Premium
Safety interlock and vent system to alleviate potentially dangerous ice blockage of top‐loading cryostat sample sticks
Author(s) -
Pangelis S.,
Olsen S. R.,
Scherschligt J.,
Leão J. B.,
Pullen S. A.,
Dender D.,
Hester J. R.,
Imperia P.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied crystallography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.429
H-Index - 162
ISSN - 1600-5767
DOI - 10.1107/s0021889813010868
Subject(s) - cryostat , gas compressor , refrigerator car , interlock , sample (material) , tube (container) , closed circuit , safety valve , closed system (control theory) , space shuttle , materials science , environmental science , nuclear engineering , chemistry , mechanical engineering , physics , engineering , aerospace engineering , thermodynamics , composite material , chromatography , electrical engineering , superconductivity , quantum mechanics
A combined solution is presented for minimizing the safety hazards associated with closed cycle cryostats described by Swainson & Cranswick [ J. Appl. Cryst. (2010), 43 , 206–210]. The initial solution is to install a vent tube with one open end deep inside the sample space and a pressure relief valve at the top. This solution works for either a cryogen or a cryogen‐free (closed cycle) system. The second approach, which can be combined with the first and is applicable to cryogen‐free cryostats, involves electrically interlocking the closed cycle refrigerator compressor to the sample space, so that the system cannot be cooled in the presence of a leak path to air.