Cryostat arrangements and mounting arrangements for cryostats

Abstract

A cryocooler mounting arrangement and magnets and cryostats including such an arrangement. The arrangement is for mounting the coldhead 21 of a cryocooler 2 in a cryostat 1 for allowing the extraction of heat from the interior of the cryostat by the cryocooler. The mounting arrangement comprises a coldhead interface portion 22a, 22b for mounting on the coldhead 21 and a sock portion 3 for mounting in the cryostat 1 and arranged for receiving the coldhead 21. The sock portion 3 comprises a receiving interface portion 32a, 32b for receiving the coldhead interface portion so as to provide thermal contact therebetween and hence to provide thermal contact between the coldhead and the interior of the cryostat. The coldhead interface portion comprises plurality of flexible finger portions 23a, 23b and the receiving interface portion comprises a bearing surface 322a, 322b against which the finger portions are arranged to rest. The mounting arrangement further comprises a clamping ring 4a, 4b for releasably clamping the finger portions 23a, 23b against the bearing surface 322a, 322b to ensure thermal contact between the coldhead interface and the receiving interface. The clamping ring 4a, 4b is held in a recess on the fingers. An outer interface portion 5 is provided at the outer vacuum wall of the cryostat 1.

Claims

1. A cryocooler mounting arrangement for mounting a coldhead of a cryocooler in a cryostat for allowing the extraction of heat from an interior of the cryostat by the cryocooler, the mounting arrangement comprising a coldhead interface portion for mounting on the coldhead and a sock portion for mounting in the cryostat and arranged for receiving the coldhead, the sock portion comprising a receiving interface portion for receiving the coldhead interface portion so as to provide thermal contact between the receiving interface portion and the coldhead interface portion and to provide thermal contact between the coldhead and the interior of the cryostat, wherein the coldhead interface portion comprises a plurality of flexible finger portions and the receiving interface portion comprises a bearing surface against which the finger portions are arranged to rest, wherein the receiving interface portion further includes an annular recess into which the plurality of flexible finger portions of the coldhead interface extend, and the mounting arrangement further comprises a clamping ring for releasably clamping the finger portions against the bearing surface to ensure thermal contact between the coldhead interface and the receiving interface.

2. A cryostat arrangement comprising a cryostat and a cryocooler having a coldhead for mounting in the cryostat for allowing the extraction of heat from an interior of the cryostat by the cryocooler, the cryostat arrangement comprising a coldhead interface portion provided on the coldhead and a sock portion mounted in the cryostat and arranged for receiving the coldhead, the sock portion comprising a receiving interface portion for receiving the coldhead interface portion so as to provide thermal contact between the receiving interface portion and the coldhead interface portion and to provide thermal contact between the coldhead and the interior of the cryostat, wherein the coldhead interface portion comprises a plurality of flexible finger portions and the receiving interface portion comprises a bearing surface against which the finger portions are arranged to rest, wherein the receiving interface portion further includes an annular recess into which the plurality of flexible finger portions of the coldhead interface extend, and the mounting arrangement further comprises a clamping ring for releasably clamping the finger portions against the bearing surface to ensure thermal contact between the coldhead interface and the receiving interface.

3. A cryocooler mounting arrangement according to claim 1 comprising retaining means for retaining the clamping ring in position for acting on the fingers, wherein the retaining means comprises a respective retaining shoulder portion provided on at least one of the plurality of fingers.

4. A cryocooler mounting arrangement according to claim 1 in which at least one of the plurality of fingers comprises a respective recess in which the clamping ring is located for holding the clamping ring in position.

5. A cryocooler mounting arrangement according to claim 4 in which a respective recess is provided in each of the fingers.

6. A cryocooler mounting arrangement according to claim 1 in which the interface portion comprising the plurality of fingers comprises a cup shaped portion with a first radially extending portion and, depending from the cup shaped portion, a flared cylindrical portion which comprises the plurality of fingers.

7. A cryocooler mounting arrangement according to claim 6 in which the cup shaped portion is of a single piece of material.

8. A cryocooler mounting arrangement according to claim 1 further comprising a ring-like outer interface arrangement for location between the cryocooler and an outer wall of the cryostat, the ring-like outer interface arrangement being arranged to be located around an aperture in the outer wall of the cryostat through which the coldhead passes when located into the sock.

9. A cryocooler mounting arrangement according to claim 8 in which the outer interface arrangement comprises a piston seal portion with at least one seal arranged for sealing on an axial surface of at least one of the outer interface arrangement, a wall of the cryostat, and the sock for creating a vacuum seal.

10. A cryocooler mounting arrangement according to claim 8 in which the outer interface arrangement comprises a cable passage for providing a path for electrical cables from an exterior of the sock into an interior of the sock.

11. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2 comprising retaining means for retaining the clamping ring in position for acting on the fingers, wherein the retaining means comprises a respective retaining shoulder portion provided on at least one of the plurality of fingers.

12. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2 in which at least one of the plurality of fingers comprises a respective recess in which the clamping ring is located for holding the clamping ring in position.

13. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 12 in which a respective recess is provided in each of the fingers.

14. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2 in which the interface portion comprising the plurality of fingers comprises a cup shaped portion with a first radially extending portion and depending from this a flared cylindrical portion which comprises the plurality of fingers.

15. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 14 in which the cup shaped portion is of a single piece of material.

16. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2 further comprising a ring-like outer interface arrangement for location between the cryocooler and an outer wall of the cryostat, the ring-like outer interface arrangement being arranged to be located around an aperture in the outer wall of the cryostat through which the coldhead passes when located into the sock.

17. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 16 in which the outer interface arrangement comprises a piston seal portion with at least one seal arranged for sealing on an axial surface of at least one of the outer interface arrangement, a wall of the cryostat, and the sock for creating a vacuum seal.

18. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 16 in which the outer interface arrangement comprises a cable passage for providing a path for electrical cables from an exterior of the sock into an interior of the sock.

19. A cryostat arrangement comprising a cryostat arrangement according to claim 2 and comprising a super conducting magnet housed in the cryostat.

20. A cryocooler mounting method for mounting a coldhead of a cryocooler in a cryostat for allowing the extraction of heat from an interior of the cryostat by the cryocooler, the method comprising the steps of: providing a coldhead interface portion on the cold head; providing a sock portion in the cryostat, wherein said sock portion is arranged for receiving the coldhead, the sock portion comprising a receiving interface portion for receiving the coldhead interface portion so as to provide thermal contact between the receiving interface portion and the coldhead interface portion and to provide thermal contact between the cold head and the interior of the cryostat; wherein the coldhead interface portion comprises a plurality of flexible finger portions and the receiving interface portion comprises a bearing surface against which the finger portions are arranged to rest, wherein the receiving interface portion further includes an annular recess into which the plurality of flexible finger portions of the coldhead interface extend; and the method comprises the further steps of locating the finger portions on the bearing surface; and releasably clamping the finger portions against the bearing surface using a clamping ring to ensure thermal contact between the coldhead interface and the receiving interface.

21. A cryostat arrangement comprising a cryostat and a two-stage cryocooler having a coldhead for mounting in the cryostat for allowing the extraction of heat from an interior of the cryostat by the cryocooler, the cryostat arrangement comprising two coldhead interface portions provided on the coldhead and a sock portion mounted in the cryostat and arranged for receiving the coldhead, the sock portion comprising two receiving interface portions, a first of the two receiving interface portions for receiving a first of the two coldhead interface portions and a second of the two receiving interface portions for receiving a second of the two coldhead interface portions so as to provide thermal contact between the two receiving interface portions and the two coldhead interface portions and hence to provide thermal contact between the coldhead and the interior of the cryostat, wherein each of the two coldhead interface portions comprises a plurality of flexible finger portions and each of the two receiving interface portions comprises a bearing surface against which the respective finger portions of the two coldhead interface portions are arranged to rest, wherein each of the two receiving interface portions includes an annular recess into which the respective plurality of flexible finger portions of the respective coldhead interface extend; and the cryostat arrangement further comprising two clamping rings, a first of the two clamping rings for releasably clamping the plurality of finger portions of the first of the two coldhead interface portions against the bearing surface of the first of the two receiving interface portions to ensure thermal contact between the first coldhead interface portion and the first receiving interface portion, and a second of the two clamping rings for releasably clamping the plurality of finger portions of the second of the two coldhead interface portions against the bearing surface of the second of the two receiving interface portions to ensure thermal contact between the second coldhead interface portion and the second receiving interface portion.

22. A cryocooler arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the bearing surface is conical and the plurality of flexible finger portions are arranged so as to lie on a complementary conical surface so that in engaging the interfaces the fingers slide over the bearing surface.

23. A cryocooler arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the coldhead interface portion is mounted to a flange of a commercially available coldhead.

24. A cryocooler arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the coldhead interface portion is integrally formed with the coldhead.

25. A cryocooler arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the bearing surface is tapered and inner engaging walls of the plurality of flexible finger portions define a complementary taper.

26. A cryocooler arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the clamping ring is of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

27. A cryocooler arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the clamping ring comprises a recess in which a heating wire is located.

28. A cryocooler arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of flexible finger portions and the clamping ring extend at least partially into the annular recess of the receiving portion.

29. A cryocooler arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the sock portion comprises a curved wall portion providing a vacuum chamber within which the coldhead resides and wherein the sock portion terminates with the receiving interface portion such that the interior of the sock is sealed from the interior of the cryostat.

30. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the bearing surface is conical and the plurality of flexible finger portions are arranged so as to lie on a complementary conical surface so that in engaging the interfaces the fingers slide over the bearing surface.

31. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the coldhead interface portion is mounted to a flange of a commercially available coldhead.

32. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the coldhead interface portion is integrally formed with the coldhead.

33. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the bearing surface is tapered and inner engaging walls of the plurality of flexible finger portions define a complementary taper.

34. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the clamping ring is of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

35. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the clamping ring comprises a recess in which a heating wire is located.

36. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of flexible finger portions and the clamping ring extend at least partially into the annular recess of the receiving portion.

37. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the sock portion comprises a curved wall portion providing a vacuum chamber within which the coldhead resides and wherein the sock portion terminates with the receiving interface portion such that the interior of the sock is sealed from the interior of the cryostat.

38. A cryostat arrangement according to claim 21, wherein the sock portion comprises two curved wall portions providing a vacuum chamber within which the coldhead resides and wherein a first of the two curved wall portions terminates with a first of the two receiving interface portions and a second of the two curved wall portions terminates with a second of the two receiving interface portions such that the interior of the sock is sealed from the interior of the cryostat.

Description

(1) Embodiments of the present invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows part of a magnet arrangement including a cryocooler which is just about to be inserted in position in the cryostat;

(3) FIG. 2 shows the cryocooler which is shown as about to be inserted in the cryostat in FIG. 1 but in isolation;

(4) FIG. 3 is a section showing the cryocooler of FIGS. 1 and 2 in situ in the cryostatpart of the cryocooler and part of the cryostat are visible but both in simplified form due to the scale;

(5) FIG. 4 shows the cryocooler of FIGS. 1 and 2 located in position in the cryostat in a sock provided in the cryostat with part of the sock and cryocooler cut away so as to better show various features of the arrangement;

(6) FIGS. 5A and 5B show respective enlarged portions of part of the cryocooler and sock shown in FIG. 4 each better showing a respective interface between a coldhead of the cryocooler and the sock; and

(7) FIG. 6 shows another enlarged part of the arrangement shown in FIG. 4 more dearly showing an outer interface arrangement between the coldhead of the cryocooler and an outer vacuum chamber wall of the cryostat.

(8) FIG. 1 shows a superconducting magnet arrangement which in this case is an MRI superconducting magnet arrangement. The magnet arrangement comprises a cryostat 1 in which is housed a superconducting magnet M (see FIG. 3) as a cold mass to be maintained at a sub-zero temperature. As will be appreciated, the temperature at which the magnet is maintained will depend on the particular magnet design and, for example, the materials used therein. In the present case the superconducting magnet is to be maintained at liquid helium temperatures, that is to say at in the order of 4 Kelvin.

(9) The magnet arrangement further comprises at least one cryocooler 2, in this case, two such cryocoolers 2 are provided. Together the cryostat 1 and the cryocoolers 2 can be considered to constitute a cryostat arrangement.

(10) In FIG. 1, one of the cryocoolers 2 is shown in a position just before insertion into the cryostat 1. The other cryocooler 2 is shown located in position in the cryostat 1.

(11) As will be appreciated, different types of cryocooler may be used. Thus, for example a Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocooler may be used or a pulse tube (PT) cryocooler may be used. In a particular implementation which is currently of interest for the applicants, one of these types of cryocoolers will be used in an initial cooldown stage whereas the other type will be used for ongoing operation of the cryostat. In other cases two different cryocoolers which are both of the same type, but with differing performance characteristics may be similarly used. As will be explained in more detail below, the present magnet arrangement/cryostat arrangement facilitates this type of interchange of cryocoolers. Moreover this is facilitated whilst the cryostat 1 may be maintained at a cold, ie operating temperature, and correspondingly whilst the insulating vacuum in the cryostat is maintained.

(12) FIG. 2 shows one of the cryocoolers 2 of FIG. 1 in isolation whereas FIGS. 3 and 4 show the cryocooler 2 when inserted in position in a sock 3 provided within the cryostat 1. The cryocooler 2 comprises a coldhead 21 which is arranged for insertion into the sock 3 and which moreover is arranged for extracting heat from elements which come into thermal contact with the coldhead. The design and operation of such cryocoolers is well understood and commercially available cryocoolers may be used in the device of the present invention. Thus any further description of the structure and operation of cryocoolers is not necessary and therefore omitted from this specification in the interests of brevity.

(13) In the present case the cryocooler 2 is a two stage cryocooler having a first stage 21a for providing cooling down to a first temperature and a second stage 21b for providing cooling down to a second cooler temperature. A first coldhead interface portion 22a is provided on the first stage 21a and a second coldhead interface portion 22b is provided on the second stage 21b.

(14) Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5A and 5B, the first stage coldhead interface portion 22a is arranged for thermally contacting with a first stage sock interface portion 32a and the second stage coldhead interface portion 22b is arranged for thermally contacting with a second stage sock interface portion 32b.

(15) These respective pairs of interface portions (22a, 32a on the one hand and 22b, 32b on the other hand) provide thermal conduction paths between the respective stages of the coldhead 21 and the cryostat 1.

(16) The cryostat comprises an outer vacuum chamber wall 11 and nested within that a radiation shield 12. The cold massthe magnet Mis housed within the radiation shield 12. The sock 3 projects through the outer vacuum chamber wall 11 and through the radiation shield 12.

(17) The first stage sock interface portion 32a is coupled via a first thermal link 13a to the radiation shield 12. The second stage sock interface portion 32b is coupled to the cold mass M via a second thermal link 13b and a thermal interface 13c. Both of the thermal links 13a, 13b are flexible to allow for thermal expansion and contraction and build tolerances.

(18) The present embodiment relates to a system with a conduction cooled magnet, ie a system which is cryogen free. In alternatives with an arrangement containing helium, the flexibility would be provided by an arrangement of bellows, and the interface of the appropriate stage of the cryocooler would be to a condenser which transforms cryogen vapour into liquid by the extraction of heat.

(19) The sock 3 comprises thin walled cylindrical housing portions 31 running from the outer vacuum chamber wall 11 of the cryostat down into the body of the cryostat. The cylindrical sock walls 31 are sealed to the outer vacuum chamber wall 11 of the cryostat. These curved wall portions 31 are kept as thin as possible to minimise the conduction path from the interior of the cryostat out to the exterior. At the same time they provide a vacuum chamber within the cryostat within which the coldhead 21 resides. The sock 3 terminates with the second stage interface portion 32b such that the interior of the sock 3 is sealed from the interior of the cryostat.

(20) The coldhead interface portions 22a, 22b and the sock interface portions 32a, 32b are shown at a larger scale in FIGS. 5A and 5B. The first stage coldhead interface portion 22a and a first stage sock interface portion 32a have a similar form to the second stage coldhead interface portion 22b and second stage sock interface portion 32b respectively.

(21) Each of the coldhead interface portions 22a, 22b is generally cup-shaped as can be seen by a consideration of FIGS. 2 to 5A and 5B. They each have a first radially extending portion 221a, 221b and in each case depending from this a respective flared cylinder portion 221b, 222b. Each of the flared cylinder portions 221b, 222b comprises a respective plurality of flexible finger portions 23a, 23b. There is an axial aperture in each of the cup-shaped portions. The coldhead 21 passes through the aperture in the first stage coldhead interface portion 22a. The aperture in the second stage coldhead interface portion 22b exposes the end of the coldhead 21 to which the interface portion 22b is mounted.

(22) In each case the coldhead interface portions 22a, 22b comprising the radially extending portions 221a, 221b and depending cylindrical portions 222a, 222b are formed of a single piece of material. Thus each of the plurality of fingers 23a, 23b is formed integrally with the respective radially extending portion 221a, 221b and this leads to a particularly robust design.

(23) The first stage interface portion 22a is mounted to a flange 24 provided on the coldhead 21. The second stage interface portion 22b is mounted to the end of 25 of the coldhead 21. Note that this particular construction is born out of the fact that in the example shown in the drawings, the coldhead 21 is a commercially available component to which the interface portions have been added. In an alternative, a specially produced coldhead 21 (or whole cryocooler 2) might be provided in which case the interface portions 22a, 22b could be integrally formed with the housing of the coldhead if so desired.

(24) The first and second stage sock interface portions 32a, 32b respectively include an annular recess 321a, 321b into which the flexible fingers 23a, 23b of the respective coldhead interface 22a, 22b can extend. Furthermore the first and second stage sock interfaces 32a, 32b include a bearing surface 322a, 322b against which the respective set of flexible fingers 23a, 23b bears when the respective interface portions 22a and 32a, 22b and 32b are engaged. Each bearing surface 322a, 322b corresponds to a side wall of the respective annular recess.

(25) The bearing surfaces 322a, 322b are tapered, that is to say they lie on a conical surface. Inner engaging walls of the respective flexible fingers 23a, 23b define a complementary taper, that is to say they lie on a complementary conical surface. The surfaces are such that engagement between the interfaces is facilitated and good mechanical and therefore thermal contact between the interface portions can be obtained even where there is axial variation in position between the coldhead interface 22a, 22b on the one hand the respective sock interface 32a, 32b on the other hand. It will be appreciated that due to thermal expansion and contraction there can be a tendency for some such axial variation to occur. Further this arrangement also can allow for manufacturing tolerances between cryocoolers of the same type as well as dimensional differences between cryocoolers of differing types.

(26) A clamping ring 4a is provided for clamping the fingers 23a of the first stage coldhead interface 22a to the respective bearing surface 322a of the first stage sock interface 32a and similarly a clamping ring 4b is provided for clamping the fingers 23b of the second stage coldhead interface 22b to the respective bearing surface 322b of the second stage sock interface 32b.

(27) Each clamping ring 4a, 4b comprises a ring of material which is arranged to contract at the cold operating temperatures of the cryostat arrangement for clamping the fingers 23a, 23b into position on the respective sock interface 32a, 32b. In the present embodiments each clamping ring is of PTFE. Further each clamping ring 4a, 4b carries a respective heating wire 41a, 41b which can be used for locally heating the clamping ring 4a, 4b so causing it to expand and thus reduce its clamping force on the respective fingers 23a, 23b. As will be appreciated, this can facilitate the engagement of the respective interface portions as well as allow disengagement.

(28) Thus overall this provides a particularly convenient mechanism for allowing quick and easy achievement of thermal contact between the coldhead 21 and the interior of the cryostat 1 when desired and similarly allows quick and easy breaking of such contact and therefore facilitates removal of the coldhead 21 and cryocooler 2 as a whole when desired.

(29) In the present design, each clamping ring 4a, 4b is held in position on the respective sets of flexible fingers 23a, 23b by virtue of being retained in a respective recess 231a, 231b provided in the outer wall of the flexible fingers. This recess gives rise to corresponding shoulder portions at each end of the recess which act on the respective clamping ring 4a, 4b to hold it in position against axial movement. This provides a particularly compact design, especially over an originally proposed arrangement where the clamping rings where held in position with clip portions which extended out over the clamping rings. In turn, this allows the production of a more compact design where the diameter of the sock 3 can be minimised.

(30) It will be noted that in the present arrangement the second stage coldhead interface portion 22b and its corresponding clamping portion 4b need to pass through an internal diameter of the first stage sock interface portion 32a. Thus if the overall outside diameter of the second stage coldhead interface portion 22b and its clamping portion 4b is larger, this may call for a disproportionately large internal diameter of the first stage sock interface portion 32a. By avoiding this, a smaller overall sock design can be achieved which helps reduce thermal leakage paths between the interior of the cryostat and the exterior by virtue of a reduced size and therefore reduced material in the sock 3.

(31) As most clearly seen in FIG. 6, but also illustrated for example in FIG. 4, an outer interface arrangement 5 is provided for mounting the cryocooler 2 to the outer vacuum chamber wall 11 of the cryostat 1.

(32) The outer interface arrangement 5 comprises a ring-like interface flange 51 which is bolted in position on the outer vacuum chamber 11. The outer interface arrangement 5 further comprises a piston seal portion 52 which again is ring-like and arranged to be disposed between a mounting flange 26 of the cryocooler 2 and the interface flange 51. The piston seal portion 52 comprises a radially extending portion 52a and an axially extending portion 52b carrying at least one seal 52c which bears on an axial surface for sealing the interior of the sock portion 3 from the exterior. Said axial surface in the present embodiment is an axial surface of the interface flange 51 but in other circumstances it may be an axial surface of the outer vacuum chamber wall 11 or the sock 3. Having the piston seal portion 52 seal on an axial surface has an advantage in that an effective seal can be obtained whilst there is quite a large degree of tolerance as to the axial position of the piston seal portion 52 relative to the other components. Thus again this can allow for thermal expansion and contraction and for differences in nominal dimensions whether these be due to the presence of different cryocoolers or due to manufacturing tolerances/errors.

(33) Specifically it will be noted that by virtue of the piston seal portion 52, a vacuum seal may be provided for the sock 3 with the coldhead 21 positioned at a range of axial positions relative to the sock. In a current design of the applicant's, a tolerance of say +/2 millimetres might be provided. This is important as it allows the clamping of the cryocooler 2 in position whilst recognising that accurate and complete engagement between the respective interface portions 22a, 32a and 22b, 32b between the coldhead 2 and the sock 3 is the ultimate aim.

(34) It will also be appreciated that such a piston seal portion 52 might be used without an interface flange 51 clamped in position. That is to say in the circumstance where the piston seal portion 52 seals on an axial surface of the outer vacuum chamber wall 11 or an axial surface of the sock wall 31, it may be possible to dispense with the ring-like interface flange 51.

(35) The outer interface arrangement 5 also comprises a through passage 53 to allow the introduction of electrical cables into the interior of the sock 3 from the exterior. This allows instrumentation to be permanently attached to the coldhead 21. Further it allows such instrumentation to be serviceable by removing the coldhead 21, and avoids connections having to be made during service operations within the sock 3. Further the interface arrangement 5 also comprises vacuum ports 54 (see FIG. 4) for allowing the introduction or extraction of gas from the interior of the sock 3.

(36) To complete vacuum sealing, other seals are provided between components of the outer interface arrangement 5 and each other as well as between the components and the sock/outer vacuum wall and the coldhead, but it is the seals 52c on the axial surface that provide the axial tolerance in mounting of the coldhead.

(37) The piston seal portion 52 comprises a plurality of scalloped portions arranged to register with bolts provided in the ring-like interface portion 51 to allow access to these bolts even when the cryocooler 2 and hence piston seal portion 52 are in position.