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A REVIEW OF CRYOGENICS
NACHIKET KUMTHEKAR . UMESH CHAVHAN .RAJEEV RAJEPANDHARE
ABSTRACT: Cryogenics is the study and behaviour of materials at very low
temperatures.It is assumed that the cryogenic temperature start at or below
-150 degree celsius. But logically it is a temperature below -180 degree
celsius where gases such as helium,hydrogen,oxygen and nitrogen
condense.there are various branches of cryogenics such as
cryobiology,cryosurgery,cryoelectronics,cryonics,etc. liquified gases such as
liquid nitrogen and liquid helium are used in many cryogenic applications.
these liquids are stored in dewar flasks. all cryogens have two properties in
common: 1) they are extremely cold 2)small amounts of liquids can expand
into a very large volumes of gas. there are mainly three types of cryogenic
liquids which are :1)inert gas 2)flammable gas 3)oxygen. these cryogens are
used to decrease the temperature suddenly to a very low value. liquid like
helium can become a superfluid(zero viscosity) at temperature below 2.19 K.
there are various applications of cryogenics in space,gas
industry,superconductivity, etc. it is used for rocket propulsion,coolling of IR
sensors,etc. in space technology. cryogenics has it's many applications in cell
preservation,food preservation,cryosurgery. it can be used as an extension or
may be a replacement to heat treatment and in some other mechanical
operations. it is also used in MRI,NMR and maglev locomotion. highly cooled
metals can be made to achieve state of superconductivity using
cryogenics.applications can change the future of humanity.
KEYWORDS: Cryogenics, cryogenic agents, cryogenic
treatment,applications,hazards and safety measures
1)INTRODUCTION
The word ' cryogenics ' originates from the greek word 'krys' which
means cold and 'genics' means to generate. it has come to mean the
generation of temperatures well below normal human experience.
more specifically, a low temperature environment is termed a
cryogenic environment when the temperature range is below the point
at which permanent gases begin to liquify. among others they include
oxygen,nitrogen,hydrogen,helium. it is not well defined at what point
on the temperature scale , refrigeration ends and cryogenics begins.
but according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology has
chosen to consider the field of cryogenics as that involving
temperatures below -180 degree celsius. this is a logical dividing line
since the normal boiling points of the permanent gases lie below -180
degree celsius while the freon refrigerants,hydrogen sulphide and
other common refrigerants have boiling points above -180 degree
celsius. A person who studies the elements that have been subjected
to extremely cold temperatures is called a cryogenicist. they use the
kelvin or rankine scale.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CRYOGENICS:
Starting back about 150 years ago Swiss watchmakers gave birth to
cryogenics. they uesd to bury their watch parts in the snow for a winter
because they noticed that it would make them more durable and
therefore keep better time. after that in 1930's, the tool and die
makers noticed, that freezing tool steel would help it to hold an edge
better than that of un-frozen tool steel. by the 1940's it was common
to see shop yards with castings sitting out, over the season so that the
hot and cold weather would be benificial for relieving the stresses in
the material. from this came the term"seasoned" and this is a practice
and term used today. cryogenic and refrigeration technology share a
common history. first practical vapour compression refrigerator was
invented by JAMES HARRISON in 1855. in 1872,sir JAMES DEWAR
invented the vaccum flask, which is till date used for the cryogen
storage purpose. the air first liquified in 1883 by polish scientist named
olszewski.ten years later olszewski and a british scientist sir james
dewar liquified hydrogen. in 1902, georges claude improved the
efficiency of air liquefication by including reciprocating expansion
engine. the dutch physicist kamerlingh onnes finally liquified helium in
1908. thus, by the beginning of the twentieth century the door had
been opened to a strange new world of experimentation.
Cold treatments were reported to have beneficial effects on tool
performance as back as 1937. both in the united states and europe,
several reports have appeared of substantial benefits which can be
realized by treating steel tools at a low temperature,around 77K.
especially within the united states, claims for improvements have been
expanded which included copper,carbides,nylon and some high
temperature alloys. it has been found that a cryogenic treatment of
high speed steel(HSS) allowed the use of higher cutting speed in
certain cases. Gordon and cohen found that only by including a cold
treatment in the processing cycle of tool steel, a certain favourable
combination of properties could be achieved.transformation of retained