Overview
Français
ABSTRACT
Design and production of cryogenic equipments involves a wide variety of materials: thermal insulators, electrical conductors, superconductors, structural materials, etc. Their physical, thermal, mechanical or electrical properties depend on their chemical composition, on their lattice structure, on some interactions at atomic level, etc., and are strongly influenced by temperature variations. They indeed may vary over several orders of magnitude compared to their value at room temperature. Knowledge of the behavior of these materials becomes essential if one wants, with the equations of physics, to predict the behavior of a system in the cryogenic domain.
This article describes the specific behavior of materials observed in the cryogenic field and provides useful data for sizing a system.
Read this article from a comprehensive knowledge base, updated and supplemented with articles reviewed by scientific committees.
Read the articleAUTHORS
-
Bertrand BAUDOUY: Doctor, Research Engineer at the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) in Saclay, within the cryogenics and magnetism gas pedal department, France
-
Gérard DEFRESNE: Associate Professor - Lecturer at the Orsay University Institute of Technology (Université de Paris Sud) - Member of Laboratoire d'Informatique pour la Mécanique et les Sciences de l'Ingénieur (LIMSI)
-
Patxi DUTHIL: Doctor, Research Engineer at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) at the Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay, France
-
Jean-Pierre THERMEAU: Research engineer at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay, France
INTRODUCTION
Cryogenic equipment manufacturing techniques and the preparation of low-temperature equipment involve a wide variety of materials: insulating materials, conductors, even electrical superconductors, structural materials, and so on. Compared to operating conditions at room temperature, engineers are faced with a new situation: the very strong dependence, in general, of material properties on temperature. Knowledge of these behaviors is therefore essential, and the aim of this article is to draw the reader's attention to the original aspects of these properties. Some of them may appear unfavorable for a technical application, in which case we have to put up with them; it is also the engineer's art to suggest and exploit new applications.
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference
KEYWORDS
thermal conductivity | electrical conductivity | mechanical resistance | cryogenic | materials | mechanical engineering | heat transfers
This article is included in
Industrial cooling
This offer includes:
Knowledge Base
Updated and enriched with articles validated by our scientific committees
Services
A set of exclusive tools to complement the resources
Practical Path
Operational and didactic, to guarantee the acquisition of transversal skills
Doc & Quiz
Interactive articles with quizzes, for constructive reading
Material properties at low temperatures
Electrical properties
Bibliography
Software tools
Cryocomps © Eckels Engineering Inc 1993-2012. Database of thermal and electrical properties of materials. Software distributed in France by Cryoforum
Directory
Laboratories – Design offices – Schools – Research centers (non-exhaustive list)
French Atomic Energy Commission CEA http://www.cea.fr
Air Liquide http://www.airliquide.com
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference
