High specific surface area aerogel cryoadsorber for vacuum pumping applications
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
InventorsRandal M. Hill, Eric R. Fought, Peter J. Biltoft
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Abstract
A cryogenic pumping system is provided, comprising a vacuum environment, an aerogel sorbent formed from a carbon aerogel disposed within the vacuum environment, and cooling means for cooling the aerogel sorbent sufficiently to adsorb molecules from the vacuum environment onto the aerogel sorbent. Embodiments of the invention include a liquid refrigerant cryosorption pump, a compressed helium cryogenic pump, a cryopanel and a Meissner coil, each of which uses carbon aerogel as a sorbent material.
Claims18
A cryogenic pumping system, comprising:
- a vacuum environment;
- an aerogel sorbent formed from a carbon aerogel disposed within said vacuum environment;
- cooling means for cooling said aerogel sorbent sufficiently to adsorb molecules from said vacuum environment onto said aerogel sorbent.
A liquid refrigerant cryosorption pump for pumping a pumping environment, comprising:
- a liquid refrigerant container;
- a quantity of a liquid refrigerant disposed within said liquid refrigerant container;
- a vacuum container at least partially immersed in said quantity of liquid refrigerant;
- means for detachably fixing said vacuum container to said pumping environment;
- an aerogel sorbent formed from a carbon aerogel disposed within said vacuum container.
A compressed helium cryogenic pump for pumping a pumping environment, comprising:
- a vacuum chamber enclosing a vacuum environment;
- means for fixing said vacuum chamber to said pumping environment;
- a gaseous helium compression means;
- a gaseous helium refrigeration means receiving compressed gaseous helium from and returning gaseous helium to said gaseous helium compression means;
- a first stage and a second stage disposed within said vacuum environment and cooled by said gaseous helium refrigeration means;
- a sorbent array comprising a quantity of a carbon aerogel fixed about said second stage.
A cryopanel, comprising:
- a body forming a hollow interior and having an outer surface;
- a liquid refrigerant disposed within said hollow interior of said body;
- an aerogel sorbent formed from a carbon aerogel fixed to said outer surface of said body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.