Cryogenics is the study of how materials react at very low temperatures – usually bellow -180 C. This figure was chosen as a dividing line since the boiling points of ‘permanent gases’ such as helium, hydrogen, neon, nitrogen and oxygen, are all below -180 C, while the boiling points of the Freon refrigerants are above -180 C.
The History of Cryogenic Stress Relief
One of the most important breakthroughs in the field of cryogenics occurred in 1945, when scientists discovered that materials frozen to very low temperatures showed more resistance to long term wear. This discovery lead to the founding of the CryoTech company, who specialized in cryogenic processing by Ed Bush, in 1966.
Cryogenic Processing and Stress Relief
Cryogenic stress relief is very effective in relieving stress from parts before, during, and after machining. This stress relief process is very thorough, assuming that the warm up process is very slow and deliberate. If you rush the process, you end up re-introducing residual stress back in to the parts.
Metal parts, castings, forging, plastica, and composite materials all respond well to cryogenic processing. It is a non-destructive process, which does not affect the carbon content of steel, and leaves any surfaces clean and free of oxides. Unlike heat stress relief, there is no discoloration. The process essentially deadens the stress in welded or machined components, and can make a big difference to the durability of parts requiring intricate machine processing.
Aluminum can benefit from cryogenic stress relief, as can non-ferrous metals. They become stronger and tougher as a result of the densification of their molecular structure, making them as close to stress-dead as possible.
Changes in Molecular Structure
One of the main practical questions is what can be done to relieve the stresses before machining? Advances in cryogenics have revealed that when parts are treated to temperatures of around -300 F, at a controlled time / temperature cycle, all internal stresses are revealed. This is because of the alignment of the molecular structure that was distorted during the process. When parts that have been through cryogenic stress relief are machined, there will be no distortion on the machined surface. If there is any distortion, it will be due to improper machining, or dull tools.
Cryogenics is still a relatively new science, and it is one that has a bright and promising future.
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