figure shows the J –T expansion on a T – s diagram.
 When the fluid expands from state 2 to state 3, the
temperature rises.
 This occurs because the initial temperature at state 2 is
above the inversion temperature.
 For the gases like He, Hydrogen and Neon, in order to
experience J – T effect, they have to be pre-cooled below Tinv.
 While the other gases show J – T cooling when expanded at room temperature.

Qn. What is Isentropic Expansion ?(4 marks)

 Enthalpy (h) and Entropy (s) are the two thermodynamic state properties of
matter which are functions of pressure and temperature.
 When the gases are expanded at constant enthalpy, as in a J – T expansion, it is
called as an Isenthalpic expansion.
 On the similar lines, when the high pressure gases are expanded at constant
entropy, it is called as an Isentropic expansion or a Reversible Adiabatic
expansion.
 The commonly used expansion devices are turbo expanders and reciprocating
expanders.
 The ratio is called as an Isentropic Expansion Coefficient.

 Isentropic expansion results in cooling irrespective of its initial state, unlike the J – T
expansion.
31

Qn. Difference between J-T and Adiabatic expansion? (4 marks)

Qn.What are the GAS LIQUEFACTION PARAMETERS? (4 marks)

 In the refrigeration systems, the Carnot COP is often used as a benchmark to compare the
Performances.
 On the similar lines, there is a need to compare different liquefaction systems.
 In liquefaction systems, an ideal cycle is used as a benchmark to compare the performances.
 Different ratios and functions are defined to give a qualitative and quantitative information
of different liquefaction systems.

Qn. Explain the working of a LINDE-HAMPSON SYSTEM?(10 marks)

32
33

Qn. Explain the working of a Claude system? (10 marks)

34

Qn. Explain Adiabatic demagnetization ? (10 marks)

Magnetic refrigeration is based on the magnetocaloric effect, discovered by E.

Warburg in 1881. Similar to mechanical compression and expansion of gases, there are some
materials that raise their temperatures when adiabatically magnetised, and drop their
temperature when adiabatically demagnetised. Temperature very near the absolute zero may
be obtained by adiabatic demagnetization of certain paramagnetic salts. Each atom of the
paramagnetic salt may be considered to be a tiny magnet. If the salt is not magnetized then all
its atoms or the magnets are randomly oriented such that the net magnetic force is zero. If it is
exposed to a strong magnetic field, the atoms will align themselves to the direction of
magnetic field. This requires work and the temperature increases during this process. If the
salt is kept in a container surrounded by Helium, the heat will be absorbed by Helium. Now if
the magnetic field is suddenly removed, the atoms will come back to the original random
orientation. This requires work to be done by the atoms. If there is no heat transfer from
surroundings, the internal energy of the salt will decrease as it does work. Consequently the
35

salt will be cooled. This process is used to achieve temperature near absolute zero.
Paramagnetic salts like gadolinium sulphate are used.

Qn, Expansion of Gases by Throttling (Joule Thomson Effect) (10 marks)

Similar to liquids, gases can also be expanded from high pressure to low pressure
either by using a turbine (isentropic expansion) or a throttling device (isenthalpic process).
Similar to throttling of liquids, the throttling of gases is also an isenthalpic process. Since the
enthalpy of an ideal gas is a function of temperature only, during an isenthalpic process, the
temperature of the ideal gas remains constant. In case of real gases, whether the temperature
decreases or increases during the isenthalpic throttling process depends on a property of the
gas called Joule-Thomson coefficient, μJT, given by:

The magnitude of μJT is a measure of deviation of real gases from ideal behaviour.
From the definition of μJT, the temperature of a real gas falls during isenthalpic expansion if
μJT is positive, and it increases when μJT is
negative. Figure shows the process of
isenthalpic expansion on temperature-
pressure coordinates.

As shown in figure, along a

constant enthalpy line (isenthalpic
process), beginning with an initial state
‘i’ the temperature of the gas increases
initially with reduction in pressure up to
point f3, and μJT is negative from point i to
point f3. However, further reduction in
pressure from point f3 to f5, results in a
reduction of temperature from f3 to f5.
Thus point f3 represents a point of
inflexion, where μJT = 0. The temperature at
the point of inflexion is known as inversion
temperature for the given enthalpy.
Therefore, if the initial condition falls on
the left of inversion temperature, the gas
undergoes a reduction in temperature
during expansion and if the initial condition
falls on the right side of inversion point,
then temperature increases during
expansion. Figure shows several isenthalpic
lines on T-p coordinates. Also shown in the figure is an inversion curve, which is the locus of
all the inversion points. The point where the inversion curve intercepts the temperature axis is
called as maximum inversion temperature. For any gas, the temperature will reduce during
throttling only when the initial temperature is lower than the maximum inversion
temperature. For most of the gases (with the exception of neon, helium, hydrogen) the
maximum inversion temperature is much above the room temperature, hence isenthalpic
expansion of these gases can lead to their cooling.
36

Qn. Explain the working of a Kapitza System (10 marks)

Qn
37

Qn. Working of Cascade System? (10 marks)

Cascade Refrigeration System uses two cycles namely the high temperature or high
pressure and the other as low temperature or the low pressure and hence the work of low
pressure cycle is to cool the high pressure cycle whereas the work of the high pressure cycle
is to cool the sink and bring the temperature of the sink down. Both the cycles work
according to the vapour compression refrigeration cycle. Very Low temperatures can be
achieved with the help of cascade refrigeration system without comprising the coefficient
of performance of the refrigerator.

Sequential Procedure of Cascade Refrigeration System

Firstly, the refrigerant in the first cycle is compressed and then this compressed refrigerant is
send to the heat
exchanger which
exchanges the heat and
the heat from the other
cycle which contains
the hot refrigerant
transfers the heat to the
second cycle i.e. the
upper cycle and then
this hot refrigerant
passes through to the
expansion valve which
expands the refrigerant
and then pour it down on the cooled refrigerant and then the evaporation takes place in the
evaporator section in the first cycle.

Whereas in the mean time in the second cycle the high temperature refrigerant is pressurized
by passing the refrigerant through the compressor in the cycle and then it is passed through to
the heat exchanger where some part of the heat energy is gained and the refrigerant is heated
and then it is passed through the condenser where it is cooled.