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CRYOGENICS IN A NUTSHELL WHAT IS CRYOGENICS?

Article · February 2018

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James E Fesmire Adam Swanger

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CRYOGENICS IN A NUTSHELL

WHAT IS CRYOGENICS?

Cryogenic engineering (cryogenics) is the production, preservation, and use of The Cold. Cryogenics
is usually taken to mean dealing with “supercold” temperatures, but any temperatures below the
ambient can be taken to include the cryogenic range, depending on the application. Definitions vary
widely as there are many different applications and uses of The Cold. Here is the Merriam Dictionary
definition:

The Encyclopædia Britannica puts it this way:

Cryogenics, production and application of low-temperature phenomena.
The cryogenic temperature range has been defined as from −150 °C (−238 °F) to absolute zero (−273 °C
or −460 °F), the temperature at which molecular motion comes as close as theoretically possible to
ceasing completely.
The broader definition proposed in recent decades by some members of the International Institute of
Refrigeration (IIR) includes temperatures from +273 K (0 °C or 32 °F, freezing point of water) to 0 K (-
273 °C or -459.7 °F, absolute zero). Cryogenic engineering (or cryo-engineering) is our main focus: making
cold and making cold work for practical needs. But there are also the related areas of cryo-physics, cryo-
biological, and cryo-medical.

For convenience here, in this general discussion of the discipline area of cryogenics, we will take the
liberty of making the word cryogenics synonymous with cryogenic engineering or cryo-engineering for
short. Certainly, it is a fair statement to say that cryogenic engineering has much to do with hot
temperatures (as in dealing with the heat coming in or rejecting heat) as well as with the cold
temperatures. The temperature difference, the ΔT, is the key driver and the chief problem. This notion
is supported by the fact that we never run across a discipline area called “ambient engineering.”
Cryogenics has to do about heat (energy), and heat about temperature. Dealing with heat has to do
about the temperature difference (∆T) such as between the ambient and a cold vessel.

Cryogenics Test Laboratory – NASA Kennedy Space Center – Florida – USA

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WHAT DOES CRYOGENICS DO IN THE WORLD?

Cryogenics by Topics (some of the sub-disciplines of cryogenics)*

1. Thermodynamics / Heat Transfer

2. Fluids / Fluid Properties
3. Refrigeration (Production of Cold) / Cryocoolers
4. Process Systems Design and Operations
5. Low-Temperature Physics / Cryostat Design
6. Materials, Fabrication, Welding, and Testing (The Shops)
7. Storage and Transfer (and Components: valves, fittings, connectors, pumps, etc.)
8. Vacuum Technology
9. Instrumentation and Sensors
10. Chemistry, Surface Science, Physical Chemistry (and Materials)

*Note: not in order of importance as all 10 topics often work together as a whole.

Cryogenics Test Laboratory – NASA Kennedy Space Center – Florida – USA

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CRYOGENICS BY THE APPLICATIONS

Examples of end uses within NASA Missions

1. Cryofuels Systems / Space Launch

2. In-Space Propulsion (2-phase and microgravity management)
3. Refrigeration (from production to long-term storage)
4. Cryocoolers, Cryostats, and Integration for Science Instruments
5. Electrical Power / Fuel Cells
6. Energy Storage / Magnets / Superconductors (HTS and LTS)
7. Life Support Systems (Breathing Air and biological preservation)
8. Medical / Biological
9. Advanced Manufacturing / Materials / Pure Processes / Vacuum
10. Exploration / ISRU (production, liquefaction, storage, transfer, use)

THINKING BIG AND WORKING SMALL

A practical work approach to research & development

 Cryogenics makes the modern world work and makes it work better for people and planet
 Don’t just talk about something, do something. Don’t just do something, think about it.
 Think: what is the point, who will do it, why does it matter?
 Solutions are but time and money. Coming up with the right problem to work on? That is
sometimes the harder work.
 What is the mind-set? It is crucial.
 Be practical and helpful, perform quality work with full integrity, and have a product-focused
mindset.
 Product: solve real problems, deliver quality and useful technical documents, add to the cone of
knowledge through publications, contribute to keeping our nation at the technological forefront
through technology transfer to industry, and help come up with long-term better ways of doing
things for better life on Earth for all people.
 If we’re not here to make a difference through technological advances and help change the world
for the better, then what are we here for?
 Some basic principles of a practical work approach for R&D is given in the following table:

Cryogenics Test Laboratory – NASA Kennedy Space Center – Florida – USA

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PEOPLE PROCESSS PRODUCT

Start > < Process Improvement > < End
Big ideas Streamlining Technical results & real data
What is the right problem to solve? Organizing Tangible products
Motivation of people Strategic planning Create tech base∞
Hopes, dreams, imagination Innovating & improving Expand tech base∞
Building, inspiring, doing Training & education Promote tech base∞
Courage, loyalty, determination People investment Entrepreneurial growth

∞
Tech Base is the technological foundation and pre-eminence of the United States achieved by bringing together
the Shops, Businesses, and Institutions in the common purpose of peaceful exploration and understanding the
physical world in which we live for the benefit of all people.

NASA, R&D, AND CRYOGENICS

What does the law say?

TITLE 51—NATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL SPACE PROGRAMS

This title was enacted by Pub. L. 111–314, §3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3328

‘‘(9) NASA’s scientific research activities have contributed much to the advancement of knowledge,
provided societal benefits, and helped train the next generation of scientists and engineers, and
those activities should continue to be an important priority. ‘‘

“(10) NASA should make a sustained commitment to a robust long-term technology development
activity. Such investments represent the critically important ‘seed corn’ on which NASA’s ability to
carry out challenging and productive missions in the future will depend. ‘‘

“(11) NASA, through its pursuit of challenging and relevant activities, can provide an important
stimulus to the next generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics.

Cryogenics Test Laboratory – NASA Kennedy Space Center – Florida – USA

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Cryogenics—the production, management, and utilization of temperatures

below those naturally found on Earth
• Lowest ambient temperature ever recorded on Earth: -128.6°F (184 K; -89.2°C);
at the Soviet base in Antarctica in 1983
• Lowest ambient temperature ever recorded in the solar system: -397°F (35 K;
-238°C); in the permanently shadowed crater's on Earth’s moon
• Background temperature of outer space: -454.8°F (2.7 K; -270.5°C); due to the
leftover radiation from the birth of the universe (the Big Bang)
Two primary applications in Cryogenics
Storing large amounts of energy in a small volume → Energy/Mass Utilization
Using the low temperature to do something useful → Temperature Utilization

Two primary technical areas in Cryogenics

Production of the Cold → Refrigeration/Liquefaction Cycles and Machines
Preservation of the Cold → Thermal Insulation Materials and Systems
5

Cryogenics Test Laboratory – NASA Kennedy Space Center – Florida – USA

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CRYOGENICS • Superconductivity
• Preservation
• Medical
• Materials Science
• Detectors & Sensing

Temperature
Utilization

• Physics • Mechanical
• Fluids • Business
Production • Heat Transfer • Fabrication Preservation
• Thermodynamics • Design
of the Cold • Materials • Testing
of the Cold
• Chemistry • Marketing
• Electrical • Communication

Energy/Mass
Utilization

• Rocket Propellant
• Breathing Air
• Industrial Gases
• Transportation
1/18/2018

Cryogenics Test Laboratory – NASA Kennedy Space Center – Florida – USA

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Electrical Power Ships Automotive Medical Sports Food

Fuel Cells
Production
Cryosurgery (cryotherapy) Preservation
Spacecraft
Liquefied Hydrogen Deburring &
Deflashing Biological Tissue
& Natural Gas Dermatology Cryo-
Backup
Grinding Temperature
Power
Utilization
Aircraft Quantum Telescopes
Semiconductor Computing (land & space-based)
Large Rockets
Production
Material Science &
Special Industrial Processes
Shrink
Energy/Mass Effects Welding
Fitting
Human Utilization Detectors & Sensing
Spacecraft
Cryo-treatment
Condensed
Inert Liquefied Gasses Matter
(nitrogen, helium, etc.) Spectrometers
Next-Generation Machine Space Science
Hospitals Aerospace
Power Production Tools Missions
Parts

Calorimetry Testing Automotive Telecommunications

System Purging Parts
(heat flow measurement)
Liquefied Air/Oxygen Fusion Reactors
Safety
Culinary Art Superconductivity
(displacing flammable gas) Magnetically
Levitated Trains
Magnetic Resonance
Testing Power
Firefighting/Rescue Military Aircraft Particle Accelerators Imaging (MRI)
(displacing air/moisture) Energy Storage Transmission

Cryogenics Test Laboratory – NASA Kennedy Space Center – Florida – USA

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https://www.cryogenicsociety.org/resources/

Cryogenics Test Laboratory – NASA Kennedy Space Center – Florida – USA

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From the Cryogenic Society of America, here are a few more examples of the uses of cryogenics:

Air Separation and Liquefaction

Astronomy
Bose-Einstein Condensate
Cold Technology for Pest Control
Compressed and Specialty Gases
Cryobiology
Cryocoolers
Cryogenic Electronics
Cryogenic Finishing
Cryogenic Insulation
Cryogenic Treatment of Materials
Cryogenics in Space
Cryosurgery
Food Processing
Liquefied Natural Gas
Medical Applications of Cryogenics
Nuclear Physics
Particle Physics: High Energy Physics
Shrink Fitting
Superconductivity
• Energy Storage
• Magnets
• Magnetic Levitation
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• HTS Degaussing Systems for Navy Ships
Telecommunications
Wind Tunnels

Energy efficient cryogenics, on Earth and in space….We’re cold but we care!

James E. Fesmire and Adam Swanger

Cryogenics Test Laboratory
NASA Kennedy Space Center
February 7, 2018

Cryogenics Test Laboratory – NASA Kennedy Space Center – Florida – USA

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