Isothermal gas supply and method for minimizing the temperature excursion of a gas mixture released therefrom

An isothermal gas supply, comprising:

• a pressurized gas reservoir;
• a pressure regulator fluidly coupled to the pressurized gas reservoir, the pressure reducer configured to reduce the pressure of gas received from the pressurized gas reservoir to a predetermined output pressure (PO);
• a gas mixture releasably held within the pressurized gas reservoir at a starting pressure (PS) and at a starting temperature (TS), the gas mixture comprising:
• a warming gas having a positive Joule-Thomson (JT) coefficient at TS and over the pressure range PS-PO;
• and
• a cooling gas having a negative JT coefficient at TS and over the pressure range PS-PO, the cooling of the cooling gas substantially offsetting the warming of the warming gas when the gas mixture is released by the pressurized gas supply to achieve a gas output temperature (TO) substantially equivalent to the gas mixture starting temperature (TS).

A method for minimizing the temperature excursion of a gas mixture released from a pressurized gas supply including a pressurized gas reservoir and a pressure regulator fluidly coupled between the pressurized gas reservoir and an outlet of the pressurized gas supply, the pressure regulator configured to reduce the pressure of the gas mixture to a predetermined output pressure (PO), the method comprising:

• establishing the starting temperature of the gas mixture (TS) and the starting pressure of the gas mixture (PS);
• selecting a warming gas to be included within the gas mixture, the warming gas having a positive Joule-Thomson (JT) coefficient at TS and over the pressure range PS-PO;
• choosing a cooling gas to be included within the gas mixture, the cooling having a negative JT coefficient at TS and over the pressure range PS-PO;
• and
• filling the pressurized gas reservoir with a gas mixture.