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Permeability and Bulge Setup

Material Properties

For the development of lineless composite tanks for liquified gases, it is vital to characterize bulge and permeability properties even under cryogenic conditions.

Cryogenic Permeability Testing down to 20 K and 20 Bar

Our vacuum isolated permeability setups can be cooled down to -253°C (20 K) and pressurized up to 20 bar. The helium leakage rate of specimens with a diameter of either about 150 mm or 450 mm can be determined. With custom made adapter rings even complex curved membranes can be tested.
Additional sensors can be applied to the specimen. For example, strain gauges are often attached on the surface to determine bulge properties.
We can also determine the flow rate of aerogel test samples and insolation material.

Applications

  • Cryogenic permeability
  • Cryogenic flow rate
  • Temperature down to -253°C (20K) e.g. for liquid hydrogen (LH2) applications or -196 (77K) for liquid nitrogen applications (LN2) and -183°C (90K) for liquid oxygen (LOX/LO2) applications
  • Helium leakage rate through CFRP membranes
  • Pressure up to 20 bar
  • Bulge characteristics

Device

under Test
  • Composite membranes
  • CFRP
  • GFRP
  • Aerogel samples and insolation material
  • Flat and complex curved membranes
  • Diameter of either 140 mm or greater than 450 mm

More Test Setups