Example: helium at 4.2 K (NBP) Empirical evidence indicates that ΔT 0.3 K This corresponds to r. C 17 nm Number of helium molecules in bubble 10,000 Bubble has sufficient number of molecules to be treated as a thermodynamic system Actual nucleate boiling heat transfer involves heterogeneous nucleation of bubbles on a surface. Cryogenic Purification - Helium & Hydrogen. Natural Gas Liquefaction. Helium Recycling. Nitrogen Liquefaction & Reliquefaction. Warm Gas Purification. Vacuum Insulated Piping & Distribution. Cold Gas Compression. Monomer Recovery. The skills set of Cryo Technologies' staff is second to none in the industry. Our people possess. Cryogenic services involves the handling of liquefied gases like helium, hydrogen, methane, nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine in temperatures between -150 o F to -450 o F. The 'cryogenic' properties of these materials can be summarized to. Helium does not freeze at atmospheric pressure. Only at pressures above 20 times atmospheric will solid helium form. Liquid helium, because of its low boiling point, is used in many cryogenic systems when temperatures below the boiling point of nitrogen are needed.
As featured in gasworld US edition—Founded in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in its almost 60 years of business, Gardner Cryogenics has produced more than 1,900 cryogenic tanks, the first of which is still operational today.
.JPG "Cryogenic helium compressor")
Specialised in developing high-performance, high reliability, long-lasting storage tanks for the transportation of liquid helium and hydrogen molecules globally, Gardner’s team of cryogenic experts work around the clock to provide its customers with high quality products.
The company’s story began in 1961 and gained momentum in 1981 when it was acquired, giving Gardner an increased opportunity to develop crucial products for the cryogenics industry. In 1967 Gardner designed its 8,500-gallon liquid helium ISO container, and in 1973 the company went on to introduce the first 11,000-gallon ISO container, which eventually became the global industry standard for moving liquid helium molecules.
Gardner’s early product innovations are widely respected in the industry, and it’s first ever 11,000-gallon ISO tank is still in operation today and, to date, only five of the 1700-plus ISO containers manufactured by Gardner have been decommissioned.
Ravi Subramanian, Business and Product Development Manager at Gardner Cryogenics, told gasworld, “Used by all major industrial gas companies, Gardner’s 11,000-gallon 40-foot ISO container, is the world’s most economical and widely used containerised liquid helium tank. For nearly 60 years, Gardner has been focused on developing products that meet the needs of the cryogenic industry. Gardner Cryogenics is proud to support our helium customers globally by offering and enabling them to cost-effectively move and store helium with near zero loss.”
Today, Gardner Cryogenics showcases a diverse portfolio of products for liquid helium and liquid hydrogen with storage containers from 1,500 to 45,000 gallons and transportation containers ranging from 1,500 to 17,000 gallons.
Helium Cryogenic Temperature
“Our most popular products are the 11,000 gallon 175 psig-40 days liquid helium ISO containers and the 17,000-gallon liquid hydrogen semi-trailer,” Subramanian said.
“The 11,000 gallon 175 psig-40 days container is the ultimate ISO container, an innovation built to meet our customers’ demand for high-reliability, long-lasting and high-performance. Gardner has seen demand continue to grow in its helium segment. With new helium sources expected to be onstream in the coming year, the need for new helium ISO containers has enabled growth during the pandemic.”
Subramanian added, “Our Ultimate 11,000-gallon, 175-40 days ISO container, 91 psi 35 days dual shield technology, and 91-45 days product will support the global growth and accommodate logistic challenges to transport the molecules from source to customer site.”
A key feature that makes Gardner’s innovations highly popular throughout the market is the company’s unique technology that provides the lowest heat-leak for the highest yield when transporting, storing and transferring liquid helium and liquid hydrogen.
While Gardner’s products have served the industry for decades, it has adapted the company’s offerings to align with the latest trends.
Discussing the trends Gardner is currently seeing, Subramanian explained, “We are seeing continued demand for our liquid helium ISO containers. Also, with increasing demand from helium in Asia, we are expanding our aftermarket services globally to support our customers where they are located. With ‘Hydrogen for Mobility’ expected to grow in North America, Europe, China, and Korea, Gardner is expanding its product portfolio and adding manufacturing floor space to meet market demand globally.”
Subramanian also explained that with new sources of helium, and the growing hydrogen energy demand, Gardner is planning to expand its product portfolio accordingly.
“We plan to offer a liquid hydrogen stationary tank, meeting European, Chinese, and Korean regulations and liquid hydrogen transportable semi-trailers to store and move the molecules. Gardner added more floor space to increase its manufacturing capacity to meet market demand,” Subramanian said.
“The Gardner engineering team continues to push the limit by developing novel concepts to enable our customers to address challenging logistic issues, regulatory demands and manage their operational needs.”
Cryogenics is the branch of physics that deals with the production and effects of very low temperatures. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the largest cryogenic system in the world and one of the coldest places on Earth. All of the magnets on the LHC are electromagnets – magnets in which the magnetic field is produced by the flow of electric current. The LHC's main magnets operate at a temperature of 1.9 K (-271.3°C), colder than the 2.7 K (-270.5°C) of outer space.
The LHC's cryogenic system requires 40,000 leak-tight pipe seals, 40 MW of electricity – 10 times more than is needed to power a locomotive – and 120 tonnes of helium to keep the magnets at 1.9 K.
Cryogenic Helium Bottle
Extreme cold for exceptional performances
Magnets produce a magnetic field of 8.33 tesla to keep particle beams on course around the LHC's 27-kilometre ring. A current of 11,850 amps in the magnet coils is needed to reach magnetic fields of this amplitude. The use of superconducting materials – those that conduct electricity with no resistance – has proven to be the best way of avoiding overheating in the coils and of keeping them as small as possible.
Superconductivity could not happen without the use of cryogenic systems. The coils' niobium-titanium (NbTi) wires must be kept at low temperatures to reach a superconducting state. The LHC's superconducting magnets are therefore maintained at 1.9 K (-271.3°C) by a closed liquid-helium circuit.
Cryogenic techniques essentially serve to cool the superconducting magnets. In particle detectors they are also used to keep heavy gases such as argon or krypton in a liquid state, for detecting particles in calorimeters, for example.
Cryogenic Helium Tank
Three steps to cooling
The layout of the LHC magnet cooling system is based on five 'cryogenic islands' which distribute the cooling fluid and convey kilowatts of cooling power over several kilometres.
The entire cooling process takes weeks to complete. It consists of three different stages. During the first stage, helium is cooled to 80 K and then to 4.5 K. It is injected into the cold masses of the magnets in a second stage, before being cooled to a temperature of 1.9 K in the third and final stage.
During the first stage, some 10,000 tonnes of liquid nitrogen are used in heat exchangers in the refrigerating equipment to bring the temperature of the helium down to 80 K.
Cryogenic Helium Pump
The helium is then cooled to 4.5 K (-268.7°C) using turbines. Once the magnets have been filled, the 1.8 K refrigeration units bring the temperature down yet further to 1.9 K (-271.3°C).
In total, the cryogenics system cools some 36,000 tonnes of magnet cold masses.
Tonnes of helium for the big chill
Helium was a natural choice of coolant as its properties allow components to be kept cool over long distances. At atmospheric pressure gaseous helium becomes liquid at around 4.2 K (-269.0°C). However, if cooled below 2.17 K (-271.0°C), it passes from the fluid to the superfluid state. Superfluid helium has remarkable properties, including very high thermal conductivity; it is an efficient heat conductor. These qualities make helium an excellent refrigerant for cooling and stabilising the LHC's large-scale superconducting systems.
Helium circulates in a closed circuit while the machine is in operation.