Abstract: Coolant (3) whose boiling point is higher than the temperature of cooled SQUID elements (2) as cooled objects is poured into an inner container (37) for containing SQUID elements. The SQUID elements (2) are soaked in the coolant (3). Before the inner container (37) for containing SQUID elements is used, the coolant (3) is cooled and solidified by a refrigerator (7).

Abstract: An method for the recovery of oxygen at hyperbaric pressure by low-temperature air fractionation includes compressing feed air to a first pressure, which is about the same as the operating pressure of the pressure column. At least a first partial flow of the feed air is cooled in a main heat exchanger and passed into the pressure column. An oxygen flow is tapped from the low-pressure column; brought to a delivery pressure that is higher than the operating pressure of the low-pressure column; heated in the main heat exchanger; and discharged as product. The pressure of a process stream from the main heat exchanger is relieved in a work-expanding manner, and the process stream is supplied to the low-pressure column. At least a portion of the mechanical energy generated by the work-expanding is used to drive a cold compressor.

Abstract: An apparatus for subjecting articles of manufacture to a cryogenic thermal cycling process includes a bottom portion and a lid. The bottom portion comprises an outer and inner tank separated by a plurality of insulation layers. The inner tank defines an inner cavity wherein the articles are subjected to the cryogenic process. A thermal break is provided between the lid and bottom portion so that the temperature of the inner cavity does not conduct to the outer tank of the apparatus bottom portion. The process conducted in the apparatus is controlled by a pre-programmed profile inputted by a key controller or PC. Liquid nitrogen is the preferred cryogenic material to be employed. The novel process subjects the article to extreme negative temperatures thereafter cycling the article between a set of negative temperatures for a number of cycles. The process is completed by heating the article to an extreme positive temperature and then allowed to cool to ambient room temperature.

Abstract: A hybrid two-stage cryocooler includes a first-stage Stirling expander having a first-stage interface and a Stirling expander outlet, a thermal-energy storage device in thermal communication with first-stage interface, and a second-stage pulse tube expander with a pulse tube inlet. A gas flow path extends between the Stirling expander outlet and the pulse tube inlet, and a heat exchanger is in thermal contact with the gas flow path. The relative cooling power of the first and second stages may be controlled to increase the cooling power of the second stage relative to the first stage in response to an increased heat load to the second stage. The thermal-energy storage device acts as a thermal buffer during this period, and is later cooled when the relative cooling power is adjusted to increase the cooling power of the first stage.

Abstract: A cryogenic rectification system comprising an upstream krypton/xenon knockout column and a downstream oxygen upgrader column wherein the knockout column processes a crude feed for removal of heavy components including hydrocarbons and the upgrader column produces ultra high purity oxygen.

Abstract: A Stirling cycle cryocooler is disclosed that includes a displacer unit having a cold end and a hot end. The displacer unit includes a cold cylinder housing and a displacer liner disposed on the inner surface of the housing. A displacer assembly lies within the displacer liner and is slidable with respect to the lengthwise axis of the housing. The displacer unit also includes a regenerator unit. A heat acceptor is affixed to the cold end of the displacer unit. The heat acceptor transfers heat from a device such as a High Temperature Superconducting Filter to a gas such as helium located within the displacer unit. The heat acceptor preferably includes a radial component and an annular component. The heat acceptor advantageously decreases the heat transfer resistance between the heat acceptor and the helium gas. The Stirling cycle cryocooler is thus able to operate with reduced input power to achieve a desired lift level.

Abstract: The present invention provides a cryopump coupled to a gate valve in which the gate valve is automatically prevented from being opened during unsafe conditions, for example, when combustible gases such as hydrogen may be present in the cryopump, but may be operated during safe conditions. A method of controlling the gate valve includes automatically determining with a controller whether the cryopump is operating in one of safe and unsafe conditions. The unsafe conditions are situations where combustible gas may be present in the cryopump and may be correlated to parameters of the cryopump including operational modes of the cryopump, and sensed parameters. The gate valve is automatically controlled with the controller based on the determination of safe and unsafe conditions. The gate valve is automatically locked closed during unsafe conditions and remains locked until the unsafe conditions are removed.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for producing a pressurized high purity liquid carbon dioxide stream in which a feed stream composed of carbon dioxide vapor is purified within a purifying filter and then condensed within a condenser. The result liquid is then alternately introduced and dispensed from two first and second pressure accumulation chambers. The first and second pressure accumulation chambers are heated by electrical heaters to pressurize the liquid to the required or desired delivery pressure of the pressurized liquid carbon dioxide stream. Such stream is alternately extracted from the first and second pressure accumulation chambers on a continuous basis in which one of the first and second pressure accumulation chambers acts in a dispensing role while the other is being filled. The pressurized liquid carbon dioxide stream can be further filtered within a particulate filter.

Abstract: A natural gas liquefaction system and process wherein excess refrigeration available in a typical natural gas liquefaction system is used to cool the inlet air to gas turbines in the system to thereby improve the overall efficiency of the system. A cooler is positioned in front of the air inlet of each gas turbine; and coolant (e.g. water) is flowed through each of the coolers to cool the ambient air as it flows into the gas turbines. The water, in turn, is cooled with propane taken from a refrigerant circuit in the system which, in turn, is used to initially cool the natural gas which is to be liquefied.

Abstract: Liquid oxygen, which is extracted from the bottom of a lower pressure rectifier and compressed by a liquid oxygen pump to a predetermined supply pressure, is evaporated in a main heat exchanger to prepare an oxygen gas product, while oxygen gas is circulated in the main heat exchanger at a linear velocity which is equal to or higher than the terminal velocity, calculated depending on the supply pressure, of an oxygen droplet having a diameter of 200 &mgr;m. This process effectively prevents precipitation of heavy impurities in the heat exchanger and produces higher pressure oxygen gas at reduced operational costs.

Abstract: A belt conveyor device for transporting cold foods capable of controlling the quality and sanitation of foods, without requiring the necessity of cooling a whole processing room and without being affected by an environmental temperature, by forming cooling spaces only in the food transporting spaces of a conveyor for processing and transporting cold foods. Wherein cold air outlets and cold air suction ports are provided on the right and left sides of the transporting spaces of the belt conveyor opposedly to each other across the belt conveyor, cooling parts are provided in spaces sandwiched between the upper and lower sides of the running belt, food transporting spaces on the surfaces of the belt conveyor in a working space are formed, by a cool air flow from the cold air outlets to the cold air suction ports, into the cooled spaces having temperatures equivalent to a food refrigerating temperature of approx. 10-C.

Abstract: A cryopump system includes an integral assembly having a refrigerator, cryopumping surfaces cooled by the refrigerator, a first electronic module for controlling the cryopump, and a second electronic module which is removably coupled to the first module. The second electronic module has a first surface abutting a complementary first surface of a housing of the first electronic module. Preferably, the first controller module has three orthogonal surfaces of approximately the same dimensions. Electronic modules can be removably coupled to each of the three surfaces. The cryopump system includes a module cap which is coupled to an end of an electronic module to shield electrical connections between two coupled electronic modules. The electronic modules comprise a channel of rectangular cross section having slots for mounting printed circuit boards.

Abstract: A cryogenic vacuum pump includes, in an integral assembly, temperature sensors and heaters associated with the first and second stages of the cryopumping array, a roughing valve and a purge valve. An electronic module removably coupled in the assembly responds to all sensors and controls all operations of the cryopump including regeneration thereof. System parameters are stored in a nonvolatile memory in the module. Included in the regeneration procedures are an auto-zero of the pressure gauge, heating of the array throughout rough pumping, and a change in pressure rate test to determine stall in rough pumping. The electronic module also restarts the system after power failure, limits use of a pressure gauge to safe conditions, provides warnings before allowing opening of the valves while the cryopump is operating and stores sensor calibration information. Control through a control pad on the pump may be limited by a password requirement. Password override is also provided.

Abstract: A regenerative thermo-acoustic energy converter includes a regenerator assembly located within an acoustic resonator room filled with gas, the regenerator assembly includes a regenerator located between a cold heat exchanger and a warm heat exchanger and a non-dissipative bypass circuit filled with gas connected across the regenerator assembly.

Abstract: Fire prevention and suppression system is provided for human occupied computer rooms and other industrial and public facilities. The equipment of the system provides low-oxygen environments with climate control and at normal atmospheric or slightly increased pressure. The system employs an oxygen-extraction apparatus, which supplies oxygen-depleted air inside an enclosed area communicating with the device. A fire-extinguishing composition is provided for continuous use in human occupied environments, being mostly a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen having oxygen content ranging from 12% to 18%.

Abstract: A cryogenic rectification system comprising a rare gas concentrator column for producing a liquid having an enhanced concentration of krypton and xenon, and which processes atmospheric fluids and also produces gaseous oxygen and liquid nitrogen.

Abstract: A double-tube type heat exchanger has a restriction hole (6), formed on an inner tube (3), through which a refrigerant introduced into an outer tube (3) is introduced into the inner tube (3) while the refrigerant expands. Therefore, a part of the refrigerant introduced into the outer tube (3) can be introduced into the inner tube (2) from the restriction hole (6) while the refrigerant expands. That is, the restriction hole (6) formed on the inner tube (2) serves as an expansion mechanism of a bypass flow. Therefore, this double-tube type heat exchanger (1) allows an injection circuit or a super-cooling circuit to be compactly and inexpensively constructed.

Abstract: The process and the apparatus serve for the low-temperature fractionation of air in a rectification system that has at least one pressure column and one low-pressure column. Feed air is compressed to a first pressure p1 in a first compressor, purified in a purification stage, cooled and at least in part introduced into the pressure column. At least one liquid fraction from the pressure column is fed into the low-pressure column. A nitrogen-rich fraction from the low-pressure column is warmed and mixed with feed air. The warmed nitrogen-rich fraction is mixed with the feed air downstream of the feed air purification stage. The mixture of feed air and nitrogen-rich fraction is further compressed in a second compressor to a second pressure p2 which is higher than the first pressure p1.

Abstract: Refrigerant cooling coils inserted within a passage of brine in a heat exchanger are so deformed into a shape of flat elliptical cylinder that long axis of ellipse is parallel to a condensing surface, and a side or two sides of a pair of flat faces formed by deformation machining are fitted within the passage, closely contacted with an inner wall of the passage of the brine, in order to increase the contact surface between the refrigerant cooling ellipse coils and the inner wall of the passage of brine in the vapor trap plate and in order to enhance boundary film convection heat transfer coefficient of the brine circulated in the passage of said heat exchanger so as to provide excellent heat transfer property and great vapor condensing capability.

Abstract: A dehumidifier unit for pre-conditioning air delivered to a multiplicity of separate refrigeration air conditioner units and especially ductless systems where the compressor-condenser unit is separate from the fan-coil unit, and assisted by heat pipe transfer of heat from air dehumidified through a desiccant wheel and by heat of compression from the condenser of one compressor-condenser unit, and with a heater to maintain the temperature of regeneration air through the wheel, one dehumidifier unit pre-conditioning air for a multiplicity of refrigeration air conditioners or fan-coil units.