The FSU Cryogenics Laboratory is a fully developed 3000 ft2 facility for the conduct of low temperature experimental research in fluid dynamics, heat transfer and materials characterization. The laboratory is housed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) at Florida State University, which is adjacent to the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in Tallahassee, FL. The NHMFL maintains extensive research facilities that are available to support the proposed research program. These facilities include:
- Machine shop capable of manufacturing the components for cryogenic experiments.
- Welding shop to support system fabrication.
- Instrument shop for fabrication, maintenance and repair of electronic equipment.
CHEF for horizontal single and two-phase heat transfer and flow studies. The facility is 3 m long, has a 60 cm cold (4.2 K) ID and is equipped with horizontal access ports for future visualization studies. The facility is also equipped with a large single stroke bellows liquid cryogen pump capable of volumetric flow rates of 2 liters/s. This facility has been used for the high Reynolds number flow studies and the Fermi Lab vacuum break collaboration project.
Cryogenic Helium Experimental Facility (CHEF)
LHFVF consists of a 5 m long, 20 cm cold (4 K) ID horizontal cryostat with vertical reservoirs at both ends. Either a single stroke bellows pump or a centrifugal pump can be used as a prime mover for fluid dynamics studies with this facility. The LHFVF has with two optical access ports for flow visualization studies.
Liquid Helium Flow Visualization Facility (LHFVF)
Flow Visualization Equipment. The Laboratory has a fully committed Particle tracking Velocimetry (PTV) setup:
1. Pulsed laser systems
2. 1280 x 1024 pixel CCD camera
3. Dedicated digital image acquisition and display system
Flow Visualization Equipment
LIFIF consists of a femtosecond pump laser, two wavelength-tunable imaging lasers, and a cryostat with five optical access ports for flow visualization studies in helium. The femtosecond pump laser is focused through a flow channel in the cryostat to create a thin line of metastable He2 molecular tracers. This tracer line can be visualized with the imaging lasers via laser-induced fluorescence. This facility allows the study of flows in both gaseous and liquid helium.
Laser Induced Fluorescence Imaging Facility(LIFIF)
CMLF consists of an optical cryostat with a specially designed superconducting magnetic. This magnet can levitate cryogenic fluids such as liquid helium-4 and liquid hydrogen. There are two optical ports for illumination and imaging purpose. This facility allows for the study of cryogenic fluid hydrodynamics in micro-gravity as well as the dynamics of isolated liquid drops.
Cryogenic Magnetic Levitation Facility (CMLF)
Numerous conventional vertical access dewars and insert cryostats are available for smaller scale experiments on heat transfer and flow. These include: apparatus for in-situ calibration of temperature and pressure transducers; flow visualization; and fluid transport property measurements. Dewars between 10 and 60 cm ID with depths to 2 m are available.
Liquid Helium Research Cryostats
The Laboratory contains all necessary equipment to carry out modern cryogenic experiments including:
1. Helium mass spectrometer leak detector
2. Portable turbo pump systems
3. High capacity vacuum pump (He II refrigeration 30 W @ 1.8 K)
4. Various cryogenics temperature and pressure sensors
Vacuum and Cryogenic Equipment
The facility is specifically designed for measuring the thermal performance of multi-layer insulation (MLI). This lightweight insulation is composed of alternating thin reflective layers with insulating layers and is used as a high performance insulation for spacecraft, cryogen storage tanks, MRI's, and space-borne instruments.