Lecture 7

Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics

J. G. Weisend II

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 1
 Goals

▪ Introduce conduction, convection & radiation heat transfer as they

apply to cryogenics
▪ Describe design techniques to reduce heat transfer into cryogenic
devices
▪ Allow the estimating and scaling of heat leaks into cryogenic devices
▪ Discuss the basics of cryostat design
▪ Warning! Not a full description of heat transfer
• Many topics (boiling, detailed convection calculations, complicated
geometries in radiation heat transfer etc) won’t be covered
• Should, however, be a good example of how heat transfer theory can be
applied to practical problems.

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 2
 Three Ways to Transfer Heat

▪ Conduction
• Heat transfer through solid material
▪ Convection
• Heat transfer via a moving fluid
» Natural or free convection – motion caused by gravity (i.e. density changes)
» Forced – motion caused by external force such as a pump
▪ Radiation
• Heat transferred by electromagnetic radiation/photons
▪ There is no such thing as a perfect insulator – though we can design systems with very
small heat leaks
▪ All matter above 0 K radiate heat
• Remember we can’t get to 0 K – 3rd Law of Thermodynamics though we can get
vanishingly close
▪ Heat flows from high temperature to low
• Heat leaks in, cold doesn’t leak out
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
June 2019 Slide 3
 Conduction Heat Transfer

▪ Fundamental Equation – The Fourier Law in one dimension

T
Q = − K (T )A( x )
x TH

▪ If we assume constant cross section we get: Q = − A / L K (T )dT 

TC

▪ Reduce conduction heat leak by:

• Low conductivity material: make K(T) small
• Reduce cross sectional area: make A small
• Increase length: make L large
• For a given TC make TH smaller: i.e. use intermediate temperature heat
intercepts
» You still have heat leak from 300 K to this intermediate temperature but remember
Carnot, It’s more thermodynamically efficient to remove heat at higher
temperatures
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
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 Design Example
ILC Cryomodule Support Post
Courtesy T. Nicol - Fermilab

300 K
70 K

Fiberglass pipe

4K

2K

▪ Total Heat Leak (conduction &

radiation)
• 70 K - 10.5 W
• 5 K - 0.9 W
• 2 K - 0.03 W
▪ Can support up to 50 kN
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
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 Conduction Heat Transfer

▪ Conduction heat leaks may be estimated by the use of Thermal

Conductivity Integrals (Lecture 4)

Q = −G (1 −  2 )

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 6
 Convection Heat Transfer

▪ Fundamental Equation: Newton’s law of cooling

Q = hA(Tsurface – Tfluid)
where h is the heat transfer coefficient and is a function of Re, Pr,
geometry etc depending on the situation
▪ In cryogenics we eliminate convection heat leak in cryogenic systems
by “simply” eliminating the fluid – vacuum insulation
▪ Using vacuum insulation to create vessels capable of storing cryogenic
liquids was first done by James Dewar – who liquefied hydrogen
• Such vessels are frequently called dewars – though not always, more later
• Thermos bottles are a simple example of this approach

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 7
 Design Example
Vacuum Insulated Test Cryostat

▪ Contains 3 Vacuum Spaces

• 1 between 300 K wall and LN2 bath
• 1 between LN2 bath and LHe bath
• 1 between LHe bath and
experiment

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 8
 Vacuum Insulation
▪ How much vacuum is enough?
• This of course depends on the heat leak requirements but generally we want
to be below 10-5 torr If we maintain this level or better we can generally
neglect the convection heat leak for most applications.
» Cryogenic Engineering, Flynn (1997) has a good discussion of calculating heat
leak due to residual gas pressure
▪ Cryopumping
• At cryogenic temperatures almost all common gases condense and freeze
onto the cold surface. Typically, we’ll see that once surface are cooled to ~
77 K the isolation vacuum will drop to the 10-8 torr or better range if the
system is leak tight and doesn’t have significant outgassing
• But don’t just start cooling with everything at room pressure
» Heat leak will likely be too high
» Safety hazards due to enrichment of LOX on cold surfaces
» Large amounts of condensed gases in vacuum space can lead to other problems
including rapid pressure rise upon warming and possible solid conduction
» Best practice is to be at least 10-3 torr before cooling, lower pressures are better
but there may be operational tradeoffs Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
June 2019 Slide 9
 Outgassing and Getters

▪ All material outgas into a vacuum. This can raise the pressure in a
sealed vacuum space
▪ Reduce outgassing by:
• Minimize amount of polymers, wire insulation, FRP etc – difficult
• Keep vacuum surfaces as clean as possible. Remove any oil or cutting fluid,
wear gloves etc.
▪ Getters: materials inserted into vacuum spaces to remove residual gas
at low pressures
▪ In cryogenic systems, getters may be useful in removing residual gas
and passively managing small leaks

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 10
 Outgassing and Getters

▪ 3 types of getters
• Adsorbers –gas bonds to surface
» Activated charcoal, silica gel
» Effectiveness increases with decreasing temperature – good for cryogenic
systems
• Chemical getters – chemical reaction between material and gas
» Ba & other Alkali metals – not very common in cryogenics
• Solution or absorber getters – gas is absorbed in interstitial space of metals
» Ti, Zr, Th works well with H2, O2 and N2
» Much better at room temperature
» Occasional use in room temperature applications in cryogenic systems

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 11
 Getters, Cryogenics
and Gilligan’s island
▪ It turns out that one of the most common and effective materials used
for getters of low pressure He gas is activated charcoal made from
coconut husks.
▪ There is a significant amount of this material in the LHC magnet
cryostats

The Professor says:

“Lets look for the Higgs!”

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 12
 Foam & Other Insulation
Methods
▪ Not all cryogenic systems use vacuum insulation
▪ This is particularly true of storage vessels for fluids other than helium
▪ Reasons for using alternatives to vacuum insulation
• Cost
• Weight – Space shuttle main tank
• Required hold time – related to size
• Complex vessel shapes
▪ Some solutions
• Expanded closed or open cell foams
• Rock wool, fiberglass or other porous material
▪ These all require vapor barriers to prevent air from being pulled into
the insulation and condensed (can cause both a safety hazard via O 2
enrichment & reduce effectiveness)
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
June 2019 Slide 13
 Design Example:Complex Foam Insulation
System: LH2 Tank for 2nd Stage Saturn V

From Cryogenic Engineering, Flynn

▪ Allows helium purging of the insulation

▪ Weight ~ 4.15 kg/m2
▪ Performance: measured effective thermal conductivity (0.86 – 1.1 mW/cm K) at Tav =
144 K Note this includes conduction, convection and radiation heat transfer
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
June 2019 Slide 14
 Radiation Heat Transfer

▪ Frequently the largest source of heat leak to cryogenic systems

▪ Fundamental Equation: Stefan-Boltzmann Law – energy emitted from
an ideal black body: Eb = sT4 where s = 5.67x10-8 W/m2K4

• Real world Assumptions:

» Emissivity (e) << 1 and independent of wavelength (grey body)

» Two parallel infinite plates: Radiative heat flux (W/m2)

 e 1e 2 
Eq. A qr =  (
s T14 − T24 )
 e 1 + e 2 − e 1e 2 

» Frequently in cryogenic systems e1 ~ e2 << 1 then Eq. A becomes:

e 
Eq. B
qr =  s T14 − T24 ( )
2
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
June 2019 Slide 15
 Radiation Heat Transfer

» Two long concentric cylinders or concentric spheres (1 represents the inner

cylinder): the radiative heat flux (W/m2) on the inner cylinder is

 

q1 = 
(
s T1 − T2
4 4
) 

Eq. C  1 +  A1  1 − 1 
 e  A2  e 
 1   2  

» Note as is frequently the case in cryogenics, if the spacing between the cylinders is
small compared to the inner radius (i.e. A1 ~ A2 ) Eq. C becomes Eq. A

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 16
 Radiation Heat Transfer

▪ Looking at Eq. A, How do we reduce

the radiation heat transfer?
▪ We could reduce the emissivity (e)
• This is done in some cases; using either
reflective tape or silver plating
• Better below 77 K
• It’s also part of MLI systems (see below)
• We have to consider tarnishing
• May be labor intensive

From Helium Cryogenics – S. W. Van Sciver

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 17
 Radiation Heat Transfer

▪ Another way to reduce radiation heat transfer is to install intermediate

actively cooled radiation shields that operate at a temperature between
300 K and the lowest cryogenic temperature. This has several
advantages.
• It greatly reduces the heat load to the lowest temperature level
» Assume parallel plates with e = 0.2
» then from Eq. B q ( 300 K – 4.2 K ) = 46 W/m2 while q (77 – 4.2) = 0.2 W/m2
• It allows heat interception at higher temperatures & thus better Carnot
efficiency
• Such an actively cooled shield provides a convenient heat intercept for
supports, wires etc to reduce conduction heat leak.
▪ Shields may be cooled by
• Liquid baths ( LN2)
• Vapor boil off from stored liquid – common in LHe storage dewars
• Cooling flows from refrigeration plants
• Conductive cooling via small cryocoolers
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
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 Examples of Cooled
Radiation Shields
▪ LN2 bath surrounds inner LHe or
LH2 bath
▪ Baths are separated by a
vacuum insulation space

▪ Shield is cooled by boil off gas from

stored cryogen
• Spacing of cooling tubes on shield may be
calculated by: DT = qL2/2kt
» DT = max allowable temperature difference
between any point on shield and tube
» q = heat flux on shield
» k = shield thermal conductivity From Cryogenic Engineering, Flynn
» L = ½ max tube spacing Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
» t = shield thickness June 2019 Slide 19
 Thermal Radiation Shields

▪ Uncooled thermal radiation shields placed in a vacuum space between

the warm & cold surfaces also help reduce the thermal radiation heat
leak
▪ It can be shown (with the grey approximation and equal emissivities)
that with N shields thermal radiation heat transfer is given by:

q=
e
(N + 1)2
s T H −T L
4 4
( )
This is the motivation behind Multilayer Insulation

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 20
 MultiLayer Insulation

▪ Also referred to as superinsulation

▪ Used in the vacuum space of many cryostats (10-5 torr or better for best
performance)
▪ Consists of highly reflective thin sheets with poor thermal contact between
sheets.
• Made of aluminized Mylar ( or less frequently Kapton)
• May include separate non conducting mesh
• May use Mylar aluminized on only one side and crinkled to allow only point contacts
between sheets
• Frequently perforated to allow for better pumping
▪ Can be made up into blankets for ease of installation
▪ Don’t pack MLI too tightly. Optimal value is ~ 20 layers / inch
▪ Great care must be taken with seams, penetrations and ends.
• Problems with these can dominate the heat leak
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
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MLI

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 22
Examples of Proper MLI Installation

From “Cryogenic Engineering” in Wiley Mechanical Engineer’s Handbook

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 23
MLI Example from LHC cryostats

“SERIES-PRODUCED HELIUM II CRYOSTATS

FOR THE LHC MAGNETS: TECHNICAL CHOICES,
INDUSTRIALISATION, COSTS”
A. Poncet and V. Parma
Adv. Cryo. Engr. Vol 53

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 24
 Porous Insulation
▪ Radiation heat transfer may also be reduced by filling the vacuum
space between 300 K and cryogenic temperatures with other materials
that are low conductivity and block line of sight
▪ Such materials include:
• Glass beads or microspheres
• Perlite powder (made from a volcanic rock)
• Opaciated powders – copper or other metallic flakes mixed in with other
powders to further reduce radiant heat transfer
• Aerogel
▪ Advantages:
• Cheaper
• Easier to install in complex shapes
• Better performance than MLI in poor or no vacuum
▪ Frequently used in large storage and transport dewars
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
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 Porous Insulation

The total heat transfer through porous insulation between 2 spheres

may be estimated by:

k (T2 − T1 )
W= A1 A2
t
▪ Where
• t = thickness of Insulation

• k = the mean thermal conductivity

• 1 = inner vessel and 2 = outer vessel

▪ Mean thermal conductivities may be found in references such as

Cryogenic Engineering by Flynn
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
June 2019 Slide 26
 Comparison of Thermal
Insulation Approaches
( 6 inch thick insulation in all cases)
Total Heat Flux ( W/m2)
Increasing Cost
Type of Insulation 300 K to 77 77 K to 20 K
& Complexity
K
Polystyrene Foam (2 lb/ft3) 48.3 5.6
Gas Filled Perlite powder 184.3 21.8
(5 – 6 lb/ft3 filled with He)
Perlite powder in vacuum 1.6 0.07
Note better
(5 – 6 lb/ft3)
performance of
High Vacuum 9 0.04 evacuated
(10-6 torr e = 0.02) Perlite over
Opacified powder 0.3 - high vacuum
(Cu flakes in Santocel) between 300 K
& 77 K
MLI 0.03 0.007

From Cryogenic Systems – Barron Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
For rough estimates only June 2019 Slide 27
 Cryostat Design

▪ What is a cryostat?
• A device or system for maintaining objects at cryogenic temperatures.

▪ Cryostats which contain superconducting RF systems are traditionally

called cryomodules (term originally coined by Jlab)

▪ Cryostats whose principal function is to store cryogenic fluids are

frequently called Dewars. Named after the inventor of the vacuum flask
and the first person to liquefy hydrogen

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 28
E158 LH2 Target Cryostat

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

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 Cryostat Design

▪ Cryostats are one of the technical building blocks of cryogenics

▪ Cryostat design involves many subtopics:
• Development of requirements – covered here
• Materials selection – already covered
• Thermal insulation - already covered
• Support systems – covered here
• Safety – covered in a future lecture
• Instrumentation – covered in a future lecture
▪ One of the best ways to learn about cryostat design is through
examples (see next 2 talks) Also:
• Cryostat Design J.G. Weisend II (Ed) Springer (2016)
▪ There are many different types of cryostats with differing requirements
• The basic principles of cryostat design remain the same
• Before we can do anything else we have to define our requirements
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
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 Cryostat Requirements

▪Maximum allowable heat leak at various temperature

levels
• This may be driven by the number of cryostats to be built as
well as by the impact of large dynamic heat loads (SCRF or
target cryostats)
▪Alignment and vibration requirements
• Impact of thermal cycles
• Need to adjust alignment when cold or under vacuum?
• Alignment tolerances can be quite tight (TESLA :
+/- 0.5 mm for cavities and +/- 0.3 mm for SC magnets)
▪Number of feed throughs for power, instrumentation,
cryogenic fluid flows, external manipulators

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

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 Cryostat Requirements

▪Safety requirements (relief valves/burst discs)

• Design safety in from the start. Not as an add on
▪Size and weight
• Particularly important in space systems
▪Instrumentation required
• Difference between prototype and mass production
▪Ease of access to cryostat components
▪Existing code requirements (e.g. TUV or ASME)
▪Need, if any, for optical windows
▪Presence of ionizing radiation
Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II
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 Cryostat Requirements

▪Expected cryostat life time

▪Will this be a one of a kind device or something to be
mass produced?
▪Schedule and Cost
• This should be considered from the beginning

All Design is Compromise

Lecture 7| Thermal Insulation & Cryostat Basics- J. G. Weisend II

June 2019 Slide 33