Model questions (for P. G.

Sir part)
1.

2.
3.

4.

5.

Before Mid-sem
A 2000 litre dewar of liquid nitrogen contains saturated nitrogen at 85 K. Initially, the
dewar contains 50% liquid and 50% vapor by volume. Nitrogen vapor is withdrawn from
the vapor port of the dewar until the temperature sensor reads 70 K. Assuming that only
vapor leaves and the process is adiabatic, calculate the mass of nitrogen that is withdrawn.
(20 mins)
Discuss with thermodynamic equations, the phase transition of first order and second
order. In light of this, comment on the -transition of He-4.
(10 mins)
A dewar is filled with 100 litres of liquid nitrogen. If the boil-off rate is 0.5%, determine
the maximum allowable heat inleak. Repeat the problem if the dewar is filled with liquid
helium, all other parameters remaining same and comment on the results.
(10 mins)
Describe the phenomena of Ortho-Para conversion for hydrogen. Derive an expression for
the fraction of the liquid remaining in the dewar at a time t in terms of rate constant k,
latent heat of vaporization hfg and heat of conversion per unit mass Q. If the rate
constant, k = 0.0114/hr, determine the time taken for 50% of the total mass to be evaporated.
Explain a scheme based on the above problem, which can be used to avoid storage problem
of liquid hydrogen.
(20 mins)
How many hours will be required to reach 29.8% para-hydrogen concentration without a
catalyst starting from room temperature? Under the same conditions, what reaction rate
constant would be required if a catalyst was used to achieve the same para-hydrogen
concentration in 1/3rd of the above time. The reaction rate is 2nd order, when no catalyst is
used and 1st order, when catalyst is used.
(20 mins)
After mid-sem

Properties of materials at low temperature

1. Explain the variation of the following mechanical properties at low temperature,
(a) Yield strength
(b) Ultimate strength
(c) Ductility
(d) Toughness
Based on these property variations, enumerate the list of materials which can be used at
cryogenic conditions.
(15 mins)
2. Describe how specific heats, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and thermal
contraction of solids (metal, alloys) are affected at cryogenic temperatures and how they
affect design decisions of cryogenic equipment. Explain with relevant curves, formulae and
expressions.
(16 mins)
3. What are the criteria for a material to be used in cryogenic applications? Discuss the
importance of following materials as possible candidates for cryogenic systems:
i)
Austenitic stainless steels; ii) Aluminum; iii) Copper; iv) Glass fibre reinforced plastic; v)
PTFE (Teflon); (vi) Invar.
(15 mins)
4. Discuss the significance of Debye temperature in design of cryogenic equipment.
(5 mins)

5. A spacer is used in a small Dewar in the form of a frustum of a cone. The small end of the
spacer having a diameter of 12 mm is maintained at 90K and the larger end having a
diameter of 36 mm is maintained at 300K. The height of the spacer is 48 mm. The material
of the spacer is Teflon. Determine the heat transfer rate through the spacer. Thermal
conductivity integral of Teflon is provided in Table provided herewith.
(15 mins)
6. A copper ball of radius 50 cm is to be cooled by a process called Cryo-treatment. It is kept
in a cryo-chamber that is perfectly insulated. It is to be cooled to 4.5 K. to do this cooling
schemes are adapted:
a) cooled by liquid helium at 1 bar
b) cooled first by liquid nitrogen at 1 bar to its boiling temperature and subsequently by
liquid helium (consider only the latent heat of vaporization for both the cases).
c) If the cost of liquid nitrogen is Rs. 10 per lit. and the cost of liquid helium is Rs. 1500
per lit., then find the cost of cooling for each scheme. Given the density of copper = 8.9
g/cm3, molecular wt of copper= 63.5 g/mole and Debye temperature of copper = 309 K.
(20 mins)
7. Determine the coefficient of thermal contraction for Beryllium copper at 22.2 K. Density
of copper = 8.31 g/cc, Poissons ratio=0.335, Gruneisen parameter =0.8, Youngs
modulus=1.31*1011N/m2.
(5 mins)
8. A food freezing firm is currently using an ammonia refrigeration system to maintain a food
warehouse temperature of 256 K. Plans are being drawn to change to a spray liquid nitrogen
system in which controlled amounts of liquid nitrogen are sprayed directly into the cold
storage room. Because of this, it must be assumed that parts of the warehouse shelving
originally assembled at 300 K could experience temperatures as low as 77.3 K. The
shelving has the following properties:
t (linear coefficient of thermal expansion) = 1.656 x 10-7/0C
E (modulus of elasticity) = 1.86 X 1013 Pa
Yield strength = 2.76 x 108 Pa
Ultimate tensile strength = 1.17 x 109 Pa
Assume that the working stress is to be one fifth of the ultimate strength. (a) Will the shelves
fracture if exposed to liquid nitrogen? (b) Will permanent set occur? (c) Is the design
satisfactory from a working stress point of view? (d) For the next generation plant, a quick
decision must be made between using aluminum versus brass shelving. Is there any obvious
low-temperature material reason (not considering cost) to prefer one over the other at this
stage of the design?
(15 mins)
Storage, insulation and transfer lines
1. A long vacuum jacketed liquid oxygen transfer line has an inner line OD of 114 mm and
outer line ID of 116 mm. The inner line temperature is 100 K and outer line temperature is
320 K. The emissivities of inner line and outer line are 0.12 and 0.16 respectively. The
vacuum is 10-6 mbar. One radiation shield of emissivity 0.05 and diameter 127 mm is placed
between inner and outer line. Determine heat transfer per unit length. How much is the
reduction in heat transfer rate than that of without radiation shield?
(15 mins)

2. It is desired to construct a very long vacuum insulated transfer line for a liquid nitrogen
service. Outer diameter of the inner line = 140.3 mm and inner diameter of the outer line =
161.5 mm. The emissivities and the accommodation coefficients for the surfaces are
e1=0.05, a1=1.00, e2=0.15, a2=0.85 respectively. The temperature of the inner surface is
77.8 K and the temperature of the outer surface is 300 K. Residual gas between the lines is
air. Determine the annular space pressure so that gaseous conduction is 1% of the radiation
heat transfer.
(15 mins)
3. Explain how the following insulation schemes reduce the heat inleak in cryogenic storage
system
(a) Foam insulation
(b) Opacified powder insulation
(c) Evacuated powder insulation
(d) Multi-layer insulation
What are the values of mean apparent thermal conductivity (approximate) that each of these
types of insulation can attain? State advantages and disadvantages of each type of
insulation. What types of insulation can be used for (i) large liquid helium dewar, (ii) small
liquid helium dewar, (iii) large liquid nitrogen dewar and (iv) small liquid nitrogen dewar.
(25 mins)
4. Draw neat sketches of liquid nitrogen and liquid helium dewar and show its components.
Discuss the design issues of each components justifying the selection of material.
(20 mins)
5. Determine the heat transfer through the insulation, supports, and piping for a 106m3 liquidoxygen storage vessel with the following characteristics. The insulation is evacuated perlite
with an apparent thermal conductivity of 1.20 mW/m-K. The inner shell has an OD of 3.070
m and a length of 14.0 m, and the inner vessel hemispherical heads have an OD of 3.062
m. The outer shell has an ID of 3.636 m and a length of 14.0 m, and the outer vessel
hemispherical heads have an ID of 3.648 m. All support rods have a diameter of 20 mm
and are constructed of 304 stainless steel. There are 20 vertical rods, 1.15 m long; 20
transverse rods, 1.10 m long; and 12 longitudinal rods, 1.905 m long. The fill/drain line is
80 mm nominal Sch. 5 304 stainless steel pipe, 7 m long; and the vent line is 100 mm
nominal Sch. 5 304 stainless steel pipe, 8 m long. The temperature of the outer vessel may
be assumed to be 300 K, and the temperature of the inner vessel may be assumed to be 90.2
K. Also, determine the % evaporation rate/day.
(30 mins)
6. a) Derive, with appropriate assumptions and definitions, expressions for the cool-down
time (tss) and mass of liquid required for cool down of the transfer line shown in the
following figure from a temperature To to Tss.
(20 mins)
b) Determine the time required to cool down a 75 m section of 100 mm nominal Schedule
5 (refer table 4) transfer line used to transfer liquid nitrogen. The transfer line contains five
bayonet joints (total mass =45 kg) and one valve (mass =12 kg). The inner line is initially
at 300 K and is filled with nitrogen gas at 1 atm and 300 K. Liquid nitrogen at 3.5 atm is
used to cool the line to a final temperature of 89.8 K. At steady state operation, the exit
quality is 0.006 and the heat in leak from ambient is 6 W/m. The entire line and valve are
constructed of 304 SS. Consider the properties of SS as those of -iron. The valve at the

end of the line has a free cross sectional area of 0.0018 m2 and a discharge coefficient of
0.6. Also, determine the mass of liquid required to fill the line and to cool down the line.
Assume the flow through the valve as in choked condition, the average gas enthalpy at the
exit may be computed at the mean temperature of initial and steady state temperatures and
corresponding pressure. The ratio of specific heat capacity () for nitrogen is 1.4. Density
of SS-304 is 8000 kg/m3. Molecular weight of Iron is 55.845 g/mol. Use Debye temperature
table and specific heat capacity chart provided whenever required.
(20 mins)

Refrigeration at ultra low temperatures

1. Explain the working principle of dilution refrigerator with a neat sketch.

(10 mins)