Cryogenic strain gauge development project

Issue title: International Workshop for Sample Environment at Scattering Facilities Gettysburg, PA, USA, September 19–22, 2016

Guest editors: Yamali Hernandez, Paolo Imperia and Eddy Lelièvre-Berna

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Done, Robert

Affiliations: ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire, UK. E-mail: robert.done@stfc.ac.uk

Abstract: The use of strain gauge technology in industry is a common feature for determining mechanical stress in components. However, there is less understanding of the use of this technology in cryogenic applications. The current method of recording gas pressure in containment vessels used at cryogenic temperatures can be considered to be unreliable under certain conditions. A development project has been instigated to investigate the extreme temperature effects on strain gauges working at liquid helium (4 K) temperatures. A small, rectangular helium gas pressure containment vessel has been designed which operates at 20 bar. This will provide deflections to one of its faces onto which a suitable strain gauge can been fixed. The key temperature-dependent variables influencing the strain gauge’s parameters are discussed, with proposed methods to mitigate their effect.

Keywords: Strain gauge, mechanical stress, cryogenic applications, pressure containment vessel, temperature-dependent variables

DOI: 10.3233/JNR-170043

Journal: Journal of Neutron Research, vol. 19, no. 1-2, pp. 73-76, 2017